THE NEW AFLW season begins this weekend, with 33 Irish players looking to make an impression when the action gets underway.
Jennifer Dunne and Orla O’Dwyer were Premiership champions last year with Brisbane Lions where they defeated a North Melbourne side that featured Erika O’Shea and Niamh Martin. Ailish Considine, who previously won two Grand Finals with Adelaide Crows, was named on the North Melbourne matchday squad and has since retired.
Melbourne’s Aimee Mackin is another notable absentee from the competition this year due to an ACL injury, while Aishling Sheridan of Collingwood has opted to remain at home to be closer to family. Erone Fitzpatrick [ACL] has also been ruled out of Carlton’s season.
Adelaide Crows
- Niamh Kelly [Mayo], Amy Boyle Carr [Donegal]
Niamh Kelly first joined the AFLW in 2020 when she joined the West Coast Eagles alongside her sister Grace. The pair left the Perth-based side in 2022, with Niamh joining Adelaide Crows. She became just the second Irish player to be voted onto the AFLW All-Australian team last year.
Amy Boyle Carr is among the new recruits for the AFLW. A winner of three Ulster titles with Donegal, Carr signed for the Crows in December. Carr played with recently-retired Adelaide Crows player Yvonne Bonner with Donegal, and also represented the Republic of Ireland in a 2018 World Cup qualifier aged 17.
Brisbane Lions
- Orla O’Dwyer [Tipperary], Jennifer Dunne [Dublin]
Ladies Football and camogie star Orla O’Dwyer is one of the most experienced Irish representatives on the AFLW circuit. A two-time Premiership winner, she was the first Irish player to be named on an All-Australian team in 2022. She kicked a goal in last year’s Grand Final against North Melbourne to help Brisbane to a fifth title in eight seasons.
Jennifer Dunne, who signed for the Lions last year, made history in 2023 by becoming the first Irish player to win a Grand Final and All-Ireland title in the same season. Despite her late arrival to the club in 2023, Dunne still managed to make her debut in Round 3 against the Sydney Swans before going to feature in every game up to the Grand Final.
Carlton
- Dayna Finn [Mayo]
Dayna Finn is similarly talented across different sports, excelling in international basketball as well as Ladies Football. She clocked five appearances last season.
Collingwood
- Sarah Rowe [Mayo], Muireann Atkinson [Monaghan]
Having signed for Collingwood in 2018, Sarah Rowe is also one of the more established Irish players in AFLW. She quickly developed as a key player for Collingwood and reached 50 games for the club during the 2023 campaign. Rowe, who is also a skilled football player, was named on a standby list for the Republic of Ireland team ahead of the World Cup last year.
Another one of the new Irish faces this year, Muireann Atkinson penned a two-year deal with Collingwood in December as a Category B rookie. The Monaghan player previous spent time with Sydney’s AFLW programme throughout the 2023 season as a train-on player. A former O’Connor Cup winner with Rowe at DCU, Atkinson initially arrived in Collingwood for what she thought was a medical test, but was surprised with a contract.
Fremantle
- Aisling McCarthy [Tipperary], Áine Tighe [Leitrim], Joanne Cregg [Roscommon], Orlagh Lally [Meath], Amy Mulholland [Armagh]
The Dockers has the most amount of Irish players, starting with Tipperary footballer Aisling McCarthy who joined them last year as part of a trade from West Coast Eagles. A two-time intermediate All-Ireland winner with the Premier County, McCarthy has clocked 43 appearances across her six seasons in the AFLW so far.
Leitrim star Áine Tighe is heading for her sixth season with Fremantle but has endured some injury difficulties which delayed her debut until 2022. Back-to-back ACL injuries hampered her early years in the sport, but she appears to have put those horrors behind her, racking up 23 goals in 29 games so far.
Joanne Cregg of Roscommon first began playing the sport in the competition’s second tier West Australian Football League [WAFLW] with Subiaco in Perth. She was announced as a new Fremantle signing in April 2023, going on to play eight times for them in her debut season.
Orlagh Lally was a star midfielder on the Meath team who completed an incredible All-Ireland two-in-a-row in 2021 and 2022. She travelled to Australia shortly after their 2022 triumph against Dublin in Croke Park, and has gone on to play 17 times over the last two seasons.
Armagh’s Amy Mulholland was snapped up by Fremantle as the 83rd pick in the 2022 NAB AFLW Draft. After moving to Australia in 2020, she began playing for the Wembley Amateurs in Perth before moving up to the WAFLW with Subiaco.
Geelong
- Rachel Kearns [Mayo], Anna-Rose Kennedy [Tipperary], Aisling Moloney [Tipperary], Kate Kenny [Offaly]
Rachel Kearns became Geelong’s first Irish female signing in 2021. The 2019 All-Star with Mayo is also a former striker for Galway and has won two All-Ireland boxing medals.
Tipperary duo Anna-Rose Kennedy and Aisling Moloney joined Geelong last year, with Kennedy picking up a foot injury which curtailed most of her debut season. However, she made her bow in the Preliminary Final against Brisbane. Moloney capped her first season by earning the AFLPA’s Best First Year Player award after scoring 10 goals in 13 games.
Kate Kenny is heading for her first season with the Cats having excelled in football and camogie of late for Offaly, DCU and her clubs Naomh Ciarán and St Rynagh’s.
Gold Coast Suns
- Clara Fitzpatrick [Down], Niamh McLaughlin [Donegal], Cara McCrossan [Tyrone], Lauren McConville [Armagh]
Clara Fitzpatrick first kicked the Sherrin after relocating to Australia in 2016 and began her AFLW journey with St Kilda. She sustained an ACL injury while playing Ladies Football after moving back home to Ireland and made the switch to Gold Coast Suns last year where she made eight appearances.
The Ladies Senior Football Player of the Year for 2022 is preparing for her second campaign with the Suns. A former Donegal captain, she previously represented Ireland in soccer at U17 and U 19 levels while she also enjoyed stints with Newcastle and Sunderland.
McCrossan moved to Melbourne and began playing the sport with Casey Demons in the VFLW. She was snapped up by the Suns as the sixth pick in the 2023 draft.
Armagh star centre-back Lauren McConville was added by Gold Coast Suns as an injury replacement player on a one-year contract. She played a season with the South Warrnambool Roosters women’s team in 2019 where she won Player of the Year.
GWS Giants
- Eilish O’Dowd [Leitrim/Dublin]
Originally from Leitrim, O’Dowd transferred to Dublin where she works as a teacher, and helped Mick Bohan’s side to All-Ireland glory in 2023. She signed for the Giants earlier this year in March, following in the footsteps of Cora Staunton, Bríd Stack and Yvonne Bonner who have all played for the Sydney outfit.
Hawthorn
- Aileen Gilroy [Mayo], Áine McDonagh [Galway]
Mayo’s Gilroy was acquired by Hawthorn in 2022 after previously being recruited as a rookie by North Melbourne in 2019. She was part of the Mayo team that contested the 2017 All-Ireland final against Dublin.
McDonagh also became a Hawk in 2022, and was the first Irish female signing for the club. She broke through to the Galway Ladies senior team in 2018 and lined out in midfield in the 2019 All-Ireland final defeat to Dublin.
Gilroy is closing in on 50 AFLW appearances this year, while McDonagh has played 17 times for Hawthorn.
Melbourne
- Sinéad Goldrick [Dublin], Blaithín Mackin (Armagh)
Sinéad Goldrick is another experienced Irish player in the AFLW, originally signing for Melbourne in 2020. The Dublin defender has combined her inter-county commitments with her duties Down Under since the switch, but missed out on last year’s All-Ireland triumph while focusing on AFLW.
With Melbourne, she became a Premiership winner in 2022 and played in all 12 games in 2023.
Armagh’s Mackin was also part of that glorious run in what was her first season. She won an All-Star with Armagh in 2020.
North Melbourne
- Erika O’Shea [Cork], Vikki Wall [Meath], Niamh Martin [Tipperary], Blaithín Bogue [Fermanag]
A talented footballer with Cork, O’Shea has made a strong transition to the AFLW after her arrival in 2022 at just 19. Despite picking up a freak eye injury, she won the Best Young Player Award. O’Shea made her finals debut in the qualifying final against Melbourne.
Along with Orlagh Lally, Wall is also a double All-Ireland winner, lining out 13 times for North Melbourne since coming on board in 2022. She had ambitions of playing with Ireland’s Sevens team at the Paris Olympics but fell short with her efforts.
Tipperary’s Martin made a strong impression after her arrival last year, earning a debut in Round 7 and playing seven times in her first season.
Sydney Swans
- Tanya Kennedy [Donegal], Julie O’Sullivan [Kerry], Paris McCarthy [Kerry]
After initially moving to Australia in a non-sporting capacity, Tanya Kennedy followed a path to the AFLW via Gaelic football club, Clan Na Gael. Fellow Tipperary native — and former Sydney Swans player — Colin O’Riordan assisted with her move to the club.
Kerry pair Julie O’Sullivan and Paris McCarthy were both unveiled as Sydney Swans signings in March 2023. They both played for the Kingdom prior to the move, while McCarthy is also a talented basketball player who went to East Tennessee State University on a full scholarship.
St Kilda
- Grace Kelly (Mayo)
The West Coast Eagles was Grace Kelly’s first AFLW club who she joined along with her sister Niamh in 2020. Grace made the switch to St Kilda in 2022 and has played 10 times for the club since then.
