DANA SCHERIFF, THE American-born top goalscorer in the Women’s Premier Division, has expressed her desire to represent the Republic of Ireland.
Scheriff will lead the line for Athlone Town in this weekend’s FAI Cup final against Shelbourne — a repeat of the 2022 decider — having secured the league Golden Boot with a last-gasp 13th goal on Saturday.
The 25-year-old striker detailed her Irish connection at a media day on Tuesday, and explained her international pursuit.
“My grandmother was born in Dublin so I’m in the process of getting my Irish passport, which would be pretty big for me,” she told reporters.
“My mother was born in England and right now I have dual citizenship with the British passport, which is why I’m able to play in Ireland, but I’m trying to get the Irish one.”
Asked if there was any contact with the FAI regarding international recognition, Scheriff continued: “No, I haven’t actually told anyone this.
“I’m not too close to my mom’s side, I’ve never met my grandma, but I ended up finding out that she was born in Dublin and I’m in the process of getting all her documents, which is obviously very challenging.
“She’s an O’Malley. I’ve done some research on it and there’s no lineage of her last name, it stops somewhere and changes. It’s interesting.
“But this is actually the first time I’m saying it out loud.”
“That would be huge for me,” the New York native added on her ambition to play for Ireland.
“The US and the English are two of the most dominant football sides in the world and the Irish are on their way up right now, and it would be huge to try to break into that if I’m able to.”
Scheriff missed the majority of the 2022 season with an horrific ankle injury, but has been a standout player for Athlone through her second campaign.
She previously played Division 1 college soccer in the US, played and studied in Durham in England, and had a fleeting spell in Iceland.
“I played four years of collegiate soccer in the US and then after that I went to England to get my Masters degree, which is where I ended up playing with Durham’s first team in the Championship,” she explained.
“But that was during Covid, so it was kind of a crazy season. Then I went to Iceland because my studies were remote, came back to England, played in England a bit, and I ended up in Ireland after that.
“It’s a bit crazy coming from New York to Athlone. I had an agent who put me in contact with the management at Athlone Town. We had a meeting, everything went really well, and from there, I’ve just enjoyed my time here and decided to stay.”
Scheriff’s bright start to life in the Midlands was cut short in the sixth game of the 2022 season, sidelined for over a year after going in for an innocuous 94th-minute tackle against DLR Waves.
“I tore every ligament in my ankle, so I needed a reconstructive surgery. I’m back, I’m fitter than ever. It’s been a journey but I think it helped me become the player I am today.”
She recuperated in her new home, with former college roommate and friend Madie Gibson following her to Athlone. They link up brilliantly on the pitch now, and live together in the town. Scheriff worked in a café last year, but her focus is entirely on football currently.
And now she’s ready for a “full circle” moment, having watched the 2022 FAI Cup final defeat to Shelbourne from the stands at Tallaght Stadium.
“Obviously we’ve had our ups and downs throughout the season and maybe we didn’t finish where we wanted to or expected to, but looking forward to this game has pushed us through the end of the season,” Scheriff concluded.
“We’re fortunate enough to have our season going on when a lot of teams ended last week and we understand it’s an opportunity and we’re grateful to still be playing.
“I think this will be our fifth time playing Shels this season, two in the League, President’s Cup, and then All-Ireland Cup, and I don’t think we’ve beaten them in open play in that time. So that’s a huge motivation, as well as playing the same team we lost to last year, it puts an extra push on to our agenda.”
