Once there was a girl called Denise, who was told she was too small to play soccer. At trials for the u15 Munster schools’ team, the coaches told her parents she had lots of talent but, due to her size, she would never make it to the top of the sport. Denise was heartbroken but her mum and dad knew she was good enough, so they convinced her to go back to the trials the following year and prove the coaches wrong. It was the best decision she ever made! Not only did she make the team but Munster won the tournament, and soon afterwards Denise was picked to play for the Irish schools’ team.
Denise’s rise through the ranks with the Republic of Ireland happened very quickly. One year she was winning a silver medal with the u17s at the European Championships and reaching the quarter-finals of the u17 World Cup, and the next year she scored two goals for the senior team in a dream debut against Wales. Suddenly, Denise had the football world at her feet.
The only problem was, Denise really didn’t want to leave her family. When phone calls came from football managers trying to offer her a professional contract, she would pretend she wasn’t home! Eventually, her family convinced her to take a chance on Glasgow City in 2013 and so began a career that would take Denise all over the world.
In the space of one week in 2016, Denise’s life changed in so many ways. Just as she signed a deal to play football in America, in the biggest women’s league on the planet, her dad died of cancer. It was even harder to leave her family this time, but Denise knew it was what her dad would have wanted.
Within a few years Denise was voted MVP (Most Valuable Player) by her teammates, as she helped North Carolina Courage to league titles in 2018 and 2019. From a small girl on the streets of Knocknaheeny in Cork, she had become one of the top footballers in the world.
This is an extract from Girls Play Too: Inspiring Stories of Irish Sportswomen, by Jacqui Hurley. Out now in hardback, published by Merrion Press (€14.95/£13.99).
