Megan Smyth-Lynch will lead the Republic of Ireland Women's Under-16s as Head Coach on an interim basis until August 2023.The UEFA A Licence coach will step up from her role as Assistant Coach to stand in for Tom Elmes who has joined the Women's Senior Team on an interim basis until after FIFA Women's World Cup 2023.Megan, who plays in the League of Ireland with Shelbourne, has been steadily building her coaching career with involvement in the FAI's Girls' Centre of Excellence, Under-15 Girls' National Academy and with MGL Academy.An SETU graduate, with qualifications in Sports Management and Coaching, Megan works full-time with the Football Association of Ireland helping to drive Grassroots Football and feels ready to take on this new role.Megan said: "This is a fantastic opportunity to work with a talented group of players and a highly-skilled backroom team in what is a really exciting time for women and girls' football in Ireland.
"With the support of the FAI and Tom Elmes, I will embrace this role to continue the excellent work that has been ongoing with the Women's Under-16s and from the pathways that lead into that."We have some important international camps coming up, so i'm looking forward to getting in and working with the players and staff."FAI CEO Jonathan Hill said: "We are really pleased to have someone of Megan's quality available to take on the Head Coach role with the Ireland Women's Under-16s on an interim basis, especially considering the shortlist was made up of the highest standard of candidates."With Tom Elmes assisting Vera Pauw for the Women's World Cup, we are confident that Megan can continue the excellent work with the team over the next few months to help develop the next generation of Ireland international players."FAI Director of Football Marc Canham welcomed the appointment by saying: "We are excited to see Megan take on this role as she continues her progression as a coach and helps with the development of our best players at that age level."It is important that Megan is already familiar with the set-up, having worked alongside Tom Elmes, and she will have a support network around her to ensure that she can excel in the role."This is also a key appointment for coaching pathways for aspiring women as Megan continues to advance along the coaching pathway and, hopefully, inspire other women to pursue coaching opportunities at an elite level."The Women's Under-16s will have training games in February, March and April before travelling to Serbia for a UEFA Development Tournament on April 19th.
