Track of the Day: Zrazy - 'Come On Ireland'

Ahead of the Ireland versus Australia match tomorrow morning (7am, bright and early!), we're turning up the volume on Zrazy's new World Cup tune.

'Come On Ireland (Giving Us The Right To Dream)' by Zrazy, featuring President Michael D. Higgins and Shebahn Aherne is released on Hot Press Records.

Maria Walsh and Carole Nelson, aka Zrazy, have been around since the 90s and previously went to No.1 in Ireland with another World Cup song, the hugely successful ‘Watch Your House (Ooh Ah, Paul McGrath)’, which featured a spoken word contribution from the man himself.

The likes of Katie Taylor, Sonia O’Sullivan, Kellie Harrington, “Leona the golfer” (Leona Maguire) and Rhasidat Adeleke are all referenced in the track, which lifts up Ireland's sports women.

“I had been following the Irish women’s team for long time,” Maria Walsh of Zrazy says, “and it was really inspiring to see them battle their way through to the World Cup finals in Australia. It was a truly extraordinary moment when Amber Barrett scored that winning goal against Scotland. I couldn’t resist the feeling that we should do something special to celebrate that – and ‘Come On Ireland (Giving Us The Right To Dream)’ is the result. Hopefully it’ll give Irish fans something unique and memorable to sing on the terraces during the remainder of the build-up, and at the World Cup finals in Australia.”

The track is mixed by Ruadhri Cushnan, a Grammy Award-winning engineer, who has worked on No.1 hits by the likes of Ed Sheeran, Mumford & Sons and Shawn Mendes.

Ireland’s opponents tomorrow are co-hosts Australia, in the Matildas’ opening match of their first home World Cup. The Irish players will walk out to a record-breaking crowd at Stadium Australia, with most of the 81,500 fans anticipating a home victory - but we never underestimate the underdogs.

Listen to 'Come On Ireland' below.

Read the Women's World Cup special in the new issue of Hot Press, out now.