Lauren Kealy from Co Kildare is certainly the one to watch at the moment in terms of ladies soccer.
The 17-year-old Leaving Certificate student has been making waves not only at club level, but at international level too. She has been capped at every underage level, most recently earning an under-19 cap for an international friendly.
This latest cap in itself is a reflection of just how talented this young player is. Having just turned 17 in July, Lauren was one of, if not the, youngest player that travelled to Denmark for the friendly recently. She still has another two years at this level and it’s safe to say that more caps will be making their way to her home in Celbridge in the coming years.
The young star plays her club football with the hugely successful Peamount United and has now also secured her place on their Women’s National League team – again, another achievement ahead of her years.
Speaking about the whirlwind that has been the last couple of months, the Leaving Cert student shows she has her head screwed firmly onto her shoulders.
“I’ve been playing soccer since I was about eight years old,” she explained. “My dad is really involved in soccer and he always encouraged us to take part in it. At first I started off with the Academy and the under eight boys’ team with Ballyoulster United in Celbridge. The following year I went to Peamount as they were starting an under 12 girls team and it’s all gone on from there.
“I also played with the Peamount under 12 boys team for a few years,” the Manchester United and St Patrick’s Athletic supporter continued with a smile. “I absolutely love everything about the game. To get the call up in August to go for trials for the under 19 team was really a dream come true. That was for two friendly games for Ireland against Denmark and to be honest, I never thought I had a hope of making the team.
“I got the call to trials for the squad on the Tuesday evening, just two days before I was meant to fly out to Spain on a family holiday! I was hardly able to believe that I had been called up to Under 19 trials and I certainly never dreamed that I’d make the final squad that would travel to Denmark! I just couldn’t believe it when I heard that they wanted me for trials at all. I knew that I was two years younger than everyone else, and really didn’t think I had a hope.
“With the holiday already booked I had to make a decision. It was difficult as I was looking forward to the holiday for so long, but I saw it as an opportunity to try to play for my country which does not come around too often so the decision was made for me. I could go on many more holidays in the future but playing for Ireland …..well! What I did instead was when I returned from Denmark I went to Spain the following morning and joined my family there for the remaining four days.
“This wasn’t my first time in an Irish jersey. I’ve been lucky enough to be capped at under 15, 16 and 17 levels too. The trials for the under 19 though were really, really tough,” she continued, adding that five of her other clubmates had also got called to Denmark. “To be honest, I was putting those trials down to experience, and when it came to announce the squad that would travel to Denmark, I genuinely didn’t think I’d be anywhere near it. When they announced that I was in, I couldn’t even speak. I was in complete and utter shock!” she laughed.
“We were told to bring our passports to the trials, so we literally headed off the next day to Denmark, it was absolutely unreal. We played Denmark on Tuesday and Thursday, and I got to play half an hour of the second game at right wing back so I was really pleased. To get an under 19 cap is just unbelievable,” she grinned.
With the Leaving Cert looming on the horizon, Lauren maintains that she’s going to keep playing soccer throughout the year as she hopes to win a sports scholarship to Maynooth University to study a science-based course such as Bio-Med.
Lauren also helps out on the coaching side of things and is involved with the Peamount Academy and has worked with the MGL Under 14 team. A prefect in St Wolstan’s College in Celbridge, Lauren added that her school has been a massive support throughout her playing career to date.
“The school have been fantastic, whenever I’ve had to miss school for trips or that they have emailed me everything, from work I’ve missed to corrections. They’ve been fantastic. My family are a massive support too and all the people in the club are fantastic.
“I’m playing senior football now, and have been picked on the Women’s National League Peamount squad too which is brilliant. It’s been very exciting and that and the under 19 cap has been a huge boost for my confidence. Denmark was a very valuable experience, and I found it very different from the under 16 and 17 squads, as it helped me to understand what is required to play at the higher levels which I can now work on in my home club.”
