Rachel Graham

Rachel Graham (born 18 July 1989) is an Irish footballer and football coach who plays for Women's National League club Shelbourne. She won her first cap for the Republic of Ireland women's national team in March 2013. An industrious defensive midfielder who can also play as a defender, she joined Shelbourne in their previous guise as Raheny United.

Club Career

Graham was born in Dublin and grew up in Donaghmede. She began playing street football as the only girl alongside the neighbourhood boys and joined a boy's club called Trinity Sports. After a couple of seasons she moved to Raheny United at 14 years old.

In 2007 Graham played as Raheny reached the FAI Women's Cup final, but were beaten 1–0 by a Galway League select team at Dalymount Park. Graham was still playing for Raheny United when the Women's National League (WNL) was formed in 2011 and represented the club in the competition's first season.

Over the next three seasons, Graham won two league titles and three consecutive FAI Women's Cups with "The Pandas." She also represented the club in the UEFA Women's Champions League, including in 2014–15 when they became the first Irish club to win all three matches in the group stage. For the 2015–16 season, Graham remained with the club in their new guise as Shelbourne.

Throughout much of her career Graham has functioned as a defensive midfielder, although she has also been deployed as a right-back and as a central defender or sweeper.