Create an experience with Joanne Doonan

Joanne Doonan is a Gaelic Football star from County Fermanagh, Ireland and was selected on a rookie contract by Carlton ahead of the 2020 season. 

Her talent came to the attention of the AFLW recruits during the Cross Coders trial camp, which was ran in May in Athlone IT, Ireland. She graduated from the Cross Coders programme, which was a global initiative to give athletes from sports across the globe the opportunity to play AFLW. She took a big step by moving from Ireland to pursue a career in AFLW with Carlton FC.

In Ireland she plays Gaelic Football at the highest level for County Fermanagh having started through the underage ranks. Despite only being 27 this is her 11th season on the Fermanagh squad and she has tasted success with this elite team in recent years. In 2017, she scored the winning goal as Fermanagh claimed the All Ireland Junior championship by beating Derry after a replay. In 2019, she was selected as captain of the Fermanagh team and they achieved promotion in the NFL after seeing off Antrim in the final. Joanne was selected on the Lidl Team of the League for her performances during this campaign.

She has also represented Queen’s University Belfast at the highest level and not only captained them to O’Connor Shield success in 2018 but also received the player of the match for her display in the final.

At club level Joanne has been an integral part of her local team Kinawley reaching two Ulster Club Intermediate finals in recent years. She was nominated for a Gaelic Life All Star for her contributions during both of these seasons. This success has come off the back of unprecedented underage success, winning every available trophy from U12 right through to U18 and Senior. She has also been selected as captain of this team ahead of their 2019 championship campaign.

Outside of sport, Joanne graduated as a Mechanical Engineer in May 2018 and was working as a Graduate Process Engineer before pursuing a career in AFLW. In recent years Joanne has been involved in school talks for both sporting and academic interests. She also has recent experience in coaching at youth level and summer programmes.

Individual Achievements

• Ulster Club Intermediate Champions 2021
• All Ireland Junior Champions 2020
• Rookie Contract with Carlton Football Club 2019
• NFL Team of the league 2019
• O’Connor Cup Shield Final Player of the Match 2018
• GAA Academy Scholarship Queen’s University 2017/18
• Gaelic Life All Star x 2
• University Club Woman of the year 2018