Another GAA ace heads for Oz: 'You can still bring in some of your Gaelic style, and they don't want you to lose that' 

'I found it really difficult at first because I would probably stay here and play with Meath until I can’t play any more

SMASH: Meath's Mary Kate Lynch takes the challenge of Dublin's Carla Rowe full on in last year's TG4 All-Ireland Ladies SFC final at Croke Park. Pic: Leah Scholes, Inpho

MEATH Ladies footballer and double All-Ireland winner Mary-Kate Lynch has become the latest Irish player to join the Australian Football League Women’s (ALFW) after she agreed a deal to sign as an international rookie for the Sydney Swans ahead of the 2026 season.

The two-time All Star winner in 2021 and 2025 will follow in the footsteps of former Meath teammates Orlagh Lally (Fremantle), Aoibhín Cleary (Richmond) and sisters Vicki and Sarah Wall (North Melbourne), and will link up with compatriots Tanya Kennedy (Donegal), Paris McCarthy and Julie O’Sullivan (both Kerry) in the Harbour City along with Swans manager Colin O’Riordan, the former Tipperary footballer who made history in becoming the first ever Irish coach of an AFLW team.