A Galway woman who was the first captain of the Republic of Ireland’s senior women’s soccer team is set to be awarded an international cap in recognition of that milestone – 43 years after the game was played.
Nono McHugh, who is originally from Claddagh in Galway City but now lives in Annaghdown, led out the women’s team for their first-ever international, against Wales in Llanelli in 1973. The immensely talented sportswoman – she also played both camogie and Gaelic football for Galway – went on to make five more appearances for her country, but she never received the traditional ‘cap’ for those appearances.
That is set to change, however, after Galway WFC got in touch with the FAI on the matter, and a source in the FAI confirmed to the Connacht Tribune that the process to finally present Nono with her international cap is now underway.
The women’s game at the time was under the umbrella of the Women’s Football Association, rather than the FAI, and there are no official records of the games having been played. However, the secretary of Galway WFC, Pádraic de Burca, undertook a search of newspaper archives, and it was the Connacht Tribune that came up trumps with a mention of the game that is now set to see Nono presented with her cap.
“We don’t have any records from that time as the women’s team only came under the FAI in the 1990s. We are, however, in the process of gathering press cuttings, particularly from the Connacht Tribune, to show that Nono did play for, and captain, the international team.
“Once we gather all the relevant information, the process will move on and then one cap, with all her appearances listed on it, will be presented to Nono at a suitable location – that could be anything from a function in Galway to an international match, it depends when the process is completed,” a source in the FAI confirmed to the Connacht Tribune.
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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