Dundalk W.F.C.

Dundalk Women's Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. They are the women's team of Dundalk F.C.. They currently play in the Dublin Women's Soccer League. They represented the Republic of Ireland in the 2006–07 UEFA Women's Cup. An earlier Dundalk F.C. women's team also competed in the Ladies League of Ireland during the 1970s.

Dundalk W.F.C.
Full nameDundalk Women's Football Club
Nickname(s)Lilywhites
GroundOriel Park
LeagueDublin Women's Soccer League
Ladies League of Ireland

History

Club history

The first Dundalk ladies team were the only team outside of England to be involved with the establishment of the Women's Football Association (WFA) as a founding member. It is unclear exactly how the Dundalk ladies team came to be involved with the WFA; Patricia Gregory, a WFA founder member, surmised they may have become involved through an advertisement in the paper for a challenge match.[1]

Ladies League of Ireland

The first Dundalk ladies team represented Ireland against England (Corinthian Nomads) in an international on 10 May 1970, which took place at the Prestatyn Raceway, in North Wales.[2] The game was won by the Corinthians 7-1, they played on the Raceway as women's football was still banned from association-affiliated grounds in Wales.[3] 4,000 people attended the game, the Welsh officials were so impressed by the Dundalk side they were invited back to play Wales at Prestatyn in June the same year.[4] In 1973 when the FAI/WFAI first organised a women's national league known as the Ladies League of Ireland, Dundalk were among its twelve founder members. Like Dundalk, other founder members included several teams associated with clubs in the men's League of Ireland. These included Finn Harps, Cork Celtic, Limerick and Sligo Rovers.[5]

Split

In December 2005 Dundalk City L.F.C. won the FAI Women's Cup [6][7] and as a result qualified for the 2006–07 UEFA Women's Cup. However, in 2006 a split developed within Dundalk City over a plan for the club to fully merge with Dundalk F.C.. This effectively saw the emergence of two separate women's teams. Dundalk City L.F.C. was re-established as an independent club while Dundalk W.F.C. became affiliated with the League of Ireland club. Following complications that resulted from the split, it was Dundalk W.F.C. that went on to represent the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Women's Cup.[8][9][10] The two rival clubs both subsequently entered teams in the FAI Women's Cup [11] and the Dublin Women's Soccer League.[12]

Dundalk in Europe

Dundalk W.F.C. competed in Group 1 of the 2006–07 UEFA Women's Cup.

Squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  EIR Janine Pepper
—  EIR Aoife Kelly
—  EIR Sharon Drumcoole
—  EIR Mairead Nixon
—  EIR Claire Mulholland
—  EIR Laura English
No. Pos. Nation Player
—  EIR Sonia Hoey
—  EIR Claire Brennan
—  EIR Cadimhe Hearty
—  EIR Celine Slyie
—  EIR Keely Clayden

[13]

Final table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Saestum 3 3 0 0 15 1 +14 9
2 Cardiff City Ladies 3 2 0 1 5 4 +1 6
3 Maksimir 3 1 0 2 10 10 0 3
4 Dundalk 3 0 0 3 1 16 −15 0
Source:
Matchday One
Cardiff City LFC 2–0 Dundalk WFC
SV Saestum 7–0 ŽNK Maksimir
Matchday Two
SV Saestum 6–1 Dundalk WFC
ŽNK Maksimir 2–3 Cardiff City LFC
Matchday Three
Cardiff City LFC 0–2 SV Saestum
Dundalk WFC 0–8 ŽNK Maksimir

[14]

Notable former players

Republic of Ireland women's internationals
  • Gillian McDonnell
  • Paula Brennan (née Gorham) played eleven times for Ireland.[15]

References
  1. Fennessy, Paul. "The Irish team who were part of a women's football revolution in England". The42. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  2. Byrne, Helena (2020-05-08). "The Manchester team that broke boundaries for women's football". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  3. Wrack, Suzanne (2020-05-12). "'We were shocked, stunned': 50 years since Dundalk v Corinthians Nomads". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  4. "Ladies beaten but they impressed". Drogheda Argus and Leinster Journal: 14. 15 May 1970 – via The British Newspaper Archive.
  5. "League of Ireland for Kilkenny". Kilkenny People. 16 February 1973. p. 15.
  6. "Dundalk take women's trophy". www.rte.ie. 14 June 2007. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  7. "Hoey pounces to seal victory". www.irishtimes.com. 5 December 2005. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  8. "Serious split sees cup winners go it alone". www.independent.ie. 8 March 2006. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  9. "No merger of teams for big European quest". www.independent.ie. 12 July 2006. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  10. "Who Should Get the Women's UEFA Cup Place?". www.orielweb.com. 12 April 2006. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  11. "2008 FAI Women's Cup". www.fai.ie. 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  12. "Ireland (Women) 2008". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  13. "Dundalk WFC (Women)". www.uefa.com. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  14. "Group A1". www.uefa.com. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  15. "Paula's surprise event 'caps it all'". independent. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
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