Last summer, the Ireland Women’s Under-19s qualified for the UEFA WU19 European Championship Finals for the first time in 10 years, a memory that will stick with Captain Lia O’Leary for years to come.

The now 19-year-old forward plays a key part in Dave Connell’s squad as they look to qualify for the European Finals again this summer. Experience and professionalism are two key traits that could help get our WU19s over the line in April, with France, Serbia and Cymru being the three sides to overcome.

O’Leary started her footballing journey with Portmarnock AFC at three years of age, before joining Shelbourne’s academy set-up at 10 years old. A first-team call-up meant O’Leary was playing senior football with Shelbourne at 15 years old. Shamrock Rovers came knocking at the beginning of the 2023 SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division season, with the left-sided attacker signing for The Hoops at 16. She has emerged as a leader very early in her career.

O’Leary credits her team-mates at Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers for pushing her when she was younger and instilling resilience.

“Pearl [Slattery]. I think she's an unbelievable captain, and she'd do anything for the girls and the badge. I think Jamie Finn and Chloe [Mustaki] are two girls that just are so professional at what they do, and as former underage captains themselves, I try to learn from them” she said.

“Seeing them at Shels when I was so young, and seeing Chloe coming back from her ACL injury when I was coming up to Shels’ first team, just seeing how resilient she was, doing her stuff on her own in the corner, and just getting it done, no complaints, no moaning. 

“I think seeing stuff like that just showed me what it takes to be a professional footballer. I think Aine O’Gorman and Steph Roche from being at Rovers are huge role models for me as well, two utmost professionals on and off the pitch. So having people like that to look up to, like a constant positive role model to have in your group, I just learned so much off all of them.”

A move to English Championship side Bristol City at the beginning of this year was an opportunity that O’Leary knew she had to take, but with success comes patience, something that she practices.

“Obviously when you have a decision to make about going to England, I think excitement is usually what takes over, and it's only when you really get there you realise how difficult it can be going over by yourself,” she explained.

“The biggest challenge for me since going here is kind of just the increase in standard and how professional it is. It's just such a step up in that regard, and it's like, full-time. I think just coming to a full-time setup from a part-time setup is huge, and it's it just takes a while to adjust. But I feel like I've adjusted now, and I've improved so much in the short time I've been here. I'm starting to get more minutes now. I know a key factor in coming over to England is patience. I’m also really young as well. So, it's just about taking each chance that I get, and I think I've been doing that so far.”

O’Leary looks back fondly on her debut in the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, a moment that marked a major milestone in her young career. Stepping onto the pitch against giants Arsenal, she tested herself against some of the best in the game. A 30-minute run-out was an experience she describes as ‘surreal’. The game served as a reminder of how far she has come since making the move to Bristol and fuelled her ambition to keep pushing forward at both club and international levels.

“It was just surreal, playing against some of the best players in the world, and playing against one of the best teams in Europe, you could say, so it shows the standard as well, doesn't it? You couldn't really write a better debut, to be honest, to play against a team you watched growing up. So, it was really exciting. It gave me a bit of confidence that, like, I can come on against Arsenal and kind of show what I can do against a team so established in the women’s game.”

Qualifying for the European Championship Finals last summer with Ireland was a historic moment for O’Leary and her team-mates, a feat that the WU19s hadn’t achieved since 2014. 

That previous squad featured the likes of Katie McCabe, Chloe Mustaki and Megan Connolly, all who have gone on to establish themselves as top-level professionals. Now, O’Leary and her squad have written their own chapter in Irish football history, earning the right to be compared to that iconic 2014 team. It is an achievement that not only cements their talent but also fuels their belief that they can follow in the footsteps of those who came before them. 

When asked about qualifying, O’Leary’s face lights up as she reflects on the achievement. “I think the best camp of my life, like I always say this to people, is when we qualified. We were in Croatia for the Elite Round of the qualifiers, and we came into it knowing ourselves that we had a great chance and we knew we could do it. 

“Obviously, those type of rounds, like the Elite Round, the qualifiers, they are all about momentum. To win all three games and get to the finals, yeah, that was the best camp. There's just no feeling that I've had like that anyway.

“And then the finals were in Lithuania. We got a really tough group. We got Germany, Spain and Netherlands, which was like the toughest group you could get. But I think it's just a different vibe, like a different feeling going into the EURO finals, because the preparation is done. You're there. It's what you’ve worked for.”

After an impressive defensive display against Spain – where they held the reigning champions to a 0-0 draw – the Young Girls in Green faced Germany in their second game of the group. When brought up, O’Leary’s smile widens even more as she reminisces about scoring for her country at the European Championship Finals.

She recalls the memory that will never slip away from her mind: “Meabh Russell got the ball out wide, put in this cross, and originally I thought it was far too high, and I just timed my run at the back post. I think I was as shocked as anyone else that it went in, like that was probably one of the best moments of my career so far. I think it was our first shot on target, so we had like, an 100% score ratio. 

“I guess sometimes I watch it back, just not even like, nothing to do with the actual goal, just to see the reactions of everyone. It just shows how close our squad was and how much we wanted each other to like to succeed, and even seeing the coaches react. Although we lost 2-1 in the end, just to have that moment as a squad, I think, was the highlight of the tournament for me.”

Something that O’Leary didn’t see coming was being offered the captaincy for her country, a moment of pride that she doesn’t take lightly.

“I've been with Dave [Connell] now for the last three years, and I got called up to the WU19’s really young. We began the year with a camp in Belgium. He asked me could he speak with me outside the door? And I was like, Oh God, what have I done! And he just asked me would I like to be captain. It's something that is probably one of the proudest moments I have for playing for my country. I think being asked to be captain not only shows what you're like on the pitch, but I think it also shows a lot about my personality off the pitch. And I think that's something that I really pride myself on. I hope anyway, that the girls appreciate me as captain, in terms of like, I do really try to make an effort and make sure everyone's comfortable within the camp environment.”

Fast-forward to the present, O’Leary and her team-mates will feel that they have a great opportunity to build on wins against Bulgaria and Finland in the Round 1 Qualifiers going into the elite round of qualifiers. With only the group winners advancing to this summer’s Finals tournament in Poland, the target for Lia is to reach a consecutive EUROs at this age level. “I think we just really proved that we were able to showcase ourselves at biggest stage which was the finals,” said O’Leary.

“One thing I'll be saying to the squad when we come into the qualifiers is to think back to the finals and how well we did. And like, we have another year of experience and improvement on us now to get to the Finals again. So obviously we have a tough group coming into it to the Elites. But I think I've said to everyone that anything can happen on the day, so it's just about getting the results in each match. 

“You can't just focus on France, because if we don't get the results before France, we can't get through so it's about focusing on the first match, which is Serbia, and getting the results to each one. And hopefully, by the France game, we're still in contention to qualify, and then hopefully we do.”

Ireland WU19 Squad
Goalkeepers: Katie Keane (Shamrock Rovers), Nicole Nix (Galway United)
Defenders: Aoife Turner (MVLA Soccer), Niamh Cotter (Cork City), Mary Phillips (Peamount United), Aoife Kelly (Wexford), Kiera Sena (Cork City)
Midfielders: Jess Fitzgerald (Peamount United), Aoibhe Brennan (Bohemians), Lucy Fitzgerald (Athlone Town), Hannah Healy (Bohemians), Aoife Murphy O’Connor (Athlone Town)
Forwards: Joy Ralph (Shamrock Rovers), Rebecca Devereux (Shelbourne), Ceola Bergin (Galway United), Katie O’Reilly (Shamrock Rovers), Hazel Donegan (Athlone Town), Katie Lawlee (Treaty United), Lia O’Leary (Bristol City)

Fixtures
UEFA Women’s Under-19 European Championship Qualifiers | Group A6

Tuesday, April 2nd | Serbia v Ireland, Sketty Lane, Swansea, KO 13:00
Friday, April 5th | Ireland v Cymru, Stebonheath Park, Llanelli, KO 13:00
Monday, April 8th | Ireland v France, Sketty Lane, Swansea, KO 15:00