Clondalkin’s Lisa Fallon has left Galway United

Clondalkin native Lisa Fallon has announced that she is leaving her role as first-team head coach at Galway United after a single season.

Working alongside John Caulfield – who she had previously linked up with during a successful spell at Cork City – Fallon helped Galway to secure a second-place finish in the SSE Airtricity League First Division table.

This appeared to place them in a good spot heading into the end of season play-offs, but it didn’t quite go according to plan for the Tribes.

After playing out a scoreless draw with Bray Wanderers in a first leg semi-final at the beginning of this month, United subsequently lost out to the Seagulls on a 1-0 scoreline in their return fixture at Eamonn Deacy Park.

While this was a disappointing end to the campaign for Galway, there is no doubt that Fallon and Caulfield made big strides over the course of 2021.

Only divisional champions Shelbourne conceded fewer goals and the westerners won 15 of the 27 games they played during the regular season.

Fallon made headlines in taking on this position as she became the first female head coach in the history of Galway United.

She achieved an even greater milestone back in 2013, when her appointment to Leinster Senior League side Lakelands FC made her the first-ever female manager of a senior men’s team in Ireland.

Fallon has enjoyed quite the coaching journey to date, with Women’s Super League outfits Chelsea and London City Lionesses acquiring her services in the recent past.

She also worked as an opposition analyst for the Northern Ireland men’s international side and had a similar role with the Dublin men’s footballers in 2018, who were under the management of her Round Tower Clondalkin club-mate Jim Gavin at the time.

Formerly a sports reporter for Today FM and FM104, Fallon continues to have a strong presence in the media. She is a regular analyst and co-commentator of RTE’s soccer coverage as well as being a columnist for the national broadcaster’s website and – more recently – The Irish Times.