BY GER McCARTHY
EMMA Hurley is ready for her next challenge – she will soon make her debut for Cork City Women’s in the League of Ireland Women’s U17 league.
The winner of the 2023 West Cork Sports Star Paudie Palmer Youth Award is about to embark on the next stage of her career.
‘I recently signed for Cork City Women’s FC and everything is going great so far,’ the former Drinagh Rangers player told The Southern Star.
‘Craig Robinson is my coach and I will be playing for the U17s.
‘The tempo in training is really fast, much faster than what I would have been used to. We have strength and conditioning gym training on a Monday and then Tuesdays and Thursdays we are out on the pitch.
‘It was just before Christmas when I was contacted. I wasn’t expecting it at all. My Dad just said he had gotten a phone call asking if I wanted to sign for Cork City. I didn’t believe him at first.
‘I got a huge shock but it was like an early Christmas present. Everyone at Cork City has been so welcoming though which has made it easier to settle.
‘I am looking forward to playing in the League of Ireland. It starts in February but we have a friendly against Shelbourne in two weeks’ time. I can’t wait.’
The Drinagh teenager (15) has already achieved so much in her young sporting career and is ready to make her mark at League of Ireland level. 2023 was quite the year for one of the region’s rising sports stars. Aside from becoming the first-ever schoolgirl to represent the West Cork Academy at the prestigious Kennedy Schoolboys Cup, the MICC Dunmanway student also won an All-Ireland U16 road bowling title.
Accepting the 2023 West Cork Sports Star Paudie Palmer Youth Award was the icing on the cake at the end of an unforgettable 12 months.
‘I’ve had a brilliant year but am very grateful for this award,’ Hurley smiled.
‘The Kennedy Cup, the best thing about that was not being the first schoolgirl to play for the West Cork Academy in it, it was just being part of a group. I wasn’t treated any differently. I was one player who was just part of the group. The players or coaches didn’t treat me any differently.’
Drinagh Rangers are synonymous with cultivating talented footballers through their underage structures. Canon Crowley Park is where Hurley gained invaluable experience and coaching that helped her progress to the West Cork Academy.
‘Drinagh Rangers were always great to me,’ Hurley said. ‘I always played on the boys teams growing up. They (coaches) always pushed me to get better. I would have started when I was five or six years old and played until I was 14.’
An avid road bowler with an All-Ireland championship safely secured, her soccer trajectory continues to surge upwards heading into 2024, and she’s now ready for the next step, armed with the confidence of knowing her talent is being recognised at home in West Cork.
