Lia O’Leary leaves Shamrock Rovers for Bristol City

English Championship side Bristol City has secured the services of the much sought after Ireland under-19 captain Lia O’Leary on a two and a half year deal.

With her contract ending with Shamrock Rovers, O’Leary will make the move from the Hoops where she played for the last two years following a double winning debut season in the League of Ireland with Shelbourne in 2022.

The 18-year-old had been linked with a number of clubs in the UK but decided to join a City squad that also contains Ireland international Chloe Mustaki who was a teammate of O'Leary at Shelbourne.

The Robins are second in the table on goal difference behind Birmingham City as they seek promotion to the WSL.

“I’m really excited,” said O’Leary speaking with bcfc.co.uk. “I’ve been in training with the girls a few times and I’m just looking forward to getting going properly.

 “I think the ambition of the club is really good, they’re looking for promotion and in form at the moment.

“The standard of the Championship is brilliant. It is such a lovely stadium here with a big pitch and I think that suits me quite well."

In 2023, she was the SSE Airtricity Young Player of the Year.

In a 2024 league campaign when Rovers finished fifth, she came second in the assist and crossing charts in the Premier Division just behind Athlone Town’s Madie Gibson. She played in all 20 league games in 2024, starting 19 for the Hoops, and scoring twice. 

City Women Head coach Steve Kirby said: “Lia is a brilliant talent who has had a great couple of seasons. We are delighted she has decided to join us and bolster our attack.

“Not only do we feel she can improve us in the short term, but we also see her huge potential to develop with us at Bristol City in the future.”

O’Leary is among a number of confirmed depatures from Tallaght including Amanda Budden, Shauna Fox, Lauren Kelly and Stephanie Zambra.

With Budden signing for Peamount United, the Hoops will be adding to their goalkeeping team to work alongside Summer Lawless who started a quarter of Rovers’ league games in goal last season.

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— extratime.com (@extratime.com) 5 January 2025 at 20:36