Longford girls to play soccer for Ireland U15 team

Friday, April 16, 2010

Longford girls to play soccer for Ireland U15 team

Three Longford soccer players are representing the Republic of Ireland in Glasgow this week.
Aoife Darcy (14), Aisling Reynolds (14) and Michelle Farrell (14) were chosen from a national panel to play for the U15 Republic of Ireland ladies soccer team which is partaking in the Bob Docherty Tournament.

The tournament started yesterday and continues until Thursday (April 15).

Members of the Newtown Football Club, Aoife, Aisling and Michelle have been playing soccer for over three years. They are also members of Longford Town FC.

Aoife, a third year student at Scoil Mhuire, Longford, is a daughter of Fergus and Kathleen Darcy, Cahanagh.

"I am excited to be travelling to Scotland," says Aoife. "I am looking forward to seeing what the other teams are like. I'd say that our chances of winning are good."

Aisling, who is a second year student at Scoil Mhuire, is also looking forward to the event.

"I find soccer fun. You get to meet new players and people from all over Ireland. We have travelled an awful lot with it – and our parents too!" says Aisling, a daughter of Dessie and Rosie Reynolds, Ballinalee.

Michelle Farrell comes from a strong football background with her four brothers heavily involved in Gaelic football in Colmcille.

"My brothers Kevin, Declan, Noel and Enda all play Gaelic football," says Michelle, a daughter of Eugene and Mary Farrell.

As an only girl, it is perhaps unlikely that Michelle could have escaped the family footballing tradition. She herself plays for Colmcille GAA and the U16 County Longford ladies GAA team.

"With soccer I have been playing for about three years and it's really good to get going with the Irish team now," says Michelle. "We have a good team this year, so hopefully we'll do it."

The three girls were also members of the Leinster team that won the All Ireland U14 National Cup in 2009. According to the girls, their success at national level and now their selection to the Irish squad would not have been possible without their trainers.

"I just want to thank Eoin Killackey and Aisling Conway who started soccer in Longford Town," says Aisling. Aoife agrees and adds:

"I also want to thank Damien Dervan and Kathleen Darcy, my mother, for all their support at Newtown Football Club."

Northern Ireland were the Ireland's first round opponents on Tuesday (April 13). At the time of going to print the game was still in progress. Ireland will also meet Wales today (Wednesday, April 14) and Scotland tomorrow (Thursday April 15).

The Republic of Ireland team have a strong record in this tournament winning the title no less than four times since its inception in 2002.

The team won the opening event in Ballymena and also won in 2005 when the event returned to the North and then again for the third time in 2007 when they travelled to Wales. The highlight for the Irish was a win on home soil with victory in Galway in 2008.

Source: Longford Leader