‘It has always been a dream of mine to play for Kildare and wear the white jersey. Now that I’m getting the chance to do that at the moment, it’s a dream come true in that sense‘
BY DAIRE WALSH
SHE has already fulfilled a dream in a different sport and now Alannah Prizeman is living out another one as part of the Kildare senior ladies football panel.
Having first played soccer at the tender age of eight in her hometown of Naas, Prizeman had aspirations of representing the Republic of Ireland at international level.
This is something she managed to do as recently as April 11, 2023, when she featured off the bench for the Ireland U19s in a European Championship qualification game against Croatia at the Gjemselund Stadion in Norway.
Yet just under four months later she featured for Kildare in a ZuCar All-Ireland U18 ‘A’ Football Championship final defeat to Galway at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park and this further fuelled a long-held ambition to line out for the Lilywhites at senior level.
This dream was realised at Manguard Park on January 26 of this year, when she was handed a competitive debut in her side’s Lidl National Football League Division 1 opener at home to Waterford.
“It has always been a dream of mine to play for Kildare and wear the white jersey. Now that I’m getting the chance to do that at the moment, it’s a dream come true in that sense,” Prizeman explained.
“I had dreams in Gaelic football and with soccer as well to play for Ireland. I did play underage for Ireland, so that dream came true and then I always wanted to play senior for Kildare. Now that I’m getting to do that, it’s great.”
Another big personal milestone that Prizeman achieved during 2023 was a first-team debut for Shamrock Rovers against Treaty United in the Women’s Premier Division – three years after she joined the Dublin club as an U17 player.
She went on to make a total of 18 senior appearances for the Hoops, before officially departing at the beginning of this year. While the fact she received a sports scholarship from DCU as a soccer player means she continues to play the sport within the college, Prizeman’s primary focus for now is on establishing herself as a Kildare senior player.
Although she is more than content to have chosen Gaelic football over association football for 2025, the 19-year-old reflects fondly on her time with Shamrock Rovers.
“I loved my time at Shamrock Rovers, to be fair. Even underage, it was probably the best years of my life. Obviously playing with players like [former Ireland internationals] Aine O’Gorman and Stephanie Zambra last year and the year before, was incredible. I always tried to do both, play Gaelic and soccer.
“Gaelic was kind of kicked to the side for the last however many years I was with Shamrock Rovers, so I just decided to give it a change for the year and just see how it goes. I’m really happy with my decision at the moment, because obviously we’re doing well with Kildare and I’m really enjoying it.”
She has certainly joined the panel at an exciting period for the Lilywhites as they find themselves in the top-tier of the NFL for the time since 2012.
The Leinster side have lost out to Waterford and Kerry thus far in the league, but also recorded an excellent win over Dublin in round two at Manguard Park on February 2.
In their 1-8 to 0-8 victory at the expense of the Jackies, a 10th minute goal from Prizeman proved crucial in getting the Lilies over the line.
The former St Mary’s College, Naas student also rattled the net in Kildare’s 1-13 to 2-7 reversal to Waterford on the opening weekend of the league, but after the frustration of falling short in that game, she was thrilled to pick up some much-needed points against Dublin.
“I think we were quite disappointed after the Waterford game, that we could have given more. When we went to training, we obviously trained hard and we weren’t scared or anything going into the Dublin game. We knew we could put up a fight and we were delighted then that we got the win by a goal and nipped it.
“Obviously I’m delighted to help the team in any way. The goal against Dublin, it kind of just fell to me. I kind of just swung my leg at it and delighted that it went in, in the end.”
Though Kildare will be on the road for their next three games in NFL Division 1, their regular league campaign concludes on March 29 with a round seven duel against Tyrone at Cedral St Conleth’s Park.
Whereas this will be the first time that the Lilies ladies will have played there since it was revamped as a ground that can now host approximately 15,000 spectators, togging out at the Newbridge venue will be an entirely new experience for Prizeman.
“We’ve three tough away games there coming up. Obviously it’s going to be wonderful to get back home, never mind playing in St Conleth’s Park.
“I’ve actually never played there, even before it was done up. It’s going to be a big occasion for a lot of us. Only delighted to be playing there and really looking forward to the last game of the league against Tyrone.”
There are some tough tests ahead for Kildare between now and the end of March, however, starting with a trip to face Meath in St Peter’s, Dunboyne on Sunday week (February 23)
As things stand, the Royals – who are managed by ex-Kildare men’s goalkeeper Shane McCormack – are at the summit of NFL Division 1, just ahead of Armagh on score difference.
After missing out on last Sunday’s defeat to Kerry due to a bout of tonsilitis, Prizeman is hoping to be back involved for an enticing showdown between two provincial rivals.
“Meath have been doing very well, they’ve won every game so far. Obviously it will be a tough challenge, but we’re up to playing anyone and we’re working hard towards Meath for the next week and hopefully we can get a good result next Sunday,” Prizeman added.
“We trained hard before the first round of the league and having three games in-a-row obviously is tough on the legs and on the body. We’re actually still training, but the week off from a match should be good and we’ll get back into the swing.”
Alannah Prizeman in action against Maryanne Jordan of Galway during the ZuCar All-Ireland Ladies Football U18 A final match between Galway and Kildare at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park in Longford. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile
