{"id":291941,"date":"2026-01-19T07:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T07:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/291941\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T07:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T07:17:11","slug":"denise-osullivan-joins-liverpool-in-club-record-transfer-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/291941\/","title":{"rendered":"Denise O\u2019Sullivan joins Liverpool in club record transfer \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Denise O\u2019Sullivan<\/a> has never been afraid to take on a challenge, nor to travel far to find one. But her transfer from North Carolina Courage to Liverpool<\/a>, for a club-record fee of \u20ac350,000, might just be her biggest challenge yet. She has already made quite the impact, though \u2013 she scored six minutes into her debut for the club on Sunday in their FA Cup win over London Bees. <\/p>\n

But after nine seasons with the Courage, where she was captain for the last two, the 31-year-old Cork woman has opted to move closer to home. <\/p>\n

Since she left Ireland in 2013, she has had spells playing in Scotland, with Glasgow City, the United States, with Houston Dash and the Courage, in Australia, where she had loan spells with Canberra United and Western Sydney Wanderers, and in England where she had a brief loan stint with Brighton. <\/p>\n

It was with the Courage, though, that she made her greatest mark, making a record 186 appearances for the club and winning seven major honours along the way. But at Liverpool, the only goal this season is the avoidance of relegation, the club sitting bottom of the WSL having taken just four points from their 12 games.<\/p>\n

Courage\u2019s chief soccer officer Ceri Bowley paid a warm tribute to O\u2019Sullivan on her departure. \u201cDenise has been an integral part of this club since the beginning, she has been a leader, both on and off the field, and the standard of excellence she set for herself, her team-mates, and everyone at this organisation will be her legacy. She will be missed, but we understand her desire to be closer to home and wish her all the best in her next chapter.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very proud moment for myself and also for my family,\u201d said O\u2019Sullivan, the second most capped female Republic of Ireland<\/a> international of all time (128), behind Emma Byrne (134). \u201cI had a really special time with the Courage and have a lot of great memories from there, but I want to push myself and I wanted a new challenge,\u201d she added. <\/p>\n

\u201cAlso, I\u2019m only 40 minutes away from my friends and family. They have not got to see me play very much over the years as I\u2019ve been a long way from home, so to have them now come over and watch the games \u2013 especially for my mum, to be able to take care of her at a pretty short distance \u2013 is really special.\u201d <\/p>\n

A trio of familiar faces greeted O\u2019Sullivan on her arrival at Liverpool \u2013 her Irish team-mate Leanne Kiernan, her former international comrade Niamh Fahey, now the club\u2019s technical co-ordinator, and Amber Whiteley, assistant manager with both Liverpool and Ireland. <\/p>\n

Also on the move during the transfer window was Amber Barrett<\/a>, who made her debut for French club Strasbourg on Saturday having joined them from Standard Liege last week on the day she turned 30. <\/p>\n

Barrett, who had previous spells with FC K\u00f6ln and Turbine Potsdam in Germany, scored 22 goals in 32 appearances for Standard. They are currently sixth in the French premier league, the club owned by BlueCo, the consortium that bought Chelsea four years ago. <\/p>\n

\n

We are delighted to announce the signing of Kelly Brady \ud83e\udd85<\/p>\n

Welcome to Palace, Kelly \u2764\ufe0f\ud83d\udc99<\/p>\n

\u2014 Crystal Palace F.C. Women (@cpfc_w) January 11, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And Kelly Brady<\/a> finally completed her much-anticipated move to Crystal Palace last week, the 23-year-old leaving double winners Athlone after a season that saw her win the player of the year award and finish as the Premier Division\u2019s top scorer. She becomes the fourth Republic of Ireland international on the club\u2019s books, the others Ruesha Littlejohn, Abbie Larkin and Hayley Nolan. Palace are currently fifth in the WSL2, three points off the promotion spots.<\/p>\n

Athlone have moved quickly to fill the void left by Brady\u2019s departure, Dana Scheriff, their top scorer in 2023, returning after spells playing in Switzerland, the United States and the Czech Republic. They have also brought in Noelle Murray who was released by Shelbourne last month after a decade with the club. <\/p>\n