A young Co Donegal woman has enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks of a minority sport which will now see her compete in the Commonwealth Games in Nigeria later this year.
Many will already know Thea Leadley from her time on the basketball court for Blaze and on the camogie pitch for St Eunan’s in Letterkenny.
But for the past eighteen months, the 17-year-old has been making her ‘point’ in the world of fencing.
Her love and dedication of the sport will now see her represent Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games in Lagos, Nigeria, where she will compete in the U23, Senior Women’s and Team Epee Events.
A fifth year pupil at Loreto, Letterkenny, she only took up fencing in September, 2024.
She now trains five days a week concentrating on a mixture of fencing strength and conditioning and plyometrics.
Thea trains at The Fencing Club with bases in Eglinton and Magee in Derry under the watchful eye and leadership of Maître Mike Westgate, the National Coach and Performance Director for Northern Ireland Fencing.
Westgate is one of the most decorated coaches in the UK and Ireland and his presence in the Derry club has been transformative for local talent.
Thea gets to the point in training while not forgetting her Donegal roots.
He marvels at the rise of Leadley through the sport in such a short period of time.
He said “Thea has shown incredible dedication and rapid progression in a short space of time. We are looking forward to the challenge in Lagos.”
Thea only took up the sport as part of her Gaisce Award.
She revealed “I was visiting family friend Jacqui Esimaje Heath in London in the Summer of 2024, Jacqui is a veteran sabre fencer for Great Britain and we were watching Fencing at the Olympics and that gave me the idea of doing fencing for Gaisce.
“I got in touch with coach Mike Westgate through the University of Ulster Fencing Club and then started training with him at “The Fencing Club” in Eglinton. Mike was really enthusiastic and told me early on that I had potential. I don’t really think I took him on at that stage. It was more of another Transition Year activity.
“I have always been sporty having played basketball for Blaze Basketball, North West Basketball and Ulster Basketball and also camogie for St Eunan’s.
“My coaches and team mates at Blaze and St Eunan’s have been supportive of my move to fencing but being a lone athlete and not bineg part of a team is one of the difficulties I have encountered.”
Last August, Thea attended an international fencing camp at Salle Paul Phoenix in London and later had lessons with Team GB coach Oana Puiu.
Puiu told Leadley she thought she had the talent to progress in the sport and Leadley applied for and was accepted onto the GB Fencing Pathway Academy and by the end of August was training in Nottingham.
The Letetrkenny studnet added “I have worked really hard with Coach Mike who at 85 has a wealth of experience behind him as Northern Ireland Coach and previously having coached GB and Irish Teams including the 1980 Irish Modern Pentathlon Team who went to the Olympic Games in Moscow.
“I train with Mike on a Tuesday in Eglinton, at Magee on a Thursday and in Queens in Belfast on a Friday unless I have a weekend competition. I also work with Letterkenny Personal Trainer Kieran O’Neill on strength and conditioning and plyometrics. Kieran has been instrumental in both my physical and mental development. It’s a pretty full-on schedule.
“Since January I have been travelling to the UK for additional fencing training at Salle Paul Phoenix with Oana Puiu and Sam Boyle whenever I have days off school. Co-incidentally Sam’s family are originally from Donegal.
“When I go to London I can fence every day with different opponents because they have a bigger number of experienced fencers there. Over the Easter break I have the York Open competition, a week training at Salle Paul and then 2 days at the Pathway at the University of Nottingham. In April I have Irish Nationals in Dublin and the British Youth Championships in May in Sheffield.
“I am extremely grateful for the support I have received from my parents, family and friends who have me to stay in the UK especially Jacqui and Andy Heath, Claire Akermann and Ellen Traynor in Nottingham. Everyone at “The Fencing Club” has been so supportive of me too.
“Currently I’m working towards gaining as much experience as possible. I see getting to Lagos as a learning experience that can help me grow as an athlete.
“I never imagined a year and a half ago when I started fencing that I would be in this position now. It means everything to me to get this opportunity to represent Northern Ireland and my ultimate goal is to represent Ireland internationally in the near future. It has been a dream of mine from a young age to represent the nation internationally.”
But training and travelling to compete at the Commonwealth Games will not be cheap with Thea having to foot the bill of almost €6,000 to realise her dream.
Her family and friends have been hugely supportive but Thea has also set up a Go Fund Me Page in the hope that others can chip in whatever they can afford to help her along the way.
If you would like to donate a euro or if you can afford a little more than please log onto https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-my-training-and-travel-commonwealth-games-nigeria-2026
Young Letterkenny woman ready to make her ‘point’ in world of fencing was last modified: April 6th, 2026 by Staff Writer
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