Shelbourne's Aoibheann Clancy says she’s ready to "make the transition to England" to further boost her Republic of Ireland ambitions.
Clancy was called up by Carla Ward for April’s World Cup qualifier double-header against Poland after injuries to Aoibhe Brennan, Lily Agg, and Jessie Stapleton. She has retained her place in the squad for the climactic games against the Netherlands at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Friday night, and France in Grenoble the following Tuesday.
That is testament to the midfielder’s quality and athleticism.
Ward has frequently referenced the gulf between the domestic and international stage; it’s undoubtedly a big jump, but 22-year-old Clancy has impressed everyone behind the scenes.
She won her sole cap under Vera Pauw against Morocco in November 2022.
Now, having completed a degree in health and performance science at UCD, the Limerick native admits she’s open to moving across the water to play in a fully professional environment.
"I'd love to make the transition to England," says Clancy.
"I think that's always been the goal to go into a full-time set-up. If an opportunity did come about, I'd definitely love to go and give it a shot. If it (didn’t) then it would be a case of looking to further my education or get a job.
"All along it's just been about being focused on balancing football, balancing college and getting that under my belt. Now I think it's focusing on football fully and seeing where that can go."
Clancy has had previous opportunities to move abroad. She was at a crossroads after completing her Leaving Cert but chose to stay in the League of Ireland and focus on a third-level education, establishing herself at Wexford Youths before Shels came calling in 2024.
She is the sole home-based player in this squad and that's a fact Clancy does not take lightly, stressing: "I think there is a sense of responsibility that I've come in and shown what the League of Ireland is about and that we're able to come in and compete at this level.
"No matter what way you put it, it's a jump between the League of Ireland and into this set-up.
"But while it is a step, I've been working hard at Shels and trying to push myself as much as possible so that gap isn't as big."
Being conditioned to make that step up requires graft, commitment and discipline. There’s no silver bullet: to compete with the pros, you need to live like a pro.
"I work quite closely with the scholarship that I had in UCD, the Ad Astra scholarship," adds Clancy. "I had access to the high performance gym there. Between Shels and UCD I was balancing a gym programme. I'm actually lucky enough that I had the time to be able to do that.
"A lot of the work I do is just going out on to the pitch myself in UCD. Whether it's banging a ball off the wall or taking shots on a goal. Nothing crazy really, just working on the basics… trying to max my physical ability and bridge that gap. The contact hours aren't there in the league but the quality of players is really good.
"I'd be doing something for it every day but again as I said manage loads. You're peaking for the right time on Saturday."
The women's Premier Division is teeming with talent and continuing to grow, but it needs help. The potential for growth is obvious; the resources required to accelerate it are not currently there.
If, Clancy is asked, she won the lottery tomorrow, how would she use it?
"I think the obvious answer to that would be trying to make the league fully professional. Within the League of Ireland, if players go to college during the day, if players are working 9-5 jobs, shift jobs, they've really demanding things going on during the day and then we're training in the evening time.
"The players are there, I think it's just the time and resources that is the difference between the likes of League of Ireland and the Championship level."
Alas, a sudden influx of cash is unlikely to tumble into the division. What does instantly help is the arrival of a high-profile international to attract eyeballs and make headlines.
After suffering a dreadfully unfortunate Achilles injury a few weeks before the Poland matches, Agg eventually made the difficult decision to hang her boots up. She has now taken the reins at Athlone Town, and while Clancy is wary of Shels' rivals getting such a big lift, she acknowledges it's a healthy development overall.
"From a bigger league perspective it's brilliant to see the likes of Lily Agg with her experience," she says.
"I know even the girls in camp think she's got a brilliant coaching mind. It's a huge boost for the league.
"Someone of her stature coming in, her knowledge, her experience is brilliant. If you're getting more people into Athlone now because of that, that's brilliant for us."
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