Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce the re-signing of promising youngster Kate Nugent for the 2024 season. The defender has been with the club since 2018 when she signed for the academy and she also attending ATU as part of their scholarship programme with Rovers.

Speaking with sligorovers.com Kate spoke of her delight at re-signing with the #bitored:

“I’m delighted to sign back with Sligo Rovers and am looking forward to working with Tommy. It’s an honour to play for the first team as I feel like I’ve grown up in the club having come through from the academy. I’m also grateful for my scholarship with ATU, which will allow me to continue to develop as a player while continuing to progress in my education. I look forward to the season ahead and what the girls and myself will achieve.”

Rovers manager Tommy Hewitt is delighted to have Kate all signed up for the new campaign:

“She is a very promising young player and I want to help her push on and break into the first team. It is great as well to have her on a full scholarship with ATU and this is something that I want to help grow so that we can bring more of the most talented young players to the club and help them with their football career while also helping them to get a third level qualification.”

BY JIM GRAY

Tommy Hewitt’s working day begins at 5a.m. On the Tuesdays and Thursdays when he travels to Sligo for night-time training it can be 18 hours before he sees home again. Saturday match days will be even longer. Family time is limited but precious. Welcome to the world of Sligo Rovers’ new League of Ireland women’s manager.

A postman in his native Athlone, Tommy took over the senior women’s team in November, replacing Steve Feeney, who had guided the team in its first two seasons in senior football before stepping aside for family reasons. He’s wasted no time putting his distinctive stamp on a new chapter in the fledgling history of women’s football locally.

He comes with a massively impressive CV in the women’s game, and a burning ambition to enhance it even further during his time at the Showgrounds. A UEFA A licence coach, Tommy was named SSE Airtricity Manager of the Year in 2022 after guiding Athlone Town to the FAI Cup final and a runners-up League position. He has also served as Assistant Manager with the Athlone Town’s men’s team and was head coach with the Irish Defence Forces team at the Military World Games.

Having been forced to retire from playing due to injury when he was only 25 years old – he has vivid memories of playing tough games for Athlone against Willie McStay’s treble-winning Rovers team – Tommy immediately immersed himself in what he calls ‘the next best thing’ – the pursuit of hard-earned coaching badges.  Initially working with local youth teams throughout the midlands, including exemplary work with Kennedy Cup (boys) and Gaynor Cup (girls) teams, he was invited to head up the underage women’s academy in the Midlands Schoolgirls League, thus beginning a twenty year relationship with girls and women’s football.

He was, therefore, the obvious choice to take charge of the first Athlone Town women’s team to enter the League of Ireland in 2018. Building a team from scratch obviously presented unique challenges — his early recruits included Sligo/Leitrim players, Aoife Haran and Muireann Devanney – but steady progress culminated in the FAI Cup final loss to highly-fancied Shelbourne in 2022 and a tantalising second to the same opposition in that season’s league chase. Some level of compensation came in victory over Shels in the inaugural Women’s President’s Cup, as well as his selection as manager of the year. In addition, one of his players won Player of the Year and four were included in the team of the year.

“The President’s Cup was Athlone’s first senior women’s title. Allied to the recognition for myself and four of our players it meant we’d really made a significant breakthrough. For a club like ours, outside of the traditional big three of Wexford, Peamount and Shels, to get that sort of recognition was massive. And it illustrated what could be achieved at the so-called smaller clubs”, Tommy recalls.

Little wonder, then, that when he decided to leave his post at Athlone in June 2023, there was no shortage of eager suitors.

“I had a few calls from National League teams, but once the call came from Sligo things progressed fairly rapidly. I met with Academy Director, Conor O’Grady and two club officials and we teased out what the future might look like. What impressed me was that they had a clear plan, an identified pathway for the future. This was not merely a box-ticking exercise for them. They were very serious about where they wanted the team to go, and I had similar ambitions, so the glove fitted perfectly,” he says.

Admitting that he is excited about the prospect of guiding the team in the new season which kicks off against old adversaries Shelbourne on March 9^th, Tommy is refreshingly realistic about the challenges ahead.

“The first thing to make abundantly clear is that this is a long-term project, a four-year development plan. I don’t have a magic wand, nor do the players.

“It’s new and exciting, and it will be challenging. The biggest thing is not to let results affect the long-term goal. I’ve discovered over the years that girls take defeats more to heart than men’s teams do. That’s a fact, so part of my job, win or lose, is to keep the mood steady and level-headed. There will be downs as well as ups, but we don’t get too down and we don’t get too up. We stay focussed and we make progress where we can,” he explains.

His immediate target is simply to win more games in a season than has been the case heretofore.

“It’s easier said than done,” he concedes. “Steve Feeney did a great job here, guiding the team in its inaugural seasons. That was a hugely important period and I’m sure it was never easy, but he built a foundation.

“My job is to build on that. I have a different mentality and perhaps a different approach on how I like my teams to play, but it will take time.”

His squad has been bolstered by a host of impressive signings, including Kelly Compton and Zoe McGlynn from Sion Swifts; Kelsey Munroe from Mayo; Muireann Devaney from Athlone and local centre-back, Yvonne Heddigan. Many of last season’s top players have also re-signed, including top scorer, Emma Doherty and experienced skipper, Emma Hansberry. In addition to the 24-strong senior squad, Tommy points out that emerging players from the under-19s and even under-17s will be given an opportunity as the need arises.

“It’s all about buy-in from the players, and while we won’t get an accurate assessment until the season proper gets underway, the early signs are really encouraging,” he reports.

“The girls are dedicating their lives to this. Apart from match day and training,  there’s gym work, recovery time, analysis. It’s frightening what they’re doing in terms of total commitment. It’s full on for them. I couldn’t ask for any more.”

He’s also fulsome in his praise for his back-room team of coaches James Fallon, Brendan Fitzsimmons, Ultan McKenna; physio Ciara Mulrooney and strength and conditioning coach, Sean Og Campbell.

“It’s a four-year development plan, and we know the level we need to get to. Ultimately, the aim is to be competing at the top end of the table. That’s the next logical step,” Tommy adds.

Overall, he has observed a massive improvement in the women’s game since he first became involved at senior level four years ago.

“The players are now real athletes in every sense of the word. The standard at every club has improved enormously. The teams are all well coached, well structured, and there’s terrific talent coming through.

“Obviously, the success of the national women’s team has improved the profile, but that needs to trickle down to the domestic league. We have to be asking how do we produce the next Katie McCabe or Denise O’Sullivan. There’s a lot of work to be done. I’d like to see our league eventually becoming fully professional, but that will need a meaningful support structure both from the government and the FAI. But the women’s game is definitely going in the right direction,” he maintains.

Hoping for increased support for the women’s team, Tommy assures supporters they will not be disappointed.

“I would say to anyone, if you’re able to get to a women’s game then go and see for yourself what’s on offer. The standard is really high, the games are always entertaining, and there are seriously talented players on show.

“It would be a great boost for us if we get good crowds at the home games. We’ll be playing our games at 7p.m. on Saturdays, and the players would get a massive lift from a big crowd, they would feed off the energy from supporters. Sligo has always been a real football town, so there’s loads of potential for us to tap into. I can guarantee supporters that our women’s team will always give of its very best, so come on down, you might be pleasantly surprised,” he enthuses.

*Rovers kick off their season with an away game against Shelbourne on March 9^th. Their first home league game will be on Saturday, March 30^th against Galway United, 7pm kick-off.

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce the re-signing of Katie Melly for the 2024 season.

The Sligo town native returns for a third season with the #bitored.

Speaking with Sligorovers.com, Katie said:“I’m really happy to re-sign for Rovers this season. Working with Tommy and the staff over pre-season has been great, and it’s clear to see the vision he has for the club. I can’t wait to get going again with the girls for the season ahead.”

Tommy Hewitt added “Katie has really impressed in training since I have came into the club, she is a player with loads of potential and can be a big part of our squad this season.”

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce the re-signing of Jodie Loughrey for the 2024 season.

Last year, Jodie’s performances saw her become a regular starter for the #bitored. She was recognised for her hard work with regular call-ups to the Ireland underage squads.

Speaking with sligorovers.com, Jodie said, “I’m excited for another season with Sligo after a brilliant first year. Last year I felt we finished the season well and I hope we can develop more as a group for an exciting campaign.’

Tommy Hewitt added “I am delighted Jodie has decided to stay with the club this season, she is an exciting talent and a player who works very hard for the team. I’m looking forward to working with her this year.’

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce the re-signing of Keri Loughrey for the 2024 season.

The Buncrana native returns for a second season at The Showgrounds. Last year, Keri played 28 times for the #bitored, and her impressive performances saw her win the club’s Young Player of the Year.

Speaking with Sligorovers.com, Keri said, “Last season was a big one for me, joining Rovers, working hard to start with the First Team, and then it was capped off by winning the Young Player of the Year award. I want to build on that and help the club challenge for trophies.’

Tommy Hewitt added, “Keri is a player who has a great attitude and is a very hard-working player, we are delighted to have her back at the club this season.”

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce that Bonnie McKiernan has re-signed for the 2024 season.

The Cavan native returns for her second season with the Bit O’Red. Last season, Bonnie arrived from Athlone Town, and It wasn’t long before she became a regular in the first team, starting a total of 19 times throughout the season.

On signing back, the ATU Sligo student said: ‘I’m really happy to be back with Sligo for another year; I loved last season and feel like I learned so much after Steve gave me a chance to play. I’m really looking forward to this season and think it will be a huge year for us.”

Tommy Hewitt added: ‘Bonnie is a player I know well from my time with Athlone, I know what she brings and I’m not surprised that it didn’t take her long to become a first team regular. I will be looking to her to help us push on this season.’

Bonnie becomes the 17th member of Tommy Hewitt’s squad for 2024:
Caoimhe O’Reilly
Bonnie McKiernan
Amber Hardy
Leah Kelly
Yvonne Hedigan
Kelsey Munroe
Keeva Flynn
Emma Hansberry
Kelly Crompton
Muireann Devaney
Emma Doherty
Amy Roddy
Kerri Pixie O’Hara
Sarah Kiernan
Ciara Henry
Alice Lille
Zoe McGlynn

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce that midfielder Zoe McGlynn has signed for the Bit O’Red ahead of the 2024 League of Ireland Women’s Premier Division season.

The 25-year-old joins from Sion Swifts in the NIFL where she has impressed alongside her Bit O’Red team-mate Kelly Crompton. McGlynn is the fifth new signing alongside Crompton, Muireann Devaney, Kelsey Munroe and Yvonne Hedigan.

McGlynn, who is from Raphoe in Donegal, started her career with Raphoe where she played for the boys’ team before signing for Lagan Harps. At the age of 16, McGlynn signed for Sion Swifts and was also involved in Republic of Ireland Under 17 and Under 19 squads. The Donegal native also featured for the Irish College’s team, and enjoyed four years playing college football in the United States.

She told sligorovers.com: “Sligo approached me last season but I made the decision to stay at Sion Swifts for another season. Tommy then got in contact with me at the end of the season there and we had a few chats. 

“I had a few other offers but decided going with Sligo was the right move for me and Tommy made the decision a little easier by the conversations we had as I liked his ideas and plan he had for the team.

“I played most my earlier years of football in Donegal before I started playing senior football around the age of 16 with Sion Swifts in the NIFL so I think that senior level experience carries with me. 

“I’ve been involved in many cups and big games with Sion so the aspiration to do well and achieve team goals has always been in me. “I went to University in the States where I played D1 football with CCSU and won three conferences with them and reached the NCAA where I think I learned a lot on the field playing top quality oppositions. I’ve been involved in u17s and u19s Ireland squads too so I enjoy being around that professionalism.”

Alongside Kelly Crompton, McGlynn is already familiar with a few of her team-mates having come across them over the years.McGlynn is the latest in a string of high profile signings to be announced this pre-season, and now she can’t wait to get cracking.

“I think I can bring high intensity and experience. I love being involved in the game as much as possible. I’m hoping to get on the assist and score sheet as much as possible to help the team improve from where they were last season

“When talking with Tommy he would have mentioned a few of the girls that were signed or signing and it seemed like he has been adding top players who are going to help improve the team and help them progress in this league

“I’m really looking forward to working with Tommy and the rest of the coaching staff, and getting going with the girls and seeing how much we can improve from the previous seasons. 

“I’m excited for the new challenge that comes with moving to a new team and into a different league.”

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce that Ciara Henry has re-signed for the 2024 season.

The ATU Sligo scholarship recipient is back for her third season with the senior squad having come through the Academy.

The Tubbercurry native joined the club in 2018, progressing from the U-17 and U-19 squads to the senior team.

Speaking with sligorovers.com, Ciara said: ‘I’m delighted to be re-signing for Sligo Rovers for the 2024 season. I’m looking forward to working with Tommy, his team and all the girls to build on what we’ve created here over the last two years, and I’m excited to see what we can achieve this season.”

Tommy Hewwit, on Ciara’s signing, said: ‘It’s great to have Ciara back on board, she is improving season on season and you can see how much it means to her to play for her hometown club.’

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce that Keeva Flynn has re-signed for the 2024 season.

Last season, Keeva became the youngest player (15 years 234 days) to play for Rovers when she made her debut away to Cliftonville.

Her impressive form at academy and senior levels has seen her called up to Irish international squads. Her most recent call-up was just last week when she played for the Ireland U-17 side that beat South Korea and Portugal in two friendlies.

Speaking on signing with the senior squad, Keeva said: ‘I am delighted to be signing for Sligo Rovers senior team for the 2024 season. It’ll be an exciting year coming off the back of the work done last season, and I can’t wait to get going with Tommy and the girls and look to build on my debut season last year.”

Tommy Hewitt said, “Keeva has huge potential, and I am excited to work and help with her development this season. She is a very talented young player with a fantastic future ahead of her.”

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce that Alice Lillie has re-signed for the 2024 season.

The Ballinafad native came through our academy over the last three seasons and made her Senior debut in 2022. The talented defender arrived at The Showgrounds following spells at local clubs Strand Celtic and Arrow Harps.

Alice’s fine performances have seen her involved with The Republic of Ireland underage squads over the last couple of seasons.

Speaking with Sligorovers.com, Alice said: ‘I am delighted to be re-signing with Sligo Rovers for the 2024 season. I’m really looking forward to working with Tommy and his team. I really enjoyed playing last season, and I learned a lot and developed as a player. Hopefully, we can build on the past two seasons and push on this year and be successful.”

Tommy Hewitt, speaking on Alice signing back, said: “Alice is a very talented and intelligent player. She was one of the young players that really impressed last season and can go on to achieve great things with us over the next few years.”