Red Hand visit the priority for Oz-bound Amy
SHE will be setting off on an exciting adventure later on this year, but for now Amy Boyle-Carr’s focus is aiding the cause of Donegal.
The Glenties woman agreed a deal last December to join Adelaide Crows for their latest AFLW campaign, which get underway in August.
She will line out against provincial rivals Tyrone at Ballybofey tomorrow (throw-in 2pm).
Although there has been a defeat to tabletoppers Kildare and a recent draw with Monaghan to go alongside victories against Laois and Westmeath, Donegal are still very much in the hunt for a Lidl NFL Division 2 final berth.
Second
The Red Hands are second in the table on 10 point, but the O’Donnell women will join them on double figures should they claim Ulster bragging rights.
“Our goal for the league, it’s to make the league final and get promoted back up to Division One,” says Boyle-Carr.
“Tyrone have some very good players there. Maria Canavan, she’s going well. We know that she’ll be a threat at the weekend.
“We’ll look forward to the challenge.”
Despite only turning 23 in January, Boyle-Carr has been a part of the Donegal senior set-up since 2018.
“I was only 16, 17 coming into the squad at the time and I looked up to a lot of the girls, Karen [Guthrie] and Yvonne, and the likes of them.
For me, even just training away with them, I was delighted.
Even before featuring in the last-four of the All-Ireland SFC — where Donegal lost out to
Cork — 2018 had already proven to be a special year for Boyle-Carr.
A gifted soccer player, she made her senior debut for Ireland in a FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Netherlands at Tallaght Stadium.
Despite having trained with the senior squad both at home and abroad, Boyle-Carr admitted she was surprised when she was given the nod to start against the Dutch.
She had planned to attend the game as a spectator.
“Me and Mum had bought tickets to go and watch it.
“I was in Portugal for a camp with the seniors and then thought I wouldn’t have been in too much after that.
“Then the tickets had come out and me and Mum had said we would go to it.
“Even being in the panel, I never thought
I’d be in the match day squad or not alone that, in the starting team!”
She played the first half of an eventual 2-0 reversal to the Dutch, before making way for fellow Donegal native Amber Barrett.
Highlight
She put soccer on the back burner in
2019 (though she did line out for Sligo Rovers in the second half of the 2022 Women’s Premier Division), but her one appearance for Ireland women’s remains a highlight.
In addition to playing alongside star names such as Katie McCabe, Denise O’Sullivan and former Galway footballer Niamh Fahey, Boyle-Carr came faceto-face with a talented Dutch outfit that were overseen by current England women’s manager Sarina Wiegman.
“The players even on the Dutch team that day were phenomenal.
“You had Lieke Martens, just before that she was UEFA Women’s Player of the Year.
“It was an amazing experience to get,” Boyle-Carr added.