Claire Walsh (born 28 October 1994) is an Irish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a defender for Glasgow City of the

Scottish Women's Premier League The Scottish Women's Premier League (SWPL) is the highest level of league competition in women's football in Scotland. Its two divisions are SWPL 1 and SWPL 2. The league was formed when the Premier Division of the Scottish Women's Football League ...

(SWPL) and the Republic of Ireland national team. A product of the American college soccer system with

Central Connecticut Blue Devils The Central Connecticut Blue Devils are composed of 16 teams representing Central Connecticut State University in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and track and field. Men's sports inclu ...

, she has previously played club soccer for New England Mutiny in the United States and for Women's National League (WNL) clubs Peamount United and

UCD Waves UCD Women's Soccer Club is an Irish association football club based in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. It is the women's association football team of University College Dublin. Founded in 1966, UCD are one of the oldest women's football clubs in the ...

. She has also played inter county Ladies' Gaelic football for her native Wicklow GAA.

Club career

Walsh played for Lakeside FC of Blessington from under-12 to under-15 level, then progressed through Peamount United's youth system. Head

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

Eileen Gleeson Eileen Gleeson is the Head of Women and Girls Football for the Football Association of Ireland. She is responsible for helping to grow participation and retention of women and girls at all levels of the game, while also supporting wider football ...

promoted Walsh into the senior squad at 16 years old for a

2011–12 UEFA Women's Champions League The 2011−12 UEFA Women's Champions League was the eleventh edition of the European women's championship for football clubs. The final was held in the Olympiastadion in Munich, Germany on 17 May 2012. As in the past two Champions League seasons, ...

tie Tie has two principal meanings: * Tie (draw), a finish to a competition with identical results, particularly sports * Necktie, a long piece of cloth worn around the neck or shoulders Tie or TIE may also refer to: Engineering and technology * Ti ...

against

Paris Saint-Germain Féminine Paris Saint-Germain Féminine (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris SG, or simply Paris or PSG, are a French professional football club based in Paris. Founded in 1971, they compete in Division 1 Féminine, the top divis ...

. Walsh completed her Leaving Cert in 2012 and accepted an offer to play four years of college soccer for the Central Connecticut State University " Blue Devils". In May 2015, Walsh signed for Women's Premier Soccer League club New England Mutiny. They reached the East Region final in the

2015 WPSL season The 2015 Women's Premier Soccer League The Women's Premier Soccer League (WPSL) is an amateur women's soccer league in the United States and Canada. It is the top amateur league for women's soccer in the United States soccer pyramid, below only ...

, but Walsh was out injured for the 2–0 defeat by Boston Breakers Reserves. Returning in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

she made six appearances as New England Mutiny, now playing in United Women's Soccer, finished second in the Eastern Conference. In the 2017 Women's National League, Walsh played for

while completing a master's degree in computer science at University College Dublin. Playing under her former Peamount coach Eileen Gleeson, she captained The Waves to a fourth-place finish in the League and a 1–0 FAI Women's Cup final defeat by Cork City at the Aviva Stadium. Ahead of the 2018 Women's National League season, Walsh returned to Peamount United: "My main reason for moving would be that I'm finished up studying in UCD. Peamount has always been my club and it's closer to home". In

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

Walsh displayed good form and was named to the WNL Team of the Season, as The Peas recaptured the League title for the first time since 2011–12. She also played in Peamount's 2018 and 2019 FAI Women's Cup final defeats by

Wexford Youths Wexford Football Club is an Irish association football club based in Crossabeg, County Wexford. They compete in the League of Ireland First Division. The club joined the league after being awarded a First Division licence for the 2007 League ...

. After helping Peamount United secure a League and Cup "

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

" in their

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- ...

campaign, Walsh signed a two-year professional contract with

club Glasgow City in July 2021.

International career

While enrolled at University College Dublin, Walsh represented Ireland at the

2017 Summer Universiade The 2017 Summer Universiade (), officially known as the XXIX Summer Universiade ( zh, t=第二十九屆夏季世界大學運動會, p=Dì èrshíjiǔ jiè xiàjì shìjiè dàxué yùndònghuì) and commonly called Taipei 2017 ( zh, t=台北2 ...

. Republic of Ireland coach Colin Bell gave Walsh her first senior call-up for the FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying fixture against Northern Ireland in September 2017. In August 2019, she won her first senior cap in a 3–0 friendly defeat by the United States at the Rose Bowl in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, under interim manager Tom O'Connor. Walsh entered the match as a substitute for her fellow

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...

woman Louise Quinn. She made a competitive substitute appearance in the opening UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifier against Montenegro, a 2–0 win at Tallaght Stadium on 3 September 2019. In April 2021, Walsh started her first game for Ireland, a 1–0 defeat by Belgium at

King Baudouin Stadium The King Baudouin Stadium (french: Stade Roi Baudouin , nl, Koning Boudewijnstadion ) is a sports ground in north-west Brussels, Belgium. Located in the Heysel district of the City of Brussels, it was built to embellish the Heysel Plateau in v ...

in Brussels.

Gaelic football

After returning from University in the United States, Walsh played Ladies' Gaelic football for Wicklow GAA, competing in the

Ladies' National Football League The Ladies' National Football League is an annual inter-county ladies' Gaelic football tournament, secondary to the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship. It is competed for annually by the county teams of Ireland. National League rol ...

and All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies' Football Championship. She decided to prioritise soccer in 2018.

References

External links

Claire Walsh
at Football Association of Ireland {{DEFAULTSORT:Walsh, Claire 1994 births Living people Republic of Ireland women's association footballers Women's association football defenders Peamount United F.C. players Republic of Ireland women's international footballers Alumni of University College Dublin Ladies' Gaelic footballers who switched code DLR Waves players Central Connecticut Blue Devils women's soccer players Central Connecticut State University alumni Women's Premier Soccer League players New England Mutiny players Women's National League (Ireland) players Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Association footballers from County Wicklow Expatriate women's soccer players in the United States Republic of Ireland expatriate women's association footballers Expatriate women's footballers in Scotland Irish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Scottish Women's Premier League players Glasgow City F.C. players