It seems impossible that Abbie Larkin is still a teenager considering it’s 3½ years since she first announced herself in senior club football in Ireland, becoming a fixture in the international squad not long after. But the Ringsend native has packed a multitude of experiences into her career in that time, not least playing for four clubs in Ireland, Scotland and England in less than two years.
Larkin, who won’t turn 20 until April, has already ticked off several of the entries in her list of ambitions, top of the lot when Vera Pauw gave her a senior international debut in 2022, when she was just 16. Only Tyler Toland was younger when she made her Irish bow.
Playing in a World Cup? Tick. Not only that, she became the youngest Irish player, male or female, to do so when she came on for the last half-hour of that opening game against Australia in Sydney, in front of a crowd of 75,000.
Becoming a professional footballer? Tick. Shamrock Rovers gave her a flavour of the full-time life when she joined them from Shelbourne, much to their well-documented annoyance. And when she moved to Glasgow City less than a year later, she got more. She didn’t stay long, though, switching to Championship leaders Crystal Palace after four months.
Playing in England’s Super League? Tick. Palace won promotion, and last month, when she came on in their opening game against Spurs, Larkin realised her WSL ambition.
It’s all been a bit of a whirlwind. “And it feels like it all came in one go, but the main thing for me is that through it all I’ve just kept enjoying my football – and I don’t want to lose that enjoyment because if I do, then I’m not going to play my best,” Larkin says.
“Glasgow was definitely a challenge, it was my first time moving away from home so I knew it was going to be tough because I’m a home bird. But looking back on it now, it definitely helped me grow as a player. It just gave me a new perspective on how football is, not just in Ireland.
“But moving to Palace has helped me develop more. I went there to challenge myself and I’m definitely doing that. The set-up there is absolutely class, it’s brilliant, they have all the facilities you need. And having Izzy [Atkinson] and Hayley [Nolan] there definitely helped, having familiar faces always does.”
Heavy defeats in their opening two WSL games were a rude awakening for Palace, playing in the top flight for the first time, but they’re finding their feet, going on to beat Leicester City and draw away to Liverpool last Sunday.
“The standards are really high in the WSL, it’s way more intense,” admits Larkin. “It’s definitely a big step from the Championship. Our first two games were rocky, but it was our first taste of the WSL so you couldn’t really expect much. I think we’re definitely finding our stride now.”
After Palace signed 14 new players in advance of the season, many of them internationals, it was always going to be a bigger challenge getting playing time. Atkinson has struggled on that front, playing just one minute in the WSL so far, while a shoulder injury has resulted in Nolan having yet to appear at all. But Larkin has come on in each of their five WSL games, getting 90 minutes playing time in total.
“And that was my goal coming in to the season, getting more minutes. It was just a case of working hard in training, and it’s paying off. You’re never going to just jump straight in, but now I think I’m definitely catching up with the girls.”
One of the unticked ambitions on that list? Qualifying for the European Championships. “That’s a dream for all of us,” she says in advance of the first leg of their playoff semi-final against Georgia in Tbilisi on Friday.
Larkin scored her only international goal in 18 appearances so far in the 9-0 win away to Georgia the summer before last. “A little header it was, and I don’t usually score with my head,” she says. “I still think about it to this day. A dream come true.”
The November before, Ireland throttled Georgia 11-0 in Tallaght, but, they won’t take victory for granted? Tick. “We’re just going to treat this game like any other and play our best football.”
