Katie McCabe is one former ETB graduate. Larkin’s day is now made up of morning classes with subjects like nutrition and training in the afternoon.

“Academically, I wouldn’t be that good and I was even struggling in fifth year because of how much I was away. There was a lot of stuff that I had to catch up on. I just couldn’t do it, it was too much,” Larkin tells independent.ie. “And then I was thinking of myself in sixth year. If I was away a lot. If I got picked for the World Cup. If I got picked for more camps. It would be too much to be able to catch up on everything. Definitely, the stress has been decreased a lot compared to what I would have if I was in school.”

​Her football ambition has poked Larkin into making hard decisions, and she’s been making them. She decided to leave Shelbourne FC to join Shamrock Rovers for the 2023 League of Ireland women’s Premier Division season. After doing the double with them last year, Shelbourne announced in December that Larkin was leaving the club after previously committing to stay.

It was a high-profile move for one of Ireland’s greatest young talents and it got a lot of traction. A subsequent post on the Shels’ twitter feed after the announcement of Larkin’s departure used the song lyrics: ‘Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer, we’ll keep the red flag flying here’. The social media post was widely condemned and later deleted.

“I didn’t really pay attention to most of the stuff. I knew I was making the right decision for myself. It didn’t really affect me because I just didn’t listen or didn’t look at any of the stuff that was being said. I knew better,” Larkin adds.

“I knew that I was making the right decision about going to Rovers. I was definitely going to be treated well and have the best facilities there. I think it was just the fresh start that I needed.

“I’d say most footballers who want to pursue their dreams in England or wherever, if they’re getting bogged down by people that they don’t even know – personally, I don’t think you should even listen to anybody that you don’t know. It’s just their opinion, it’s one opinion in the whole world. You obviously have your own opinion and you obviously have support with your family and your friends that think good things about you.”

Changing clubs and deciding not to do her Leaving Cert are two big decisions Larkin has recently made. How did her parents, Ethyl and Robert, view their daughter’s choices?

“They’re so supportive in what I do, and they know if I am making the right decision, they’ll completely back me 100pc. I knew I was making the right decision with Rovers, with me leaving school. They support me 100pc.”

One of the benefits of the ETB course is Larkin gets to train with boys. After she was left out of the match-day squad for last October’s World Cup qualifier against Scotland, manager Vera Pauw intimated that a friendly against a boys’ team in the build-up showed a shortfall in Larkin’s physicality. Pauw has always been an advocate of girls training with boys and that’s the environment Larkin has now put herself in.

“The boys help me a lot with the trainings because they’re obviously physical and they’re much stronger than the girls I play with. Obviously, the girls are really strong but boys are a different standard.

"Playing with them nearly every day has helped me a lot, like working faster on the ball, taking less touches and just my strength. Your fitness will go up rapidly.”

Larkin made her first start for the Republic of Ireland in last week’s 0-0 friendly with China in Marbella, Spain (her previous five caps came as a sub). She was replaced for the second half by debutante Marissa Sheva. Larkin reckons she could have played better.

“Attacking-wise. I played a lot of defending roles which I’m not used to but as long as I’m playing, I don’t really mind.”

She’s slowly feeling more at ease with the senior side.

“I’m starting to get my confidence a bit more and showing what I can do a bit more. The first few days going into camp, it’s like should I do this? I don’t want to get in trouble. I’ll just do this easy option but as the camp goes on, I get more comfortable with myself.”

What stuff did she think she shouldn’t do?

“The kind of unpredictable stuff that I normally do in this league (Women’s National League). I’m trying to do the easy pass or the easy option. But I’ll start getting comfortable, and I’ll be like, I’ll just take on this player.

“(At home) I would be pretty vocal because I’m comfortable around the players and I know if I’m calling for the ball, I can get it. But when I’m with Ireland, it’s more like, should I call for that? Will I mess up? I’m afraid to make mistakes sometimes. And Vera always says to me that you’re going to make mistakes now and again.”

Larkin has never been to America and her eyes light up at the prospect of the two friendlies against the USA next month. Her ultimate flight path is Australia and a place in Pauw’s World Cup squad as competition increases with new names, like Sheeva, joining in. “You have to try hard and you have to want it more than other players on the team. And, obviously, if some girls are getting brought in, it’s like, I want to keep my place.”

​First, though, it’s the new League of Ireland season, which starts today and a fresh start for Larkin with Shamrock Rovers whose majority of players in the first-team squad are on semi-pro contracts. Rovers, back after a nine-year absence from the women’s league, have also attracted players like Áine O’Gorman and Stephanie Roche.

“I’m really enjoying it. Our training is unbelievable. We are gelling together quite well. We did have a rocky start but when you have a whole team of new players coming into a league like this, it’s going to be tough. Everyone took their risk.

“Other teams can’t wait to play us. And they’re going to be like, we have to beat Rovers, they’re the new team, new players, all the good players are gone to that team. It’s good to see teams want to beat us and that just gives us more drive.”