Anyone who is familiar with Scottish football will know about the strong connection that exists between Ireland and Celtic Football Club. To this day, the logo is a green clover, a clear mark of the pride the club has for its Irish heritage. In recent years, Celtic’s women’s team has seen an influx of Irish internationals rise to unprecedented heights.
In May 2022, 20-year-old Izzy Atkinson scored the winning goal for Celtic at the Scottish Women’s Cup Final against Glasgow City FC in extra time. Additionally, Ireland’s Caitlin Hayes was named Celtic’s Player of the Year in both 2023 and 2024. Since then, there has been another Irish addition to the club.
After being transferred from Durham FC in January 2024, Saoirse Noonan has made a clear impact at Celtic. Noonan talked about her experience at the club since moving ahead of the 2024–2025 season.
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, I suppose," she told The Irish Post. “Obviously, we’re playing in the Champions League; it’s something that you dream of and a reason that I came here. Never did we think we’d get so far, play against such big clubs, and actually compete and not get wiped out. But yeah, it’s been really enjoyable. I’ve never enjoyed football on the pitch so much. So it’s been good.”
Celtic's Saoirse Noonan. (Photo by Paul Byars/SNS Group via Getty Images)Her success as a player is that much more meaningful in the wider context of Celtic’s historic connection to Ireland. Noonan explained why this was the case.
“It’s a bit surreal; everyone at home in Ireland just loves Celtic, and I think for me, I played in the Championship, and I came from a great club, Durham, but they are just a women’s side and don’t have the exposure that Celtic has. Obviously, I played for the likes of Cork City and Shelbourne, but there’s nothing like Celtic,” she added.
“I think when you go home and you see all the lads down the park or the girls or whoever it is, and they’re just wearing Celtic jerseys to train, it’s kind of like, ‘Is that the team I play for?’ So it’s kind of like a pinch-me moment, I suppose.”
Noonan has an impressive 12 goals under her belt and has made 12 appearances for Celtic so far this season. Similarly, her international counterpart, Emily Whelan, has scored 8 goals in 12 appearances for Glasgow City this season and was even nominated as the Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL) Player of the Month by her team in October.
Despite their stellar performances at the club level, both were not included in Eileen Gleeson’s Ireland squad to face Wales in a final set of Euro qualifying matches later this week.
“It’s a bit of a tricky one," Noonan said when asked about her international exclusion. “We all want to be in there; we’re all fighting to play for our national team; we all want to do the best for our club, and that’s the next step. All we can do is be ready, and if we get the call-up, both me and Whealo are definitely ready.
"I think if we were playing in the WSL, scoring goals, and putting out performances like we are, maybe we’d make even more noise, and we’d have to be in there. Maybe."
“So yeah, it is a bit different up in Scotland, but look, we can only keep doing what we’re doing and hopefully get a chance to get a foot in the door. As I said, it’s a tricky one when the girls aren’t doing anything wrong and they’re winning games with the national team and they’re in there, so credit to them.”
Ireland's game against Wales takes place on 29 Nov 2024 at 19:15 at Cardiff City Stadium.
Celtic's Saoirse Noonan in action (Photo by Paul Byars/SNS Group via Getty Images)See More: Celtic, Saoirse Noonan
