Arklows Irish Internationals

 What a fortnight it has been for the soccer community in Arklow with Leighton Dempsey, Finn O’Leary and Lucy Doyle Farrington all donning the green jersey on foreign soil and making the town proud .

We now hear from the two boys who have had completely different journeys but eventually after years of not playing together they have now played on the same Irish team at U16 level.

First up we have goalkeeper Finn O’ Leary who started with the Arklow Town minis at 3 years of age. “I first played soccer at 3 years of age when I went down to the astro and it was the best decision I ever made.” O’ Leary kept progressing with the teams in the club while honing his goalkeeper skills in the process under the guidance of Owen Moore Brian O’ Leary and Tom Murphy. Finn explains how having Murphy in particular helped him improve.” Tom was a great help as he had played at such a high level, he knew what was needed for me to make the step up to league of Ireland.”

It wasn't until after Covid that Finn got the call from Wexford who he joined nearly three seasons ago. After the first couple of sessions O’Leary had impressed so much that the older side picked him in goal. “ Within a couple of weeks I was playing for the older team and . I really enjoyed it. It was the best thing to ever happen to me.”

 

At the end of last Summer he had his first trials with the Irish squad which unfortunately didn't go his way. He explains to us how he didnt make the Irish squad on the first go but after some words of wisdom he started playing well again. “ I didn't make that first squad and because of that I fell into a rut but with some help from my coaches and family I started to believe in my ability again.”

Eventually his hard work paid off in what was a whirlwind couple of days. “ On a Tuesday night I heard I was going to be standby  the following night I got word that I had been picked to fly out with the Irish team on Saturday and I haven't stopped smiling since.”

The young Arklow man was lucky enough to get nearly two games over in Poland. He explains how he felt playing on the Irish team and playing with one of his best friends as well.” When I put the jersey on for the first time it was like everything you dream of as a kid had come true.”

The young shot stopper produced two great performances in Poland, “ i kept a clean sheet in my first ever game against Canada this felt amazing.”

Next up we hear from a veteran of these Irish trips in Leighton Dempsey who went from Arklow town with Finn before joining UCD and now going on his fourth irish trip 

The Irish left back had a much different root from Arklow town with many ups and downs along the way. The first of these was his first trial for UCD which didn't go well. “ I felt like there was a lot of pressure to make the step up and unfortunately I didn't perform to my best.” 

This experience helped Leighton as eventually through hard work and persistence he finally made the step up to Mount Merrion who were a feeder club to UCD. “  I played really well at the open trials. I got great feedback which helped me improve as a player.”

After a number of weeks he finally got the call to play with the UCD U14 side. “ In my first game against Shamrock Rovers I performed very well and haven't looked back since.”

Last Summer Dempsey got word to go in and try out with the Irish squad even though he had never been called up to the Irish U15s He was lucky enough to be picked for the next four competitions performing excellently in all of them. “It felt unreal especially because I had never been called up before. “He took everything in his stride and on his fourth trip to Poland he got to play with his old teammate O’ Leary behind him.

 The boys explain how “it was great being in the same squad and how they both felt at ease because the other one was there.”

The third and last of the group to represent Ireland is Lucy Doyle Farrington who like Dempsey  has now been at a number of tournaments. “ I have played in Spain , Northern Ireland where we won the Bob Doherty cup  and now Finland .”

Last season LDF made the transition from playing with an all boys team to signing with Wexford in the league of Ireland with a team full of girls. “Moving to Wexford was a big decision but after I moved up it just felt like I had joined another family.” 

This new start seemed to kick start her Irish career. “ After a couple of camps and training sessions i got picked to go to Spain it was very different , it all depends on how you react as there is always going to be fear there.” The goalie reacted well and kept improving and at Easter was part of the squad that won the Bob Doherty cup in Northern Ireland against the home nations.

Finally we hear how she feels the team has developed and improved on each trip away. “ Even though the results didn't go our way in Finland this week it is clear that we are developing and improving as a team, I can't wait to see what the future holds for this Irish team.”

Let's hope we see and hear about these Irish players  plenty more in  the next few seasons as they represent Arklow on the international stage.