REPUBLIC OF IRELAND international Claire O’Riordan has signed for Celtic.
The Limerick defender, 27, makes the move from MSV Duisburg in the Frauen-Bundesliga, where she made 79 appearances and scored seven times.
The centre-half becomes Fran Alonso’s sixth summer signing ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Women’s Premier League trip to Partick Thistle.
“I’m really excited for the challenge ahead,” O’Riordan told the Celtic website. “It’s been a really nice experience so far meeting the team, the coaching staff, and everyone has been so friendly and so welcoming so far.
“I had a really good conversation with Fran and I really liked his philosophy of playing and that’s something I want to improve in my game.
“It seemed like a good fit for both of us and I’m really looking forward to hopefully bringing my experience here.”
The42 understands O’Riordan attracted interest from elsewhere in Germany, Italy, England and Scotland, before heading for the latter.
A regular call-up to Vera Pauw’s Ireland squad, she joined Duisburg from Wexford Youths in 2018. She helped the Slaneysiders to Women’s National League glory on three occasions, along with two FAI Cup titles.
O’Riordan previously represented Limerick football and camogie at inter-county level. She was a late convert to soccer, having never featured at underage level for her country.
She earned her first senior cap in the 2016 Cyprus Cup 1-0 defeat to Hungary, and now has a tally of 17. She recently returned from a serious ankle injury.
✍🏻Another piece of the puzzle🧩 #CelticFC Women are thrilled to sign Irish international defender @claireor17 from Duisburg! Welcome to Celtic, Claire!🍀🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/vAEUs0kajF
— Celtic FC Women (@CelticFCWomen) August 13, 2022
“Being a player, winning trophies and titles are always a goal that you’re aiming to achieve and the club being so successful last season was a great stepping stone for them,” O’Riordan added.
“They want to be progressive and I want to buy into that and be part of it — hopefully going forward we can do that.’
“With my characteristics from playing GAA, I feel I have that physical attribute to my game. Duels are a big thing and being strong in the air is what I can bring to this team and hopefully I will be able to share my experiences and the knowledge I have gained in the last few seasons, especially being in Germany.
“But I want to get information from the team as well and with Fran’s philosophy.
“Before any season I always set some personal goals and hopefully they match the team goals as well.
“In the back of my mind, I have them and continue to work on them in training and games, but I’m really happy to be a little closer to home and hope to have more support from my family and friends.
“I want to get stuck in. I’ve really enjoyed training so far and I’m already looking forward to the season.”
Irish pair Izzy Atkinson and Tyler Toland were at Celtic last season, Atkinson since signing for West Ham in the Women’s Super League and Toland off to Spain after joining Levante.
There are five other Irish players in the Scottish Women’s Premier League currently: Ciara Grant at Hearts, and Clare Shine, Claire Walsh, Emily Whelan, Aoife Colvill at an Eileen Gleeson-managed Glasgow City.
Celtic opened their league tilt with a 9-0 win against Hibernian last weekend.
Rangers are the defending champions, with the Hoops Scottish Women’s Cup holders.
