MEATH Ladies footballer and double All-Ireland winner Mary-Kate Lynch has become the latest Irish player to join the Australian Football League Women’s (ALFW) after she agreed a deal to sign as an international rookie for the Sydney Swans ahead of the 2026 season.
The two-time All Star winner in 2021 and 2025 will follow in the footsteps of former Meath teammates Orlagh Lally (Fremantle), Aoibhín Cleary (Richmond) and sisters Vicki and Sarah Wall (North Melbourne), and will link up with compatriots Tanya Kennedy (Donegal), Paris McCarthy and Julie O’Sullivan (both Kerry) in the Harbour City along with Swans manager Colin O’Riordan, the former Tipperary footballer who made history in becoming the first ever Irish coach of an AFLW team.
News of Lynch’s departure was announced on Sydney Swans’ social media and Summerhill’s Lynch described to the Irish Examiner, her relief and excitement that the deal was confirmed.
“It’s still quite surreal. After being a very quiet, confidential thing for a while, then only a few people knew like my family and some relevant people from different teams..it’s a mixture of emotions, relief that it’s out there and I’m now really excited for the opportunity to go over and show what I can do.”
Timing has always been key for the 24-year-old, who made her senior county debut for Meath at just 17 before going on to win her first All Star and All Ireland title just two years later. In January 2026 she graduated with a Masters in Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology from the University of Limerick, and remains committed to her current role as a teacher until the end of the school year while also continuing to play a key role in Meath’s National League Division 1 campaign.
“The opportunity popped up a while back but I was in the middle of my studies and my Masters, I really wanted to get that under my belt. I was that bit younger and wasn’t ready to move a million miles away. Then in the last year, the timing was better, I got the opportunity to go over to the National Draft Combine in Melbourne last September, which for me was a massive thing because I’m actually such a home-bird type of person.”
An opportunity indeed, which she seized with open arms. In between meeting with multiple clubs where much of the focus was centred on assessing her personality and character, Lynch finished 2nd in the 20m sprint ahead of a host of AFLW academy graduates, and it was her speed, experience and defensive acumen that made offering her a contract an easy decision for Sydney Swans.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Mary-Kate to Sydney and the club,” said Kate Mahony, Executive General Manager. “We think the skills she’s developed playing Gaelic football will translate well to AFLW, and we’re excited to bring someone with her speed and defensive attributes into our squad.”
While the path from GAA to AFL has become a relatively well-trodden one in recent years, these Australian clubs are quick to realise the enormity of such a move on a personal and professional level and it was the Swans’ support and commitment to her off-pitch assimilation, that convinced Mary-Kate they were the club for her.
“I got interviewed by a number of clubs at the Combine..every club is quite different, they all presented different things, asked different questions and really tried to get to know you. With Sydney, there’s a really good Irish connection, and with the manager as well, I think he really understands where you are coming from and what you’re leaving behind..they really want to support you both on and off the pitch because they realise how much of a move you are making.”
On the pitch, the transition from Gaelic Football to Australian Rules Football, while full of similarities and overlaps, also presents its challenges in terms of differences in regulations, playing style, technical skills, pitch size, instinct and terminology, not to mention the more obvious differences with the ball and an even more varied climate.
“They have so much support to help players adapt, they have rooms where they turn up the heat and you train in the room, and steam rooms where you do your time in there to get used to the heat. I’m probably best known for my speed and my defensive style, but also I think that when I commit to something, I commit 100% to it, I immerse myself and give everything.”
This commitment is perhaps underestimated by many when it comes to how we observe and digest Irish athletes moving abroad to play professional sport. Most would assume that things always run smoothly and that these elite sportspeople automatically have easy lives because they are paid to play sport. What many don’t consider, however, is the personal impact of such a move, and the emotional price these athletes pay when uprooting and moving to quite literally the other side of the world.
“It was a really tough decision. People might think it’s just a goal to achieve, but there’s so much to consider, I found it really difficult at first because I would probably stay here and play with Meath until I can’t play any more. That’s why we play for our county, because of the passion and the pride that we have. The same on the club side, because that’s where you start your football and it’s probably where you finish your football, so it’s a really difficult decision.”
Back-to-back All Ireland titles and a two-time All Star winner, eyebrows were always going to be raised when the news broke of yet another GAA star making the move to Australia. Is this a worrying trend for Ladies football in Ireland?
“It’s hard because obviously it is taking from our game here, but at the same time it’s a huge opportunity that is really hard to say ‘no’ to. The chance to travel and play professional sport. You don’t want to leave your county team or your family but if the AFL keeps offering these chances to players, it’s such an amazing opportunity and you might never get that offer again.”
Not everyone will agree of course, and many within GAA circles are actively against this new trend of the recruitment of Gaelic Football players by the AFL. Tom Parsons, CEO of the Gaelic Players Association describes it as a “huge blow to Gaelic games” when high profile athletes and role models leave to take up sport abroad, while there have also been calls for compensation agreements to be brought in when top GAA stars are recruited to play in the AFL down under.
“The odd one or two were slightly critical that it’s another player from Meath leaving, but overall it’s been people wishing me well, saying they are happy for me and that they understand why I’m going..there’s no knowing how things will turn out or how long it will last for, I’m looking forward to the challenge but I’ll always hope to return and put on that green and gold jersey again one day.”
