Inishowen girls Erin ‘Fildara’ McLaughlin and Kerry Brown have been named on the Republic of Ireland U15 Girls Schools panel for the 2018 Bob Docherty Cup.
Carndonagh Community College’s McLaughlin (pictured above) and Moville Community College’s Browne have been named in a panel which will also face Northern Ireland and England before competing in the Bob Docherty Cup, being held in Belfast this year.
McLaughlin narrowly missed out on selection last year, her hard work has finally been rewarded with a place in the squad in 2018. The Ulster gem has been exceptional for her School this season with appearances in the Junior & Senior Ulster Cup campaign in recent times.
Browne is a cousin of former Schools’ International Roma McLaughlin so she should have a certain degree of pedigree in her armour. Interestingly, Kerry will come face to face with Aoibheann Clancy when the two schools meet in this year’s Senior Cup decider in Home Farm later this month.
Roma, who also attended the Moville educational institute in her academic career has appeared in two such heavy weight contests. McLaughlin lost out to Christ the King Girls’ SS, Cork in the 2012 Cup outing but secured the title the following year against the same opponents.
Can Brown & Co. replicate such a success story on February 21 or will Thurles turn on the style and claim their second Senior title in three years?
The final selection stems from months of assessment days and monitoring of players since the conclusion of the annual Interprovincial Tournament last November. The three day event saw 68 of the best player’s line out for their Province. This was the first step in a comprehensive review period for the management team which saw in effect of over 40 players screened.
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