Chance meeting key for Laurie Ryan to reignite soccer career with Athlone Town

For Laurie Ryan, her earliest soccer memory was lining out for the Lifford ladies in her native Ennis.

The numbers just weren’t there to field a full team so five-aside games became the norm. The highlight back then was playing in a primary school competition, her team enjoyed success in Clare and Munster and went on a run to the All-Ireland.

Unfortunately, back then, the girl’s game was unorganised as a movement and it was down to individuals like Laurie’s first coach, Damien Walsh, who shared his love of the game with these young girls in the region.

He helped light the fire in her belly. While an international women’s team existed, that dream wasn’t really on the table for most young girls like Laurie. The structures and a lack of clubs just didn’t support it, especially in a rural area in the west of Ireland.

By the time she had hit her teens, the realisation had kicked in, and the big decision was made to switch codes as Gaelic football came calling.

"The fact that there weren’t many soccer clubs in our local area meant that we were having to play at a lower level. It was very enjoyable, we had some success, but the competition level wasn’t where I wanted to compete at.

"The opportunities probably weren’t the same as they are now. When I was playing underage, you’d be playing matches, there was no League of Ireland for women, there was no academies, there was no end goal, a way to progress and play at a higher level. There was a limited view of where you could in soccer when I was young."

Soccer was always her first sport but by the time she hit her teenage years, she took a step back. Many of her friends turned to Gaelic football and it was a path which she followed too. By the time she was 16, she was playing for the