International recognition an achievable goal for Offaly women soccer players

WOMEN'S soccer has experienced similar growth in Offaly as the other great team sports, camogie, ladies football rugby.

There are now adult teams from Killeigh, Clara and Birr competing in the Combined Counties Football League womens' divisions. There are booming Schoolboys/Girls soccer clubs all over the county with many fielding girls teams, including Killeigh, Mucklagh, Tullamore, Killavilla, Frankford, Clara and Birr. Edenderry Town have had adult ladies teams playing in the Kildare District League as well as schoolgirls ones.

Players from the county have begun to achieve international recognition. Tullamore woman Grainne Walsh was an Irish U-17 international before concentrating on boxing, where she also achieved international standard.

Mucklagh schoolboys and girls club has developed a number of quality players. Recently two of their former members Becky Watkins and Ciara Glackin travelled to Turkey for two U-19 friendly matches against Russia.

The duo are both students at Killina Secondary School, starring for their successful senior schools soccer side this year.

Goalkeeper Glackin now plays her club soccer with Athlone Town while striker Watkins is a very exciting prospect. She signed with Wexford Youths earlier this year, having previously played with Peamount United in Dublin – she came off the bench to score a goal as they defeated Cork City 5-0 in the 2020 FAI Womens Cup final.

Another Mucklagh and Killina Secondary School player, Ellen Dolan was selected on the Irish U-16 squad last year – Ellen is a midfielder.

There are several others throughout Offaly who have shown outstanding talent, some moving to clubs in neighbouring counties and further afield. There will be plenty of more soccer internationals from Offaly in the coming years but the exploits of one of the first deserve to be singled out.

Shinrone woman Sylvia Gee was a brilliant international and National League player back in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. She excelled during an era when this was very much the path less travelled and there were very few if any womens' teams in Offaly.

She displayed fantastic longevity, winning a host of medals and honours. A former hockey player, she played with several clubs at home and abroad during a tremendous career. She played with a few teams in the USA as well as Leeds United in the FA Womens' Premier League in England.

She played with Benfica in Portugal as well as with UCD, Portlaoise, Tullamore Town, Cork City, Dun Laoighaire-Rathdown Waves, Peamount and Kilkenny in Ireland.

She only finished playing competitively around the 2020 mark and has captained teams as well as winning several awards. A brilliant utility player who could play in any of the outfield positions, scoring plenty of goals and she has represented Ireland at university and senior level. She was a regular on their squad for years, featuring in World Cup and European qualifying campaigns from 1999 to 2005.

She has since got coaching qualifications and has made her mark in this arena.