3 days ago
‘I'd never take it back' – Eleanor Ryan-Doyle reveals thinking behind returning to Peamount Utd ahead of FAI Cup clash
She revealed her family's deep connection with the club
PEAS AT HOME 'I'd never take it back' – Eleanor Ryan-Doyle reveals thinking behind returning to Peamount Utd ahead of FAI Cup clash
ELEANOR RYAN-DOYLE has admitted there were some lonely days in England — but it was never going to be like that back at Peamount United.
Because for her, it really is a family club.
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Eleanor Ryan-Doyle revealed why she returned to Peamount United
Credit: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
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Peamount face Athlone Town in the FAI Cup quarter-finals
Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Ryan-Doyle explained: 'My mum Barbara is still the kit woman four years from me leaving. My dad Darren was involved but he doesn't do the camera anymore.
'And then my brother Niall is working in the shop on match days. He loves it.'
Add in that many of her old team-mates at Greenogue are still at the club and Ryan-Doyle, 27, has found it easy to settle back in after four years away.
There were good and bad times since the striker left for England in 2021 with spells at Birmingham City, Coventry City and Durham.
But the main issue she found was not having family around when she had injuries or was out of favour.
Ryan-Doyle continued: 'It is cut-throat. You are either playing or you're not really. I'd never take it back. The experiences I had, the players I played against, it's unbelievable.
'It's fine if you're from England and you can go back to your family. But it's tough when you're not from there and you have to just go home and not really see anyone.
'I lived with team-mates, but it's different when they can go home and you can't.
'I would say I'm a very strong-minded person in the sense of like, if you keep going, you'll always be rewarded. You can't stop.
'The setbacks, they were tough at the start but as you become a stronger person and you learn from that, you can't stop because it's your full-time job at the same time.
League of Ireland mascots compete in charity race in Naas
'You have to keep pushing and get your team-mates to help you, support you. It's tough with the setbacks but obviously I had injuries in England as well.
'I broke my foot about two years ago and was out for a couple of months. I had surgery and stuff. I had to have my parents get the ferry over to bring me for surgery and everything.'
And after four years, Ryan-Doyle opted to return home.
She said: 'I haven't really played football for a while. I've been part of teams but I haven't got regular football.
'So I needed the time to enjoy football again and get back playing and be happy again with football.
'I've obviously played football for four years and didn't have to work. So now I'm working full-time and playing part-time evenings.
'So it's a lot of adjusting. But it's good to be back and playing for Peamount again.'
She made her second debut against Galway United at the start of the month and has a goal and assist in her two games to date with Peas having gone through a transition.
The team she left was top of the league and rarely outside the top two, though they now sit in eighth in the Women's Premier Division.
But today gives them a different focus as they host Athlone Town in the FAI Cup quarter-finals.
GROWING STRONG
Ryan-Doyle continued: 'Last Saturday, I was the oldest player in the squad. That says a lot in itself. It's completely different. There's new players coming in, young players, good talent that just need the experience. I think Peamount will grow in the next couple of years.
'You have these young players coming in who are really, really good but just need that senior football experience.
'We will take off in the next couple of seasons because they have that youth in.
'They have the experience of the older players and that mix of, obviously, a new squad this year.
'I think getting them together, it takes a lot of time for players to start playing together and learn how each other plays.
'I think it's different than when I was last here, but it's good.
'You have to remember, at the same time as the players there is new management, Gary Seery, Glenn Byrne and everyone else coming in.
'It's getting used to new coaching styles, new formations, new everything. And I think it's a tough league.
'But I know over the next couple of years that Peamount will be a good team again.'
TODAY'S FAI WOMEN'S CUP QUARTER-FINALS: DLR Waves v Treaty United (3pm), Peamount v Athlone Town (5pm), Newbridge Town v Bohemians (6pm).
