Paul Fennessy

‘YOUTH’ IS the first word that springs to mind when assessing Treaty United for the forthcoming Women’s Premier Division season.

One of their brightest prospects, Madison McGuane, is only 15.

The teenage midfielder signed to Treaty’s first team in December after an impressive campaign with the 17s.

McGuane is highly rated beyond Treaty circles — she was named U15 Girls’ FAI Schools International Player of the Year last November.

The Ardscoil Mhuire student has captained U15 and U16 Irish sides and in October was named in the U17s squad for their Euros qualifiers.

After signing, manager Sean Russell — who previously worked with her in his role as U17s coach — described McGuane as a “huge talent”.

He added: “When you watch Madison play, it is evident she has all the qualities to become a top player. Her biggest quality is her desire to constantly improve on the training pitch. She will add creativity to our team this season and is a very exciting player to watch.”

McGuane is part of a growing trend across Irish domestic football, where prodigiously young footballers are being given chances at senior level.

In the men’s game, Mason Melia, Michael Noonan and Sam Curtis are examples of players who have racked up countless senior games before even doing their Leaving Cert.

To some extent, players like McGuane are becoming the norm, especially at Treaty.

“I think the average age of the squad at the moment is 20,” Russell tells The 42.

“We’ve got young Madison, who’s 15 years of age, which is incredible. But she’s made the transition with ease and she’s getting better.

“And we’ve got a couple of 16-year-olds in there as well, but in fairness to them, they’re playing national-level football. They’ve got a good education of the game.

“So, they’ve adapted quite quickly from what we’ve seen in pre-season. And hopefully, they can keep doing that.”

The abundance of young talent coming through is part of what convinced Russell to accept the role of senior manager.

He takes over from former Ireland international Dominic Foley, who guided Treaty to a seventh-place finish last year, an improvement from 2023 when they came 10th.

Maintaining this progress will not be easy, however. Experienced international players Annie Ulliac, Caleigh Boexkx, Mijke Roelfsema and Kayleigh Shackford are among those to have departed the club in the off-season.

Instead, Treaty are increasingly looking to promote from within and adhere to a more youth-oriented policy.

“We’ve seen some really good football played across the academy last year. I’m not surprised as well to see some of the other squads go towards youth because there’s a lot of quality there,” Russell says.

“And I think physically as well, that jump from the academy into seniors, with it being a young league isn’t as demanding.

“And for me as a head coach, it’s my job to give them all the tools that they need, to use our platform to showcase their talents — to be what they can in the game.

“We want to see players down the line representing the national team who have come through our pathway.

“And for them to do that, of course, the league needs to grow, and it is growing at a good rate, in fairness.” 

Sean Russell pictured during his time as a player with Limerick. Morgan Treacy / INPHO Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO

While Russell admits it is a “different model” in 2025 and more of a “long-term project” in which patience will be required for such a young squad, he adds: “We’re not looking at this as a transition year for academy players or anything like that, because the ones that we have, we know they’re more than capable on the day of winning games.”

Russell himself is a relative newcomer when it comes to coaching.

At 31, he is one of the youngest managers in Irish football across the men’s and women’s game though he is still five years older than Kerry FC boss Conor McCarthy.

The son of ex-League of Ireland manager Martin Russell, the Dubliner’s former clubs as a player included Longford, Galway, Limerick and USL Championship side Louisville City.

A serious injury forced him to retire at 26 and Russell immediately began coaching.

In the ensuing five years, he had a spell as an assistant with Limerick FC U13s and was number two with Treaty’s women’s team for a period, but the pandemic coupled with the birth of his child prompted Russell to take a step back.

He also had two years coaching at grassroots level, winning the Munster Junior Cup with Regional United in 2023 before returning to Treaty.

In addition, until now, Russell had been balancing coaching commitments with jobs outside of football. 

The Uefa A licence holder worked in barbering for five years and also in the Northern Trust bank in Limerick.

But this opportunity with Treaty is his first full-time role in the game since he was a player.

“We’re putting plans in place this year for more youth programs within the community, so building relationships with a lot of grassroots clubs and providing other coaching services for the community through different types of programmes, right up to getting players ready for League of Ireland and academy level,” he adds.

Russell is therefore hopeful Irish football, across the men’s and women’s game, continues to grow and provide further opportunities for young coaches such as himself.

“I think now there is a bit of a platform there. You can see it with the league, you can see with the men’s and women’s that there is support there, and it is growing.

“So hopefully the investment comes, and hopefully we see more from that side that support it, and it continues to grow.

“I’ve been involved in Limerick now for 10 years. I’ve been involved in grassroots football. I’ve been involved in local junior soccer with the men — I’ve seen it at all levels. There’s a huge love and desire for the game. If we manage things and do things the right way, the support will come, and it’s up to us to do that. It’s up to us to do the business on the pitch, represent the club as best we can, and give them something to be proud of.”