Una Matilda Harkin (born 20 January 1983) is an Irish

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

and association football player. In Gaelic football, she is known for her time as a

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

player, reaching the 2008

All-Ireland Junior Ladies' Football Championship The All-Ireland Junior Ladies' Football Championship is a "knockout" competition in the game of Ladies' Gaelic football played by women in Ireland. The series of games are organised by Ladies' Gaelic Football Association (Irish :''Cumann Peil G ...

final with them, and in soccer for her career with

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavik merged with nearby Njarðv ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

Gaelic football

In August 2008 Harkin emigrated to

Sharjah Sharjah (; ar, ٱلشَّارقَة ', Gulf Arabic: ''aš-Šārja'') is the third-most populous city in the United Arab Emirates, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi, forming part of the Dubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area. Sharjah is the capital o ...

in the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

to take up a teaching position at

Sharjah English School Sharjah English School (SES) is a British-curriculum school in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is one of the longest-established private, not for profit, coeducational schools in the UAE. With a current enrollment of 850 students across p ...

. She flew back the following month to play for Derry in their All-Ireland Junior Ladies' Football Championship final defeat to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

. Harkin had played her club football with

Doire Colmcille CLG Doire Colmcille CLG is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. The club is a member of Derry GAA and currently caters for Gaelic football and Ladies' Gaelic football with a strong focus on youth development. Doire ...

. Harkin had represented

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

in inter–provincial competition during 2005. She won an Ulster All Star award.

Association football

Harkin played club soccer with Institute, and in November 2006 was called into the Northern Ireland team for a

UEFA Women's Euro 2009 The 2009 UEFA Women's Championship, or just Women's Euro 2009, was played in Finland between 23 August and 10 September 2009. The host was appointed on 11 July 2006, in a UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Berlin and the Finnish proposal won over ...

pre–qualifier tournament in Turkey. Harkin's debut for the Irish team came against the host nation. In summer 2007 Harkin played semi–professional football in Iceland, scoring twice in a total of 12 games for

. Harkin was unfortunate to score an own goal as Northern Ireland crashed 4–0 to

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 ...

at Gillingham in March 2007. She was listed as a Drumahoe YMCA player, but also played some games for Crewe Alexandra Ladies in the English

FA Women's Premier League Northern Division The FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division is a league at the third-level in the women's football league pyramid in England, along with the Southern division. These two divisions are part of the FA Women's National League and bel ...

during 2006–07 and 2007–08. In March 2008 Harkin overcame an ankle injury to play the return fixture against England at

Mourneview Park Mourneview Park is a football stadium in Lurgan, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, and is the home ground of NIFL Premiership club Glenavon. The stadium holds 4,160 and was originally built in 1895. The 2008–09 Irish League Cup, 2010–11 ...

, described as the biggest game of her career. National team coach Alfie Wylie said of Harkin: "Una has worked very hard and is fully committed to the cause. She is a powerful centre half who likes to go and win the ball and competes for everything; she is strong in the air and in the tackle and gives us a lot of strength in defence." An improved defensive display saw Ireland restrict their opponents to a 2–0 win. When Harkin departed to Sharjah in 2008, she had been playing for the women's section of Linfield. She had already left by the time of their

IFA Women's Challenge Cup ''For the equivalent tournament in the Republic of Ireland, see FAI Women's Cup.'' The IFA Women's Challenge Cup or Irish Women's Cup is the annual cup competition of women's football teams in Northern Ireland. Currently branded as Electric Irel ...

final defeat to Glentoran Belfast United.

References

External links

Keflavík
profile 1983 births Living people Women's association footballers from Northern Ireland Sportspeople from Derry (city) Expatriate women's footballers in Iceland Expatriate sportspeople from Northern Ireland in Iceland FA Women's National League players Northern Ireland women's international footballers Women's association football central defenders Derry ladies' Gaelic footballers

Una Harkin Una Matilda Harkin (born 20 January 1983) is an Irish Gaelic and association football player. In Gaelic football, she is known for her time as a Derry player, reaching the 2008 All-Ireland Junior Ladies' Football Championship final with them, an ...

Ladies' Gaelic footballers who switched code {{NorthernIreland-women-footy-bio-stub