
Louth girls bid for Gaynor Cup glory
Louth kick off their campaign on Monday evening against Kilkenny in the opening game of Group 5 (kick-off 6pm), before back-to-back fixtures on Tuesday, against Mayo (12pm) and Tipperary South (6pm).
All teams in the competition then progress to knockout competitions from Wednesday to Friday, with a Cup, Shield, Bowl and Trophy all up for grabs.
Louth's campaign officially kicked off last Thursday night (29 May), with a special Gaynor Cup launch night at the Monasterboice Inn, to mark the beginning of what promises to be a thrilling journey through the iconic national tournament.
To celebrate their selection, each squad member was presented with their official squad number and kit, whilst the coaching staff overseeing the trip were introduced.
Head coach and Louth School Girls League (LSGL) chairperson Robbie Corr said: "The Gaynor Cup is the pinnacle of U14 girls' football in Ireland, and our squad is full of talent, ambition, and pride in representing Louth.
"Everyone at the LSGL would like to thank all our sponsors for supporting the squad as they head to such a prestigious tournament. We hope the girls enjoy a brilliant and memorable tournament and we wish them the best of luck."
Mick Neville, FAI regional development officer for Co Louth, added: "This is more than football. It's about teamwork, opportunity, and inspiring the next generation of female athletes."
Louth 2025 Gaynor Cup squad
Goalkeepers: Féile May Buckley (Walshestown), Abi Osawaru (Rock Celtic); Defenders: Anna Cromwell (Dromin United), Lily-Mae Curtis (Square United), Erin Kavanagh (Albion Rovers), Grace McEvoy (Rock Celtic), Mia Van Der Westhuizen (Rock Celtic); Defenders / Midfielders: Masie Ball (Rock Celtic), Anna-May Lynch (Blayney Academy), Anna-Lilly McDonnell (Rock Celtic), Anna-Kelly O'Reilly (East Meath United), Ellen Wright (Castletown Belles); Midfielders: Ava Fanning (Albion Rovers), Ellie Malone (Albion Rovers), Sophie McCabe (Castletown Belles), Hollie Rogers (Muirhevna Mor); Forwards: Hillary Adeniran (Albion Rovers), Éabha Byrne (Castletown Belles), Rosie Fox (Quay Celtic), Sophia Mackin (Quay Celtic)
Louth 2025 Gaynor Cup Coaching and Support Team: Head Coach: Robbie Corr; Coach: Joel Patino; Assistant Coach: Ciara Floyd; Goalkeeper Coach: Micheal O'Connor; Female Liaison Officer: Niamh Mulholland; First Aid & Medical Lead: Aimee Thornton; League Head of Delegation: Sinead McDonnell.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Irish amateurs Stuart Grehan and Gavin Tiernan selected for 50th Walker Cup
Two Irish golfers have been selected for the Great Britain and Ireland team that will face off against the United States at the 50th Walker Cup in Cypress Point next month. The County Louth pair of Stuart Grehan and Gavin Tiernan have both been picked while fellow Louth man Caolan Rafferty will be first reserve for the biennial match in California. The top five players on the World Amateur Golf Ranking and five selections make up the squad. The team includes all nine players who won the St Andrews Trophy last month, including Luke Poulter, the son of Ian Poulter. Grehan followed up his Flogas Irish Men's Amateur Open Championship success from Seapoint earlier this summer, with the AIG Irish Men's Amateur Close Championship in Westport on Sunday. Tiernan has also had a phenomenal season with the highlight coming at Royal St George's when he m ade it all the way to the final of the 130th Amateur Championship before losing to American Ethan Fang. Tiernan had confounded expectations by surging to the final. The 19-year old was ranked outside the top 1000 male amateur golfers in the world at 1340th but he beat higher-ranked opponents to set up the final meeting with Fang. Their 36-hole battle was decided on the final green, under pressure Tiernan was left with a very long birdie putt which looked like it would drop but it agonisingly crept past the hole allowing Fang to take victory. Fang will be part of a formidable USA outfit as they look to secure their fifth consecutive victory in the match, following their 14.5 to 11.5 win last time out at St Andrews. The Great Britain and Ireland team are going in search of their first win in the match since 2015 and Golf Ireland high performance director, Neil Manchip, is excited to see the potential of this team. "Selection for the Walker Cup is a huge honour for any player, and I'm absolutely delighted for Stuart and Gavin. To represent Great Britain and Ireland at a venue as special as Cypress Point is something that will stay with them for the rest of their lives," said Manchip. "We had a very strong group of Irish players pushing for places again this year. Stuart's form over the summer has been superb and Gavin has shown his quality at the very highest level of amateur golf too. "Both have earned this opportunity and I know they will bring a lot to the team." This year's Walker Cup takes place between 6 and 7 September in Cypress Point. 2025 Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup Team Cameron Adam, Scotland, Royal Burgess, 22 Eliot Baker, England, Tiverton, 22 Dominic Clemons, England, Gog Magog, 23 Charlie Forster, England, Basingstoke, 22 Connor Graham, Scotland, Blairgowrie, 18 Stuart Grehan, Ireland, County Louth, 32 Luke Poulter, England, Woburn, 21 Niall Shiels Donegan, Scotland, Meadow Club, 20 Gavin Tiernan, Ireland, County Louth, 19 Tyler Weaver, England, Bury St Edmunds, 20 Reserve Caolan Rafferty, Ireland, Dundalk, 32


RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Chris Forrester eyes another FAI Cup after St Patrick's Athletic victory over Shebourne
Chris Forrester is dreaming of more Sports Direct FAI Cup success with St Patrick's Athletic after reaching the quarter-final stage thanks to a 2-0 victory over Shelbourne at Richmond Park on Sunday evening. Mason Melia opened the scoring for the Saints at the end of the first half with Forrester sealing the win from the penalty spot. It was an impressive victory for Pat's given they were in Turkey on Thursday where they went 2-0 up against Besiktas before losing 3-2. With their European campaign now over, domestic matters are the focus of the Inchicore outfit's attentions. Their title hopes are long gone and there is work to do to claim a top three spot to book a spot in the Conference League next year. Forrester have helped Pat's win two of the last four FAI Cups, so he knows what is stake in the coming weeks. Asked if the Cup is particularly important now this year, Forrester told RTÉ Sport: "It always is, regardless of what's gone previously in our season. The FAI Cup games are some of the best days out in the calendar to be honest. "I have lot of fond memories in the Cup for myself. It's always a big day and you want to get back to the Aviva. I'm just glad that we progressed today and we're in the hat for the next round. "Everyone in the changing room knows that the FAI Cup is a route as well. "We're fully focused on getting it through the league as well and not just hanging our hat on the Cup. "We're progressing well, we're playing well at the moment. The carrot is there in the FAI Cup for Europe, but our league is bread and butter and we want to keep progressing in that." The cultured midfielder was pleased with what he saw from his team-mates today as well as his manager. Balancing three competitions at once is often difficult, so overcoming Shels was no easy feat. Forrester explained: "It's been a tough couple of weeks for us, but everyone's pulling the same direction in there. We had a good game plan, we saw it through, and the boys came up with a good performance. "Everyone's stuck to the game plan. I thought everyone pulled their weight away today, from the back line to Mason [Melia] up front and everyone throughout the whole team." Forrester reserved special praise for teenage star Melia, who has gone from strength to strength in the last couple of months. "I thought Mason was excellent today up top," Forrester said. "He's really coming into it now, you can see it. He's really doing well. He seems to always score here. He led the line well for us today and we're really pleased with everyone."


Irish Daily Mirror
2 days ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
‘Worst performance' - O'Brien's FAI Cup verdict as Shels prepare for Euro clash
Shelbourne boss Joey O'Brien has described Sunday's FAI Cup performance against St Patrick's Athletic as the 'worst' of his time in charge so far. But he would rather get that display out of the way before the Reds' massive European play-off clash against Linfield. Shels host the Northern Irish champions at Tolka Park for the second time this summer, in the Europa Conference League play-offs, with a €3.8million place in the league phase up for grabs. They do so on the back of a bitterly disappointing Dublin derby defeat. And O'Brien, who took over from Damien Duff before the Champions League meeting with Linfield last month, said: 'Listen, I think we've been good since we've taken over. That there tonight was probably our worst performance. '(You would) probably rather have it there today than you would on Thursday.' That said, he described himself as 'bitterly disappointed' to be eliminated from the Cup. 'We spoke about it before a monster game here. Bitterly disappointed we're out,' he said, adding that goalkeeper Conor Kearns had suffered a hamstring injury in the first-half. Kearns was making his first appearance since the Linfield game at Windsor Park last month when he hurt himself on the half-hour. 'He's tweaked his hamstring, so we're disappointed obviously for him and for us,' said former Ireland defender O'Brien. 'He came back in, rehab and trained obviously for a week, so he was ready to go. It's disappointing that he felt it again.' On-loan goalkeeper Wessel Speel, who was rested for the FAI Cup tie, will come back into the side on Thursday. Click this link or scan the QR code to receive the latest League of Ireland news and top stories from the Irish Mirror. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . O'Brien continued: 'We're disappointed to be out of the Cup. I spoke to the lads, for me, it's the best day in Irish football, to be involved in it. 'I was lucky enough to play in them and spoke to the lads about that. Some of our lads have played in it, Irish lads, the lads from outside. 'Yeah, I think it's a great day. It's a real special occasion. It's one you want to be involved in as a player. We're very disappointed that we're not in the hat. '(This is a) huge week, but again, this was the big game. After Tuesday (the defeat to HNK Rijeka in the Europa League), I wanted to use the disappointment and the hurt that we felt on Tuesday night, and that performance that we put in on Tuesday to really come in here and put a real good performance on and really attack the game. 'I felt we were off it. I'm disappointed in that sense. But you have to dust yourself down. That's the great thing about football, there's always a game around the corner that you get yourself ready for and have a cut off. 'Thursday night is going to be a massive game, and we need to perform better than we did there.' O'Brien reckons both Linfield and Shels are different teams to the sides that met last month, when Shels secured a 2-1 aggregate win. 'They're obviously slightly changed,' he said. 'But, look, they're a very experienced team, very experienced team in Europe. Their manager is very, very experienced. 'So it's going to be a tight game but a special occasion, special to be involved in it. Hopefully, we put in a great performance and we'll attack the game on Thursday.' O'Brien was delighted with the news that Tolka Park - rather than Tallaght Stadium - would host the tie. 'Tolka will be rocking, great atmosphere, as it has been in all the games, really. (It's a) game that we want to attack at home. We fancy ourselves against anyone and that's the way we play at home,' he said. 'There's a hell of a lot of work going into Tolka over the last year, 18 months to make the improvements. It's great that it's at home. We fancy ourselves against anyone there.' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email .