THE DUST HAS settled on a dramatic 2022 SSE Airtricity Women’s National League season, and the 2023 edition is moving into view.
The off-season has been a colourful one so far, with no shortage of transfer news and the returning Shamrock Rovers ruffling a few feathers — and, of course, there’s been the historic introduction of professional contracts.
Recent seasons have brought a string of positive developments from sponsorship deals to increased coverage, improved underage leagues and structures to increased prize money.
And there was no better advertisement for the league than last season’s thrilling title races which saw Shelbourne come out on top of a titanic four-team tussle with Athlone Town, Peamount United and Wexford Youths.
“To come out with the two trophies that are up for grabs is a special feeling,” Shels captain Pearl Slattery tells Sacar Beo Súil Siar 2022, TG4′s end-of-season review programme, which airs this Sunday at 5.30pm.
The programme sees some of the league’s key figures reflect at length on the campaign just gone, and look forward to the one ahead, as well as the history-making national team and their success in the country for a first-ever major tournament in this summer’s World Cup.
“Shelbourne have been a standard-setter for the last couple of years, and obviously they’ve been challenged very closely by the likes of Peamount and Wexford Youths, and with the likes of Athlone coming through this year… it’s nice when there’s that bar and teams to aim for,” FAI League of Ireland director Mark Scanlon said.
“Obviously everyone will be trying to knock them off their perch, Shelbourne will be trying to achieve three in-a-row. This year, to hold their nerve in the final end of the season when the pressure was on, just shows what an incredible team they are.”
“Pushing Shels next year will be really hard,” Athlone star Emily Corbet conceded.
“They’re after coming off winning the double, but they could lose players to England and it could be the right time to go at them and take them on. I think definitely this year they got away with it, they felt a lot of the pressure and hopefully now everyone will be able to put more pressure on them next year.”
Many will look to the Midlanders’ remarkable rise and second-place finish. They were seventh in 2021, with a 42-point deficit to Shels whittled down to just two 12 months later.
“Athlone probably surprised everyone in terms of just how well they’ve done,” Sligo Rovers manager Stephen Feeney explained. “I think everyone knew they were a good side but to finish second and to get to a cup final, they’ve given every other team in the league belief that breaking into the traditional top three is possible.
“But at the same time, everyone’s under no illusions that if you’re not at it, you could easily be bottom of the league and scrapping for points. It’s going to be a very competitive league, and obviously [Shamrock Rovers] coming in too will add even a bit more competitiveness. It’s going to be a tough league but I think it’s one everyone’s going to enjoy being part of.”
Peamount boss James Callaghan echoed that welcome to the new addition — “it’s only going to push teams to raise their own levels” — while Wexford’s legendary skipper Kylie Murphy is hoping for another title race that comes right down to the wire.
“As much as I want to see Wexford winning, I think it would really shake it up to see a team other than Wexford, Shelbourne and Peamount winning it — and God, Athlone went very, very close this year.”
King and Slattery won’t shy away from the challenge of three in-a-row, the latter vowing that “every year we want to keep striving for better” and the former adding:
“Knowing what I do know about these girls, they’ll be anxious to get three in-a-row because that would be historic. And that would be so difficult, with everybody trying to chase you, trying to pull you down.”
The programme also touches on Ireland’s monumental World Cup qualification, and that fateful night in Glasgow.
Áine O’Gorman, who played the full game against Scotland and has recently signed for Shamrock Rovers after a successful stint at Peamount, can’t help but smile as she thinks back.
“It was amazing. It’s still kind of hard to believe. When the final whistle blew, I kind of felt a bit numb: I can’t believe we actually did this, and in the nature of the way it happened. We didn’t have to go and play that other playoff in New Zealand to get into the campaign, everything just started to fall into place for us. Look, it’s unbelievable. Still finding it hard to believe, but I’m looking forward to next summer.”
Scanlon and FAI President Gerry McAnaney look at the achievement from an Association and WNL standpoint, with O’Gorman and Slattery also urging further development and growth for women’s football in Ireland in tandem.
“We must piggyback on the success now, especially in the league, the success of the women’s national team,” O’Gorman enthused. “I think it was a great lift for the country at the time, especially with what was going on in Donegal, for Amber Barrett to score the goal was really, really special. Hopefully the nation will continue to get behind us, and everyone will be getting up to watch us in the World Cup.”
“I always felt that women’s football in this country was at a tipping point and if our women’s national team could ever qualify for some major tournament, that it could take the game to another level like we’ve seen in other countries,” Slattery added.
“How that will affect it, I don’t know. This is brand new to us all. I work in the FAI as well so I’m going to be involved in how we can make an impact with the World Cup on grassroots right up to Women’s National League.”
– Sacar Beo Súil Siar 2022, TG4, Sunday 5.30pm
