Orla O'Doherty

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Brown (born 1971) is a former

Irish American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

professional squash player who also currently serves as a squash professional coach and personal trainer She played squash in Ireland during her early days as a teenager and also played in the US in her late 40s after moving to the US in 1993.

Personal life

She was born and raised in

Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal town in County Dublin, Ireland, north of the city of Dublin, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , ...

. She lived in Ireland until her teenage and moved to the US in 1993 to pursue her squash career. Her elder brother Finbarr also played squash in national level. She married her partner

Debbie Brown Debbie Brown (born 1962) is a multi-racquets coach in Dublin, Ireland. She is a former American college tennis and US National champion squash player. She currently coaches tennis, padel, and pickleball. She became an Irish citizen in 2024. ...

, a former American national squash champion on 18 April 2015.

Career

She pursued her career in squash and emerged in youth level following her triumph in Irish National Junior Squash Championships. She achieved her highest career

PSA PSA, PsA, Psa, or psa may refer to: Biology and medicine * Posterior spinal artery * Primary systemic amyloidosis, a disease caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins * Prostate-specific antigen, an enzyme used as a blood tracer for pro ...

ranking of 69. After moving to the United States, she won the US National masters four times. Orla competed at the 2012 World Squash Masters along with her partner Debbie representing their nations Ireland and US respectively. After her retirement from the sport, she founded Women Who Squash foundation in Ireland in June 2016. She is the Head Squash Coach in Portmarnock and is currently competing in the masters tour. In 2019, she won the Irish Open, British Open, Spanish Open, Slovenian Open, and European Championships. She was also selected to represent Ireland and is the oldest female squash player in history to earn an Irish cap at the European team championships. .

References

Living people Irish female squash players American female squash players American lesbian sportswomen LGBTQ squash players Irish lesbian sportswomen Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States People from Portmarnock 1971 births Sportspeople from Fingal 21st-century American women {{US-squash-bio-stub