A RECORD number of Irish AFLW players in 2025 is coinciding with one of the tightest turnarounds between the Gaelic football and AFLW seasons.

The Grand Final of the Gaelic Ladies Football competition has been scheduled for August 3, with the 2025 NAB AFLW to begin on Thursday, August 14.

A flight from Dublin to Melbourne is 22 hours at an absolute minimum, with time zone acclimation also needing to be worked in before taking to the AFLW field. There are 39 active Irish players on AFLW lists for 2025.

As it stands, Greater Western Sydney's Eilish O'Dowd (Dublin), Melbourne's Blaithin Mackin (Armagh) and Sinead Goldrick (Dublin), Geelong's Aishling Moloney (Tipperary) and North Melbourne's Vikki Wall (Meath) will be missing either a portion or most of pre-season due to their Gaelic football commitments.

Collingwood has confirmed its new recruit, Kellyann Hogan (Waterford) will also be a late arrival due to a combination of Gaelic football and university exams (masters of accounting), but that Sarah Rowe and Muireann Atkinson are ready to go.

O'Dowd's new teammate, Grace Kos, will be at Giants headquarters on day one, as will Roos Blaithin Bogue and newbie Amy Gavin Mangan, with Erika O'Shea due in a couple of weeks' time. 

Niamh Martin will be inactive this year, the small forward opting to finish her bachelor of science (financial mathematics and actuarial science) at the University of Cork. 

Geelong's other Irish recruits – Kate Kenny and Rachel Kearns – will also start on time.

It's not uncommon for AFLW players to have received permission from their clubs to stay at home for as long as their All-Ireland seasons continue, with Melbourne making allowances for Goldrick and Mackin in the past. 

North Melbourne's Wall was so late to return last year that she was ruled out of the Roos' practice matches, although she suited up for round one off very limited AFLW preparation. Given she is a tri-sport athlete (having also represented Ireland in rugby), it's safe to say Wall has years of training and gym work under her belt and is able to jump into AFLW with relative ease.

Mackin and now-delisted Sun Lauren McConville played in Armagh's semi-final last year, held on July 20, with the AFLW season starting August 30.

Brisbane's trio will be around for day one of pre-season, as will Carlton's quintet, with new recruits Síofra O'Connell and Aisling Reidy arriving in a few weeks, the pair fresh off a title with their local side St Joseph's Doora-Barefield last month.

Fremantle's own quintet hasn't played much Gaelic football in the past few years, with Jo Cregg and Amy Mulholland having first moved out to Australia for work (rather than AFLW), and all will be starting back at the Dockers on May 12, as will Hawthorn and Gold Coast's Irish representatives.

Generally speaking, more inexperienced AFLW players are more likely to come out earlier, with leniency granted to those who have had longer in the Australian system, although some clubs promise to allow players to feature at home to help get a signature over the line.

CEO Andrew Dillon has said the AFL is looking into opportunities for representative football in the women's game, with Josh Mahoney and Ned Guy having met with GAA officials in Ireland earlier this year to discuss the possibilities for both men and women.

There's a growing belief among the Irish cohort that the days of playing both sports may be numbered, given the increasing demands of AFLW.

Irish AFLW players in 2025

Amy Boyle-Carr (Adelaide, Donegal)
Kayleigh Cronin (Adelaide, Kerry)
Grace Kelly (Adelaide, Mayo)
Niamh Kelly (Adelaide, Mayo)
Neasa Dooley (Brisbane, Kildare)
Jen Dunne (Brisbane, Dublin)
Orla O'Dwyer (Brisbane, Tipperary)
Maria Cannon (Carlton, Mayo)
Dayna Finn (Carlton, Mayo)
Erone Fitzpatrick (Carlton, Laois)
Síofra O'Connell (Carlton, Clare)
Aisling Reidy (Carlton, Clare)
Muireann Atkinson (Collingwood, Monaghan)
Kellyann Hogan (Collingwood, Waterford)
Sarah Rowe (Collingwood, Mayo)
Jo Cregg (Fremantle, N/A)
Orlagh Lally (Fremantle, Meath)
Aisling McCarthy (Fremantle, Tipperary)
Amy Mulholland (Fremantle, N/A)
Aine Tighe (Fremantle, Leitrim)
Rachel Kearns (Geelong, Mayo)
Kate Kenny (Geelong, Offaly)
Aishling Moloney (Geelong, Tipperary)
Clara Fitzpatrick (Gold Coast, N/A)
Niamh McLaughlin (Gold Coast, Donegal)
Grace Kos (GWS, Dublin)
Eilish O'Dowd (GWS, Dublin)
Aileen Gilroy (Hawthorn, Mayo)
Aine McDonagh (Hawthorn, Galway)
Sinead Goldrick (Melbourne, Dublin)
Blaithin Mackin (Melbourne, Armagh)
Blaithin Bogue (North Melbourne, Fermanagh)
Amy Gavin Mangan (North Melbourne, Offaly)
Erika O'Shea (North Melbourne, Cork)
Vikki Wall (North Melbourne, Meath)
Aoibhin Cleary (Richmond, Meath)
Tanya Kennedy (Sydney, Donegal)
Paris McCarthy (Sydney, Kerry)
Julie O'Sullivan (Sydney, Kerry)

Inactive
Anna-Rose Kennedy (Geelong,
Aimee Mackin (Melbourne, Armagh)
Niamh Martin (North Melbourne, Tipperary)