Offaly woman makes impressive debut for Leinster rugby team

An Offaly woman made a very impressive debut for the Leinster senior ladies rugby team in the interprovincial competition last weekend.

Clara's Aoife Dalton had a superb game as Leinster had a comfortable 39-10 win over Connacht, winning the player of the match award in the process.

She was one of ten new caps for Leinster on the day and it is the latest step forward for a woman, who has also played for Ireland.

Playing at centre, Dalton who started her career with Tullamore before moving to Old Belvedere, was instrumental in some Leinster scores. She comes from a strong sporting background – her father Tony played underage football for Offaly and won Senior Football Championship medals with Clara while her brother Marcas has played minor and U-20 football for Offaly in recent years and should be a key member of this year's promising U-20 side.,

The Leinster team featured another Tullamore player in scrum half Ailsa Hughes while Shannon Touhey played on the Connacht side. The touch judge was a Tullamore woman, Katie Byrne.