Powerful Offaly connections on Irish U16 womens' soccer squad

THERE is a unique and powerful variety of Offaly connections on the Irish U16 womens' soccer squad that have played their first two internationals in Prague this week, both against the Czech Republic.

Killeigh girl Leah Stack played in Wednesday's 3-2 defeat and two other girls from the Offaly diaspora abroad also featured with Regan Alford starting and Lucy McIntyre coming on as a replacement.

It is a great experience for the talented students with Stack and Alford both coming off in the 46^th minute. Ireland lost 4-0 in their second game against the Czech Repnblic on Friday.

Stack is the daughter of Niall and Jenna Stack and plays with Athlone Town now, having started off her soccer career with the nearby Killeigh Schoolboys and Girls club. Niall is very well known in GAA circles, having played senior football with Tullamore for years and managing them to Senior Football Championship titles in 2021, 2023 and 2024, standing down at the end of the 2024 season.

Both Stack and Alford are defenders.

The English born Alford plays with the Crystal Palace club in London and has relatives in the Doon area. Her maternal grandfather is Oliver Corcoran from Cooldorougha, Ballinahown.

Midfielder McIntyre is from Canada and plays with the Liverpool club in Canada – it is a Liverpool affiliated international academy. Her grandfather is John McIntyre from Daingean and her grandmother is Mary Ryan from Kilcormac.

There has been a terrific growth in womens' soccer in Offaly in recent years with a number of talented players playing at senior level in the League of Ireland.

Some of these are still secondary school students and Offaly's proximity to Athlone means that Athlone Town is a natural habitat for many.

Four Offaly girls have featured for Athlone during a great season as they made progress in the European Champions League before bowing out and won the League of Ireland: Tullamore girls, Emma Mooney and Aoife O'Connor; Lucy Fitzgerald from the general Killoughey area and former Tullamore player, Isabel Ryan, who is from Carrig, near Birr.

Athlone are playing Bohemians in the FAI Cup final in Tallagh Stadium this Sunday, October 19 while this quartet have also featured on underage international squads.

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It is a busy time for Mooney who has been selected on the Irish U17 soccer squad for the forthcoming UEFA European Womens' U17 Championship round 1 qualifiers in Frankfurt. They are bidding to qualify for the finals in Northern Ireland next year and play games against France, Belgium and Germany in the German city between October 23-26.

Emma and Leonard Mooney with the League of Ireland Premier Division trophy after Athlone Town's success.

Tullamore College student Mooney also started out with Killeigh and is the daughter of former Shamrocks senior football star Leonard Mooney and well known Tullamore solicitor Verona Smyth – 45 year old Leonard came on as a sub in Shamrocks' recent Junior “B” Football Championship draw with Tullamore and is likely to miss the replay on October 26, before the senior football final, as he will be in Germany.