Search

20 Jan 2026

Kildare's Ruby Boland stars as Ireland U16s win in Portugal

Impressive display from young Ireland soccer stars

Kildare's Ruby Boland stars as Ireland U16s win in Portugal

Ireland U16 girls who defeated Portugal 2-0 with Kildare's Ruby Boland (no.4) at the heart of the defence

Reporter:

Tommy Callaghan

20 Jan 2026 12:30 PM

Tom Elms Ireland u16s girls powered their way to victory in Porto on the Portuguese coast, with Lara Dallaghan captaining the team, last week.
In inclement weather more reminiscent of west of Ireland thd Ireland starlets put on a very formidable a resolute defensive performance and hit fast on the counter with clinical precision. 
Ireland's defensive strength snuffed out many Portuguese advances and Lucy Doyle between the posts was superb in her keeping duties.
Kildare's Ruby Boland put in stellar performance covering tackles and commanded a composed build-up from the center half line and it wasn't until the second half that Mia Wheelan pressed the forward line and cooly slotted home a blunder in the Portugeuse box.
Tom Elms charges capitalised with Halley Harcourt drove down the wing and through the Portugeuse defence with speed and chipped the keeper with steely confidence and skill as the Girls in Green recorded an impressive 2-0 win.
It was a very robust and confident display by the whole team and all the girls now turn their attentions to their upcoming u17  2026 league of Ireland opening fixtures.

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!

Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

Subscribe

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.

Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Most Popular

Sponsored Content

Multimedia

We've got Donegal Covered...

Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie

Buy a paper

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Buy Now
Get the news

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.

Register Here
Iconic Media is Ireland's largest independently owned regional newspaper and media group, with an unrivalled audience in print, online and mobile. We have 19 regional newspapers and 21 digital sites.

Iconic Digital Titles

  • Carlow Live
  • Clare Live
  • Derry Now
  • Donegal Live
  • Éire Bheo
  • Inish Live
  • Ireland Live
  • Kildare Live
  • Kildare Now
  • Kilkenny Live
  • Laois Live
  • Leitrim Live
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Live
  • Longford Live
  • Louth Live
  • Mayo Live
  • Nenagh Live
  • Offaly Live
  • Tipperary Live
  • Waterford Live

    • Iconic Print Titles

  • Clonmel Nationalist
  • County Derry Post
  • Derry News
  • Donegal Democrat
  • Donegal Post
  • Dundalk Democrat
  • Homes in Donegal
  • Inish Times
  • Kilkenny People
  • Leinster Express
  • Leinster Leader
  • Leitrim Observer
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Leader
  • Longford Leader
  • Mayo News
  • Midland Tribune
  • Tipperary Star
  • Tullamore Tribune

    • This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.

    © 2026 Iconic Media