Three Donegal women have been confirmed on the Irish Banshees Australian Rules team that will take part in the AFL International Cup in Australia in August.
By Chris McNulty, Donegal Sport Hub
Letterkenny’s Leona Russell and Gaoth Dobhair pair Carolann Cassidy and Fiona Roarty are among those already selected for the trip to Melbourne with the Irish Banshees.
The AFL International Cup takes place in Melbourne from August 5-19 next and the three Donegal woman have come through collective and individual training since the AFL European Championships.
The Banshees squad is pictured above ahead of the 2016 European Championships.
At those Championships, the Banshees reached the final where they only lost to the GB Swans 1-2 (8) to 0-2 (2).
Russell plays her football for Letterkenny Gaels and is a talented all-rounder who also plays soccer for Bonagee United, for whom she was joint player of the year in 2016.
Russell, a daughter of Drew and Molly Russell from Derryveagh Avenue in Letterkenny, was ‘buzzing’ to get the call yesterday.
She is the sister of Glencar Celtic manager Junior Russell – whose team took a big step towards winning the Donegal Saturday League today with a 2-0 win over derby rivals Orchard FC.
Gaoth Dobhair pair Cassidy – a sister of former Donegal ace Kevin Cassidy – and Roarty also played in the European Championship and have earned a place on the plane to Australia.
The final squad has not yet been finalised and there are other Donegal women in contention to be announced in the coming days.
Russell, Cassidy and Roarty all play club AFL for the Ulster Kookaburras.
