Aisling Louise McCarthy (born 24 February 1996) is an Irish

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er playing for

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She became an Australian citizen in July 2022.

Early life

From Cahir, County Tipperary in Ireland, McCarthy began playing

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

from the age of seven. She also played

camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game of hurling (which is played by men onl ...

, captaining her club Cahir to victory in the 2016 All-Ireland intermediate finals. In 2017, she was the player of the match in Tipperary's victory in the All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies' Football Championship, scoring one goal and four points. She was also named the TG4 Intermediate Player's Player of the Year. McCarthy's interest in Australian football began in 2015 when Colin O'Riordan, a Tipperary footballer, moved to the

Sydney Swans The Sydney Swans are a professional Australian rules football club based in Sydney, New South Wales. The men's team competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), and the women's team in the AFL Women's (AFLW). The Swans also field a reser ...

. In September 2018, she was among 18 international prospects to attend the CrossCoders program, a week-long Australian football camp held in Melbourne.

AFLW career

McCarthy was drafted by the Western Bulldogs with pick 23 in the 2018 AFLW national draft. She debuted in round 2 of the 2019 season against at Whitten Oval, kicking her first goal in the third quarter. At the season's conclusion, she re-signed with the Bulldogs for the 2020 season; she played six matches and kicked five goals in her first year. After a second year with the Bulldogs playing more as a midfielder and kicking two goals from six games, she finished 4th in the Bulldogs Best and Fairest. She and the Bulldogs' 3rd pick in the

2020 AFL Women's draft The 2020 AFL Women's draft consists of the various periods when the 14 clubs in the AFL Women's competition can recruit players prior to the competition's 2021 season. Signing and trading period A significantly delayed trade period was anno ...

were traded to in exchange for picks 2 and 16. She came second in the best and fairest voting in 2021, with 37 votes, three behind first-placed

Isabella Lewis Isabella Lewis (born 16 November 2002) is an Australian rules footballer playing for in the AFL Women's (AFLW). She was drafted with the third selection in the 2020 AFL Women's draft by the . Early life Lewis did professional Trampolining at n ...

. She signed a two-year contract with the Eagles on 26 June 2021, keeping her with the team until the end of the 2023 season.

Statistics

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2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

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2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

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References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Aisling Living people 1996 births People from Cahir Irish female players of Australian rules football Ladies' Gaelic footballers who switched code Western Bulldogs (AFLW) players Tipperary camogie players Irish expatriate sportspeople in Australia Dual camogie–football players Tipperary ladies' Gaelic footballers West Coast Eagles (AFLW) players