The IRFU is today delighted to announce central contracts for 35 players across the Women's High Performance Programme, as preparations continue for an exciting 2025/26 season.
Coming off the back of the Women's Rugby World Cup, players from the centralised programme have returned to training at the IRFU High Performance Centre in recent weeks, building towards the upcoming Celtic Challenge and the 2026 Guinness Women's Six Nations.
Seven players have been awarded their first national contracts having progressed through the Women's National Talent Squad (WNTS) pathway and impressed for the Ireland Under-20 Women's team last season.
Forwards Ailish Quinn, Beth Buttimer, Ivana Kiripati, Jane Neill, and Jemima Adams Verling have joined the full-time centralised programme for the 2025/26 season, while backs Caitríona Finn and Chisom Ugwueru have also earned their first senior contracts.
Quinn and Kiripati made their Test debuts during the World Cup warm-up fixtures in August, with Kiripati and Buttimer included in Scott Bemand's final tournament squad, while both Finn and Ugwueru have also been involved in Ireland senior squads in recent seasons.
A number of players - including Linda Djougang, Méabh Deely, and Siobhán McCarthy - have left the programme but remain players of national interest, while Niamh O'Dowd and Brittany Hogan have taken up playing opportunities with Gloucester-Hartpury and Sale Sharks respectively.
O'Dowd joins Gloucester for the 2025/26 Premiership Women's Rugby (PWR) campaign as injury cover, while Hogan will move to Sale from January 1, 2026.
The new Celtic Challenge campaign kicks off on Saturday, December 20 as the Clovers host Gwalia Lightning, and the Wolfhounds go head-to-head with Edinburgh in a double-header at Energia Park.
The competition will provide centrally-contracted players and players of national interest with valuable exposure to game-time and high-level coaching in the build-up to the Guinness Women's Six Nations.
Ireland get their Championship underway against England at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham on Saturday, April 11, before hosting Italy in their first home outing on Saturday, April 18.
The new Celtic Challenge campaign kicks off on Saturday, December 20 as the Clovers host Gwalia Lightning, and the Wolfhounds go head-to-head with Edinburgh in a double-header at Energia Park.
The competition will provide centrally-contracted players and players of national interest with valuable exposure to game-time and high-level coaching in the build-up to the Guinness Women's Six Nations.
Ireland get their Championship underway against England at Allianz Stadium in Twickenham on Saturday, April 11, before hosting Italy in their first home outing on Saturday, April 18.
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Bemand's side then travel to France for a round 3 encounter on Saturday, April 25, before back-to-back home fixtures, against Wales on Saturday, May 9, and Scotland on Sunday, May 17, to conclude the Six Nations. The round 5 clash with Scotland at the Aviva Stadium will be the first ever standalone Women's international at the home of Irish Rugby, and ticket sales are already surging for what promises to be a memorable occasion. Venue details for the home matches against Italy and Wales will be announced in the coming weeks. Before then, the Ireland Women's Sevens squad return to action at the Dubai Invitational tournament this weekend. James Topping's charges will begin their campaign against Poland at The Sevens Stadium on Friday, with the travelling squad to be announced tomorrow. Commenting on today's announcement, Gillian McDarby, the IRFU Head of Women's Performance and Pathways, said: "We are delighted to confirm the roll-out of 35 centralised contracts for Women's players for an exciting season ahead.As we continue to create sustainable pathways and develop competition structures, it is pleasing to see a number of young players from our Ireland underage teams step up and be rewarded with senior contracts within our High Performance Programme at the IRFU High Performance Centre."The continued development of players through our WNTS programme is testament to the work being done within the provinces, and is a key focus for us as we strive to develop depth in our playing resources moving into 2025/26 and beyond. "We are determined to evolve, grow, and develop off the back of Women's Rugby World Cup 2025, and we look forward to seeing more players exposed to high-level international rugby in both the 15s and Sevens formats, starting with our first team back in green this weekend in Dubai."