Offaly woman stars in historic Irish rugby win

AN Offaly woman played a heroic part in a historic Irish rugby win at the weekend. Clara's Aoife Dalton was a key part of the Irish womens' side who recorded a sensational 29-27 win over World Champions New Zealand in the WXV1 Round 1 match in Vancouver on Sunday evening.

Seventeen all at half time, a 78^th minute try by replacement Erin King was converted by Dannah O'Brien to spark wild scenes of celebration in the Irish camp.

It has been a great start to the year by Ireland who have also taken the scalp of Australia and now play Canada next Saturday - Dalton got a try in the win over Australia.

Dalton, who now plays with Old Belvedere and Leinster, certainly played her role in Ireland's win, making some great tackles and covering hard yards before being replaced during the second half – she spent a spell on the sideline in the first half after a nose injury.

She has made terrific progress in rugby in recent years. Dalton comes from a well known Clara family. Her father Tony played minor and U-21 football for Offaly back in the 1990s. A rock steady defender who liked to move the ball forward, he won Senior Football Championship medals with Clara in 1993, 2003 and 2009 during a long playing career.

Tony Dalton is now the chairman of Clara GAA Club while Aoife's brother Marcas is a very promising footballing talent. He was a sub on the Offaly team that won the All-Ireland U-20 Hurling Championship in 2024 but his county future lies in the big ball game. He was asked onto the Offaly senior football panel this year but opted to go with the U-20 hurlers after the U-20 footballers bowed out while he played in Clara's defeat by Cappincur in the Senior “B” Football Championship semi-final last Saturday.