Roscommon woman set to hit 50 cap milestone for Ireland
Heather Payne in action for the Roscommon U-16 girls' football team during the 2015 All-Ireland B final against Waterford.
A County Roscommon woman is set to reach a major milestone in her international career when she lines out for her country for the 50th time.
Heather Payne is set to hit the half-century of caps when the Republic of Ireland women’s team face Turkey in the Nations League at Tallaght Stadium on Friday evening.
It will be the team’s first game since their Euro play-off defeat against Wales and the first match under new manager Carla Ward.
“Playing since U-15 for Ireland, you don’t really think about a 50th game, you just hope to make the senior team.
“To have played in a World Cup in those 50 caps, it’s amazing as well. I’m really looking forward to Friday,” she said.
Payne was part of the first women’s senior soccer team from the country to compete at the World Cup finals in 2023.
Daughter of Brendan and Grainne Payne, she is a former underage ladies’ footballer with Pádraig Pearses and Roscommon.
Her burgeoning reputation in soccer saw her join Bristol City from Peamount United before she moved Stateside in 2019 and teamed up with Florida State Seminoles.
She made her senior debut for the Republic of Ireland against Northern Ireland in 2018, producing a number of impressive displays that saw her named in Vera Pauw’s squad for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand two years ago.
Payne has been chosen as Young Women’s Player of the Year at the FAI International awards.
In August 2023, she signed a new contract with Everton, which currently sees her ply her trade in the Women’s Super League alongside some of the best players in the world in England.
