'I love being able to represent Westmeath over in England'

Regan Kelly

The county has produced some fantastic sports stars over the years, from the likes of Dessie Dolan to Connor Smith, but it’s now Westmeath women’s time to shine. One who has shone bright over the last few years is Dysart woman Jessica Hennessey.

Jessica plays as a footballer with AFC Bournemouth in the English Southern Premier Division of the Women’s National League for the current campaign.

Jessica’s love for sports was nurtured while she was a pupil at St Kenny National School in Ballinea, and she looks back fondly on that time.

Jessica said: “I was actually quite late to soccer, but I was always playing with the boys when I was in St Kenny. I think I was the only girl playing with the boys.”

Her underage career took off when she joined Mullingar Athletic at the age of 14, and played with the U18s for two years (there was no younger age group for girls at that time).

By the time she had was doing her Leaving Cert, she had played for Lucan and Shelbourne, for two years each.

After the exams, Jessica’s career accelerated as she secured a move to Athlone Town in 2020. “My dad is from Athlone, and I spent a lot of time there with my grandparents, and they still live there.

“Tommy Hewitt got in contact with me, and I signed for Athlone. I was there for three or four years.

“I’ve been looking at them lately, and it’s so nice to see the girls doing well, even though it’s a different team than the one I played in, but there are a few familiar faces. It’s great to have a team doing so well, especially in the midlands.”

While playing for Athlone, Jessica caught the attention of Shamrock Rovers: “When I moved to Shamrock Rovers, it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me.

“If it wasn’t for them, I wouldn’t have got over to England, but really it was everything about the club that got me, just their professionalism and how they did things.”

Jessica spent one year at Shamrock Rovers, and scored three goals in 46 appearances.

Her big break was a transfer to Nottingham Forrest on deadline day, and Jessica never really had time to process that move.

Reflecting on a hectic period, Jessica said: “It seemed to be in the works for around a week, but my agent didn’t really know if it was going to go through or not, so he kept it quiet from me, just so I didn’t get my hopes up.

“My agent texted me one Thursday saying it might go through and asking if I would be interested, and of course I said yeah, as I knew it was one of my only chances to get to England.

“I still never really thought it was going to go through, so I went to work in KC Sports on Friday, but before I knew it, my agent rang me and told me I need to get to the airport now, this deal is going through!”

Making such a big move in a short timeframe can be stressful, and for Jessica, it was such a quick turnaround that she had little time to think about it.

“My dad and I went straight to the airport, flew into East Midlands, got picked up, did my medical, attended a photoshoot, and then it was released that night at 9pm.

“Not even a day later than that phone call, I was a Nottingham Forrest player. I flew back home on Sunday, but went back over on Tuesday, and I was there for the foreseeable future.

“The first few months were stressful, with all of those things like getting an apartment and a National Insurance number.”

Jessica signed for AFC Bournemouth during the summer, where her main goal is to get minutes under her belt.

She is enjoying these early days in Bournemouth and is settling in well. Speaking on this, Jessica said: “I love Bournemouth so far, I’m living right by the beach, so I can go for my evening swim every day after training.

“It’s just a lovely area to live in, the weather is always sunny. With regards to the club, though, it’s absolutely brilliant.

“Everybody welcomed me in, the girls are a great group, and the whole club are fantastic, so professional in everything they do.”

Jessica took the move to a new country in her stride, but her love for Westmeath runs deep: “I love being able to represent Westmeath over in England. It’s nice because I grew up in Westmeath, just a proud moment for me to represent my county.

“I’m so proud to be from Westmeath, and I love coming home; it’s a reset for me when things get too much over here, especially when I get a bit homesick.

“It’s simple things like going into Mullingar, getting a coffee, meeting up with a few people, it resets me to the point that I feel like I’m ready to go again.”

Women’s football has seen a significant rise in recent years, and equality is at the forefront of progressing the game.

Like most footballers in the women’s game, that is important for Jessica, and it is something her club take seriously too.

“The standards are so high here, whatever the men have, we have in terms of gear and everything like that. I think that makes such a difference, Bournemouth are equal in everything they do, even when it comes to social media, we have a lot of social media with the lads and it’s nice to be involved.

“The men’s game are going to be a little bit ahead of us for a while, but from where the women’s game was to where it is now is an unbelievable step, and hopefully it just keeps growing.

“In Ireland, you can see the number of girls coming over to England now, the likes of Lia O’Leary, Joy Ralph, and Kiera Sena.”