Donegal duo Caoimhe Brennan and Gemma McGuinness have become the most recent signings made by Sligo Rovers.
Competing in their first ever Women’s National League team, Brennan and McGuinness become the newest Sligo Rovers recruits from Donegal, with Erin Coyle of Moville and Emma Doherty of Buncrana having already joined the Bit O’Red.
The 18-year-old Brennan joins the the Connacht side having spent the last three years playing for the Donegal Women’s League in the underage national league.
Brennan says she is honoured to be part of Sligo Rovers history.
Brennan told Sligorovers.com: “It’s a big achievement. It’s an honour too because not a lot of people can say they’ve been part of the first ever Sligo Rovers Women’s National League team. It’s good that Steve had faith in me to let me express myself and play in the first team.”
The Donegal native played her underage club football with Finn Valley, from as early as she can remember.
She has won silverware at the Gaynor Cup in 2018 winning the plate and in the Donegal league in 2020.
Brennan has played Gaelic Games too over the years. She is currently in first year at Letterkenny IT, where she is studying Sports and Exercise.Brennan is thriving at Sligo Rovers, a move that felt right for her.
“One of the girls from Sligo said to me about coming down and it kind of sparked an interest for me. I’d always thought I’d like a different experience in a different environment so it just felt right for me.
“It’s been great. The environment there has been absolutely unreal, everybody gets on really well and there’s good team morale building.”
Meanwhile, the more experienced McGuinness joins the side having spent the last two years living in Vietnam.
McGuinness, who played her underage football with Greencastle, is a right-sided midfielder who has played underage football with Ireland.
The 26-year-old played international football at Under 15, under 17 and under 19s.
Having played for Derry City for three years before departing for Vietnam, McGuinness has plenty of experience playing football at an elite level.
“The first day I came down I was like ‘yeah definitely, this is for me’,” McGuinness told Sligorovers.com
“The drive isn’t too bad, I don’t mind it. The quality of the training is worth the drive.”
McGuinness is a performance nutritionist, and works with Davey Nutrition, which is run by Sligo native Daniel Davey.
There are a lot of advantages to signing for Sligo Rovers for McGuinness.
“It’s relatively close to home, it’s a chance to play in the Women’s National League for the first time, and the training sessions have been superb.
“It’s been brilliant. Even the first day I went down, I wasn’t sure if I was signing for Derry this season or what I was doing, I’ve never played in the Women’s National League so it’s a big opportunity for me. The first day I went to training I knew it was right.
“It’s so well-organised. Steve always says the right thing at the right time, you can tell he puts a lot of thought into what he says. Getting back and seeing the girls having not seen them since u17. It’s good.
“I’ve been involved with football for years and I’ve never played WNL. It’s somewhat close to home, I don’t have to travel too far. To be involved in the first team is definitely an honour.”
