A record 46 Irish players will be on AFLW club lists for the 2026 season, underlining the growing Irish influence in Australian rules football.
The figure marks a significant rise from the 39 Irish players involved in 2025, with 10 new recruits joining AFLW clubs ahead of the new campaign.
Mayo’s Saoirse Lally has joined St Kilda, Meath’s Mary-Kate Lynch has signed for Sydney Swans, Kerry’s Emma Dineen is with Essendon, while Cork duo Aoife Healy and Hannah Looney have joined Fremantle and Hawthorn respectively.
Waterford’s Emma Murray is with Geelong, Cavan’s Ellie Brady has joined Collingwood, Tyrone’s Aoife Horisk is with Melbourne, Antrim’s Ana Mulholland has signed for Richmond and Tipperary’s Caitlin Kennedy is listed with Brisbane Lions.
Kennedy will miss the 2026 season after suffering an ACL injury during Brisbane’s pre-season preparations, but remains part of Brisbane’s AFLW list.
The Irish spread across the league is now striking. The 46 players come from 20 different counties, with Mayo leading the way on six. Tipperary and Meath each have five representatives, while Kerry and Dublin have four apiece. Donegal and Cork have three each, with Waterford, Clare and Offaly all represented by two players.
A further 10 counties, Laois, Cavan, Leitrim, Tyrone, Antrim, Armagh, Galway, Fermanagh, Kildare and Down, each have one player on an AFLW list.
That county spread shows how quickly the Irish connection with AFLW has grown. What was once associated with a small number of standout exports is now a visible route for players across the country.
Cora Staunton remains the defining early figure in that journey. The Mayo great became the first Irishwoman to move directly to Australia to play AFLW when she joined Greater Western Sydney ahead of the 2018 season. She went on to score 55 goals in 50 games, setting a standard that helped change how Irish players were viewed in the competition.
Since then, Irish players have become a familiar part of the AFLW. Orla O’Dwyer, Sinéad Goldrick, Sarah Rowe, Vikki Wall, Aishling Moloney and Áine Tighe are among the established names already on club lists, with the next wave now adding to that presence.
The connection between Ireland and Australia was given another landmark moment earlier this month when Australia defeated Ireland 91-41 at North Sydney Oval in the first women’s meeting between the countries played in the classic Aussie rules format.
The fixture sold more than 8,000 tickets, with a waitlist in place. Ireland were captained by Tipperary’s Orla O’Dwyer, with the squad made up entirely of AFLW players. Bláithín Bogue scored three goals for Ireland, while O’Dwyer, Neasa Dooley and Niamh McLaughlin were also on the scoreboard.
The result showed the difference between Australia’s native code and Ireland’s growing adaptation to it. The occasion showed something else: Irish players now sit firmly inside the AFLW conversation.
There is history behind it too. Ireland and Australia previously met in a women’s international rules series in 2006 at Kingspan Breffni and Parnell Park, with Ireland winning both tests. That series was played under rules closer to the compromise format used in the men’s international rules games. AFLW itself did not begin until 2017.
Twenty years later, the link has become much more substantial. Irish players are being recruited, listed and developed across the league, with counties at home now able to follow their own players on one of the fastest-growing stages in women’s sport.
TG4 will again bring that story to Irish audiences through Aussie Rules na mBan, with 31 games from the 2026 AFLW season included in this year’s coverage.
Coverage begins on Saturday, 15 August, with Richmond taking on Collingwood. Adelaide Crows face Sydney Swans on Sunday, 16 August. The opening four rounds will include eight TG4 games, with Rounds 3 and 4 forming part of the AFLW’s Indigenous Round.
The return of TG4’s coverage is important because it keeps Irish players visible at home. Without it, much of this progress would be followed through early-morning score updates, social clips and county-level word of mouth. With it, supporters can watch the league properly, track Irish players and understand the scale of the opportunity.
The rise to 46 Irish players also raises a wider question for Irish sport. The AFLW is clearly recognising the quality of athletes being developed here. Irish players are bringing field awareness, kicking skills, physicality and competitiveness into a different code, and clubs are continuing to invest in them.
For the players, it is a professional opportunity. For Irish sport, it is proof of value.
Forty-six Irish players. Twenty counties. Ten new recruits.
Ireland’s AFLW presence has never been bigger.
