Five Midlands players named in Irish Rugby training camp

Athlone's Anna McGann is one of five players from the wider Midlands area to be named among a 37-player squad taking part in a three-day Irish Women's Rugby training camp ahead of the start of the Guinness Women's Six Nations in April.

The Moydrum native is joined by Ballinasloe's Beibhinn Parsons and Aoibheann O'Reilly from nearby Creagh, along with Offaly's Aoife Dalton and uncapped Roscommon player, Jemima Adams Verling, who plays with Creggs FC, in the training camp. The camp is taking place at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin under the stewardship of Ireland head coach, Scott Bemand.

As well as playing key roles in the Six Nations last year, four of the five Midlands rugby players who are taking part in the training camp were also named on the 32-player panel selected to contest the Women's Rugby World Cup in England last August and September.

Anna McGann made her debut for Ireland in the Women's Six Nations in March 2022 and has remained an influential presence at senior rugby international level for her country since then. She was awarded Women's 'Try of the Year' at the Rugby Players Ireland Awards in May of last year for her hat-trick of tries in Ireland's Six Nations 51-24 defeat to Italy in Parma earlier in the season.

In between her international rugby duties, she established her own jewellery range, Chaos The Label in 2023, and she has also been nominated for a Her Sport 'Sports Personality of the Year' Award, with the winner due to be announced at a ceremony in The Helix in DCU next week.

Ballinasloe's Beibhinn Parsons and Aoibheann O'Reilly from nearby Creagh were also instrumental in last year's Six Nations and World Cup campaigns, despite both having battled significant injuries in recent times, with O'Reilly picking up two anterior cruciate ligament injuries and Parsons having to deal with two leg breaks in 2024.

22-year old Aoife Dalton from Clara in Offaly, who is a former student of Moate Community School, was named Rugby Players Ireland Women's Players’ Player of the Year for 2025 after a brilliant Six Nations tournament where she started all five games, and she also cemented her authority on the game with standout performances for Ireland in last year'sWomen's Rugby World Cup campaign.

Roscommon's Jemima Adams Verling, who plays with Creggs, is one of 10 uncapped players taking part in this week's training camp. She made her start with the Irish U-20 Women's Rugby team in the Six Nations Summer Series last year by producing a Player of the Match display in Ireland's opening round win over Wales, and was also named on the starting panel for the game against France.

Two Midlands rugby players who were named on the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup squad have not been named in this week's training camp. They are Athlone's Ivana Kiripati, a former Buccaneers player who is now with Roscommon club, Creggs, and Ballinasloe's Meábh Deely.

The Irish Women's Rugby team will play at three home venues, in Galway, Belfast and Dublin as part of the Guinness Women’s Six Nations 2026 campaign, with their opening match taking place against England at Allianz Stadium,Twickenham on Saturday, April 11 next (kick-off 2.25pm).

They will then host Italy at Dexcom Stadium in Galway, which is the home ground of Connaught Rugby on Saturday, April 18 with a kick-off time of 5.40pm.This will be the first time ever for the Galway venue to host a Women’s Six Nations match, with the Ireland Women’s only previous appearance in Galway being a 15-8 victory over Canada in April 2006.

Scott Bemand’s charges then travel to France in Round 3 on Saturday, April 25 (kick-off 8.10pm), before concluding the Championship with back-to-back home games in Belfast and Dublin.

Ulster’s Affidea Stadium has staged a number of Women’s internationals in recent years, and Wales will be the visitors to Belfast in Round 4 on Saturday, May 9 (kick-off 6.30pm), before Scotland come to the Aviva Stadium on the final weekend on Sunday, May 17 (kick-off 2.30pm).

The Round 5 encounter will be the first ever standalone Women’s international at the home of Irish Rugby, and ticket sales have already passed the 12,000 mark.

Ireland training camp squad:

Forwards: Ailish Quinn, Aoife Wafer, Beth Buttimer, Brittany Hogan, Cara McLean, Cliodhna Moloney-MacDonald, Dorothy Wall, Ellena Perry, Erin King, Fiona Tuite, Grace Moore, Jane Clohessy, Jemima Adams Verling, India Daley, Linda Djougang, Neve Jones, Niamh O'Dowd, Rosie Searle, Ruth Campbell, Sadhbh McGrath, Sam Monaghan, Sophie Barrett.

Backs: Alana McInerney, Anna McGann, Aoibheann Reilly, Aoife Dalton, Beibhinn Parsons, Caitriona Finn, Dannah O'Brien, Emily Lane, Enya Breen, Eve Higgins, Nancy McGillivray, Niamh Gallagher, Robyn O'Connor, Vicky Elmes Kinlan.