Gráinne Kierans (born 20 September 1978) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

football

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 ...

and former player who was the head coach of Shamrock Rovers team who play in the Women's National League (Ireland). Kierans, the holder of a UEFA A licence, played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

or striker for several English clubs and represented the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

national team.

Club career

As a 20-year-old, Kierans spent a summer playing semi-professionally in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

. From here she was signed by Arsenal, before moving on to

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

two years later. At Arsenal she had been one of seven

players then at the club, including her former St Patrick's Athletic L.F.C. teammates

Emma Byrne Emma Anne Byrne (born 14 June 1979) is an Irish football goalkeeper who played for the Republic of Ireland women's national football team on a record 134 occasions and served as captain of the team. She spent almost 17 years with Arsenal before ...

and Ciara Grant. Kierans quit Charlton in 2003 then had single season spells with

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

Doncaster Rovers Belles Doncaster Rovers Belles Ladies Football Club, previously Doncaster Belles, is an England, English women's association football, women's football club that currently plays in the , the fourth tier of women's football in England. The club's admin ...

and Bristol Academy. Kierans returned to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in 2006 through work, then played for Drogheda United and St. Francis. She won the FAI Women's Cup with St. Francis in 2008 then retired in 2009 after playing in the

2009–10 UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League 2009–10 was the first edition of the newly branded tournament, and the ninth edition of a UEFA tournament for women's champion football clubs. For the first time the top 8 leagues of the UEFA were awarded two ...

qualifying round.

International career

Kierans represented the

in the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification (UEFA) The 1999 UEFA Women's World Cup qualification was held between 21 August 1997 and 11 October 1998. The 16 teams belonging to Class A of European women's football were drawn into four groups, from which the group winners qualified for the 1999 FIFA ...

tournament while attached to St. Patrick's Athletic. She went on to captain the side and was still a member of the squad after returning from her club career in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Personal life

After returning to

Kierans ran a gym in

Ballyjamesduff Ballyjamesduff () is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. A former market town, it was the winner of the 1966 and 1967 Irish Tidy Towns Competition. History The first mention of Ballyjamesduff is found in The Registry of Deeds, Kings Inns, Henrie ...

References

External links

FIFA profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kierans, Grainne Living people 1978 births Sportspeople from Drogheda Association footballers from County Louth Republic of Ireland women's association footballers Arsenal W.F.C. players Doncaster Rovers Belles L.F.C. players Leeds United Women F.C. players Bristol Academy W.F.C. players Charlton Athletic W.F.C. players Republic of Ireland women's international footballers FA Women's National League players Expatriate women's footballers in England St Francis L.F.C. players Dublin Women's Soccer League players Women's association football forwards

Club career

International career

Personal life

See also

References

External links