Savannah McCarthy (born 26 March 1997) is an Irish

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

defender who plays for

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

of the Women's National League (WNL) and 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 the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

. She previously played for

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 ...

and Cork City of the WNL, as well as 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). She is a powerful centre back who can also play in midfield.

Early life

McCarthy played soccer for Listowel Celtic in the early stages of her career, after joining the club when she was seven years old. She also played

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 ...

for

Kerry Kerry or Kerri may refer to: * Kerry (name), a given name and surname of Gaelic origin (including a list of people with the name) Places * Kerry, Queensland, Australia * County Kerry, Ireland ** Kerry Airport, an international airport in County ...

up to

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

level, before deciding to focus on soccer.

Club career

McCarthy signed for

in August 2014 and made her first Women's National League (WNL) appearances for the club in 2014–15. After one season she joined Galway WFC, partly to cut down on travelling. In February 2016 McCarthy accepted the offer of a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

contract with Scottish

UEFA Women's Champions League The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. The ...

contestants Glasgow City. The presence of some Irish international teammates helped her to feel settled in her new surroundings. In November 2017 she helped Glasgow City secure their 11th successive

title. In March 2018 McCarthy returned to the Women's National League with Cork City. On her debut for Cork she scored a "long-range looping strike" in a 2–0 win at her former club Galway. She was Cork's Player of the Season in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

but a missed much of

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 ...

due to injury. In May 2020 she signed for Galway again. In January 2023 McCarthy signed for

ahead of the club's return to the Women's National League.

International career

Youth

McCarthy was an important defender in the Republic of Ireland women's national under-19 football team which qualified for the UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship finals for the first time in

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

. She scored against

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 ...

and

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

as Ireland negotiated the group stage. They lost 4–0 to the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

in the semi-final, for whom Vivianne Miedema scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

Senior

On 5 May 2014, Republic of Ireland women's national football team

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Susan Ronan Susan "Sue" Ronan (born 21 February 1964) is an Irish football coach and former player, who managed the Republic of Ireland women's national football team from 2010 until 2016. Ronan represented Welsox and Shelbourne at club level, and made he ...

named McCarthy in an experimental squad for a

friendly Friendly may refer to: Places * Friendly, West Yorkshire, a settlement in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England * Friendly, Maryland, an unincorporated community in the United States * Friendly, Eugene, Oregon, a neighborhood in the United States * ...

against the

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

. She appeared as a substitute for

Ciara McCormack Ciara Marie McCormack (born 29 September 1979) is a soccer defender who plays for Treaty United. She has made eight appearances for the Republic of Ireland women's national football team. College career McCormack won a scholarship to Yale Univ ...

in Ireland's 2–0 defeat in Azpeitia, which was not classified as a full international fixture. McCarthy was called up again for a

UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying The UEFA Women's Euro 2017 qualifying competition was a women's football competition that determined the 15 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Netherlands in the UEFA Women's Euro 2017 final tournament. A total of 46 UEFA member nati ...

fixture against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in November 2015. Coach Ronan said: "It will be a good experience for Savannah, who is still with the U19 squad and an opportunity for her to see at first hand what is required at senior international level." She was picked for a trip to the United States in January 2016, remaining an unused substitute in Ireland's 5–0 defeat by the senior

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

team but starting a 3–0 defeat by the hosts' national under-23 team two days later. She won her first senior cap at the

2016 Cyprus Cup The 2016 Cyprus Women's Cup was the ninth edition of the Cyprus Women's Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Cyprus. After being initially canceled due to schedule conflicts with both UEFA and AFC qualification for t ...

, as an 86th-minute substitute for

Megan Campbell Megan Campbell (born 28 June 1993) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Women's Super League club Liverpool FC and as a left back for the Republic of Ireland women's national team. She has previously played for ...

in the opening 2–0 defeat by

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. She then started the 1–1 draw with

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and the 1–0 defeat by

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. In June 2016 she made a competitive appearance, starting Ireland's record-equalling 9–0 win over

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. McCarthy played the second half of a 2–1 home friendly win over the Basque Country on 25 November 2016, coming in for Jetta Berrill at half-time. When Susan Ronan stood down and was replaced by Colin Bell in February 2017, McCarthy was named in his first squad for the

2017 Cyprus Cup The 2017 Cyprus Women's Cup was the tenth edition of the Cyprus Women's Cup, an invitational women's football tournament held annually in Cyprus. Format The tournament consisted of a group stage, held over three match days followed by a single d ...

. In September 2021 McCarthy was recalled to the national team by

Vera Pauw Vera Pauw (; born 18 January 1963) is a Dutch Women's association football, football coach and former player. She currently manages the Republic of Ireland women's national football team. She has managed several national women's football teams, i ...

. Pauw was impressed by McCarthy's renewed dedication and her ability to play on the left of a back three. A promising performance in Ireland's 3–2 friendly win over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

on 21 September 2021 at Tallaght Stadium was McCarthy's first cap for five years. She retained her place for

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification – UEFA Group A UEFA Group A of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup qualification competition consists of five teams: Sweden, Finland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, and Georgia. The composition of the nine groups in the qualifying group stage was decided by the draw ...

fixtures against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

, before being ruled out by an

anterior cruciate ligament injury An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

in March 2022.

Personal life

McCarthy is an Irish Traveller. She was presented with a Traveller Pride Award by her hero Katie Taylor in May 2013.

References

External links

Savannah McCarthy
at UEFA.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:McCarthy, Savannah 1997 births Living people Glasgow City F.C. players Republic of Ireland women's international footballers Scottish Women's Premier League players Republic of Ireland women's association footballers Association footballers from County Kerry Galway W.F.C. players Women's association football defenders Expatriate women's footballers in Scotland Irish expatriate sportspeople in Scotland Cork City W.F.C. players Women's National League (Ireland) players Irish Traveller sportspeople People from Tralee DLR Waves players Republic of Ireland women's youth international footballers