THE DAYS of Irish players combining Gaelic football with AFLW appears to be coming to an end, with virtually all listed Irish players already in Australia to start pre-season. 

As an added bonus, it means the competition's best and brightest Irish products will be in top Australian football form ahead of the just-announced NAB AFLW Australia v Ireland clash on August 1 at North Sydney Oval.

Last year saw Vikki Wall, Aishling Moloney, Sinead Goldrick, Eilish O'Dowd and Blaithin Mackin miss a large chunk of pre-season due to their pre-existing Gaelic football commitments.

Dual-premiership star Wall was even left out of North Melbourne's round one side, given she had missed so much of pre-season.

O'Dowd was rushed into Greater Western Sydney's team, despite landing in the country less than a week prior, Mackin – who will stay in Ireland this year – also played round one while Goldrick was eased back in round two.

Moloney had an easier run into the AFLW season after her Gaelic side, Tipperary, didn't make it to the Grand Final, but still missed a fair whack of pre-season training.

North Melbourne has confirmed both Vikki and new recruit Sarah Wall and fellow Irishwomen Blaithin Bogue, Amy Gavin Mangan and Erika O'Shea are all ready to start pre-season from day one.

Goldrick and new teammate Aoife Horisk will arrive for Melbourne training in late May, giving the veteran plenty of time to warm into the AFLW season.

There are 44 active Irish players on lists this year, with another two (Mackin and Áine Tighe) inactive, up from 39 active in 2025.

Adding to the latest influx of Irish players is new Sydney coach Colin O'Riordan, the first Irish person to be a senior coach at AFL or AFLW level.

There's a strong chance O'Riordan will coach the Irish representative team before he coaches the Swans in earnest.

All Irish players at Adelaide, Brisbane, Carlton, Essendon, Geelong, Gold Coast, Greater Western Sydney, North Melbourne and Sydney started pre-season on day one, while Fremantle recruit Aoife Healy missed the first week, finishing up her studies back home.

Irish AFLW players in 2026

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)
Caitlin Kennedy (Brisbane, Tipperary) – NEW 
Orla O'Dwyer (Brisbane, Tipperary)

Dayna Finn (Carlton, Mayo)
Erone Fitzpatrick (Carlton, Laois)
Síofra O'Connell (Carlton, Clare)
Aisling Reidy (Carlton, Clare)
Ellie Brady (Collingwood, Cavan) – NEW
Kellyann Hogan (Collingwood, Waterford)
Sarah Rowe (Collingwood, Mayo)
Emma Dineen (Essendon, Kerry) – NEW 
Aoife Healy (Fremantle, Cork) – NEW 
Orlagh Lally (Fremantle, Meath)
Aisling McCarthy (Fremantle, Tipperary)
Áine Tighe (Fremantle, Leitrim) – INACTIVE 

Rachel Kearns (Geelong, Mayo)
Kate Kenny (Geelong, Offaly)
Aishling Moloney (Geelong, Tipperary)
Emma Murray (Geelong, Waterford) – NEW
Clara Fitzpatrick (Gold Coast, N/A)
Niamh McLaughlin (Gold Coast, Donegal)
Grace Kos (GWS, Dublin)
Eilish O'Dowd (GWS, Dublin)
Hannah Looney (Hawthorn, Cork) – NEW 
Niamh Martin (Hawthorn, Tipperary)
Áine McDonagh (Hawthorn, Galway)

Sinead Goldrick (Melbourne, Dublin)
Aoife Horisk (Melbourne, Tyrone) – NEW 
Blaithin Mackin (Melbourne, Armagh) – INACTIVE 
Blaithin Bogue (North Melbourne, Fermanagh)
Amy Gavin Mangan (North Melbourne, Offaly)
Erika O'Shea (North Melbourne, Cork)
Sarah Wall (North Melbourne, Meath)
Vikki Wall (North Melbourne, Meath)

Aoibhin Cleary (Richmond, Meath)
Ana Mulholland (Richmond, Antrim) – NEW
Saoirse Lally (St Kilda, Mayo) – NEW
Tanya Kennedy (Sydney, Donegal)
Mary-Kate Lynch (Sydney, Meath) – NEW 
Paris McCarthy (Sydney, Kerry)
Julie O'Sullivan (Sydney, Kerry)