ERIN MCLAUGHLIN LAUGHS before the question is fully out.
The Ireland and Peamount United striker knows exactly what’s coming.
“So McLaughlin’s my surname,” she explains, “but in Donegal, there’s a lot of McLaughlins, Dohertys… we’re not actually all related.”
“Well, we probably are,” she jokes.
“But each family tends to have a family nickname. Mine is Fildara. It’s just very, very popular at home. People at home wouldn’t really call me McLaughlin at all. There’s so many of us so that’s just what we’re known as, Fildara. I’ve never had a problem with it my whole life until I came down here. It does get a bit confusing, but I think now people have kind of clicked on to the bit… but I’m more known as McLaughlin. I don’t mind that.”
The 42 admits that there was confusion in these quarters some years ago; uncertainty whether Erin McLaughlin and Erin Fildara was the same person or if there were two different footballers.
We weren’t alone, it seems.
“When I signed for Peamount at the start, someone did an interview, someone from the league, and they were talking about the new signings at Peamount. It was like, ‘Erin McLaughlin and Erin Fildara.’ I was just like, ‘I’m the one person!’
“It can be quite confusing, but it’s funny because people in Donegal just understand it.
“Normal to us… I suppose we’re just different!”
Suffice to say McLaughlin has made a name for herself in Irish women’s football, with 2023 a real breakthrough season.
The 20-year-old attacker’s second campaign at Peamount has concluded with a first league title, an Ireland senior debut and a sum of three international caps, including one start.
She’s in the running for both the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division Player of the Year — which will be announced tonight — and the PFAI Player of the Year, and is tipped for inclusion in the Ireland squad named by interim manager Eileen Gleeson later this morning.
“It’s been an unbelievable year, both personally and with this team,” McLaughlin reflects at Peas’ Greenogue base. “I think my main goal this year was to win the league and then anything that came with that was going to be a bonus.
“I was training with the home-based [Ireland] squad every week leading up to the preparation of the World Cup. I was working hard to get into the World Cup [training] squad, I never felt the shout would come but whenever I did get it, I was just over the moon. To be a part of that squad in the preparation was just… it was an unreal experience for me and something that I can carry on now with my career.
“Obviously not getting picked for the World Cup was a disappointment but the experience for me was just unreal. Then obviously a change manager, different outlooks on things, I was hoping for an opportunity to come in. Didn’t know when it was going to come, then it came in the perfect week.
“We won the league and then I got the news that I was in the squad [for last month's Uefa Nations League double-header against Albania], so I don’t think anything could have topped that. Going into the squad again, just trying my hardest, trying to get a look in, proving what I can do… thankfully I got minutes in the first game, which was brilliant and then starting the second game, I don’t think you can really explain that to be honest. It obviously wasn’t the most ideal game to start in, but it was a start and that’s all that matters!”
McLaughlin can likely still feel the rain on her skin two weeks after that bizarre, thunderstorm-impacted 1-0 win in Shkodër.
A few days previous, she impressed off the bench at Tallaght Stadium.
She wore the number nine on both occasions, a serious mark of her potential.
“Unreal,” she beams. “I didn’t know until I went into the dressing room.
“When I was underage I was always number nine, but obviously you don’t expect to get number nine on a senior panel, especially not that quick. It was a really proud moment for my family as well, seeing me wearing the number nine.
“I feel like this is definitely a new opening, a new beginning. I’m getting my foot in the door probably further than I ever have before. It’s just about pushing on from here, keep showing what I can do.”
“We had nearly a 10-week break during the World Cup,” McLaughlin adds on the reset after her summer disappointment. “For that time, I just switched off. I went home to Donegal to spend time my family which I don’t get much time to do because I’m always down here playing football. Switched off for a couple of weeks, more mentally than physically, to be honest. Playing football week in, week out, it can have a complete mental toll on you.
“When the season came back then, I was well ready. I was able to use the experience that I had in preparation for the World Cup and bring it back into my second half the season. I wanted to do more stuff with my season, more goals etc. I scored a couple in the second half which I was happy about.”
Off the pitch, McLaughlin is currently in third year of primary school teaching at Maynooth University.
She has just finished her first day of placement as we chat, having belatedly started due to international duty, and she’s happy out with how things are going.
She’ll see out her degree before considering a move overseas, but that’s imminent for a player of her calibre. That said, she’s all in with her beloved Peamount for now.
“Obviously my first dream was to go pro and it still is, so hopefully that will stick to plan,” McLaughlin concludes, “but at least I always have something to fall back on if I need it.
“All I ever wanted to do outside of football is teaching so I just thought I’d go for it.
“It’s always good to have something education-wise.”
A wise head on young shoulders, a big future ahead after an impressive 2023.
