Birr woman to captain Irish team at World Cup event

Kevin O'Neill

It's not every day an Offaly native captains an Irish international team at a World Cup.

But that's exactly what will happen at the end of April when Birr's Susan Verney leads a 23-strong panel into the Roller Derby World Cup in Orléans, France.

Roller Derby is not a sport well-known to the majority of Irish people, and is perhaps most recognised for its part in the 2009 Hollywood hit, Whip It, starring Drew Barrymore and Elliot Page.

It is is a full-contact, 60-minute game played on quad skates by two teams of five (four blockers, one jammer). Jammers score points by lapping opponents, while blockers create 'walls' to assist their jammer and hinder the opposition. The team with the highest score at the end of two 30-minute periods wins. It has been described as 'rugby on skates', yet there is no ball involved. Instead, said Susan, the team's 'jammer' technically acts as the ball.

It is a physical and tasking game that Susan first discovered back in 2012 while living in the south of the country.

“I saw there was a league starting in Waterford, my sister put me onto it thinking I'd be interested. So, I bought all the gear before my first training session and I loved it. It is a full contact sport and very good for your fitness, and I have to say I fell in love with it straight away,” said Susan, whose partner Kevin Tierney (from Limerick) is actually her co-captain in the squad.

Susan, who is now based in Dublin and represents a club team there, said that the Irish roller derby scene is “constantly growing”, despite it receiving no funding from governmental bodies. To that end, it makes it difficult for Irish roller derby clubs to find suitable facilities to train and compete, as the cost of insurance tends to be beyond reach, leading to a somewhat bizarre situation that sees the current Irish squad travel to Birmingham, England for training once a month.

The cost of insurance to rent out suitable facilities domestically also means that most Irish games are played on foreign soil, including recently in Spain and Scotland.

“Some people think we're mad doing this but everyone involved is super-committed to the sport, and to representing Ireland. While it's still an unknown sport to many people, it's a massive honour for me to lead an Irish squad into a World Cup. It's a privilege to have the support and trust of the other players in the squad and we can't wait to get stuck into it in France,” said Susan.

A total of 41 countries and 'borderless nations' from across the world will take part in the World Cup and Ireland have been placed in a group alongside Mexico, Denmark and a team comprised of Jewish skaters no longer living in their home country.

Susan, whose parents are Michael and Rose-Ann Verney, said the challenge for Ireland is to get at least one group win and hopefully emerge into the knockout stages.

While encouraging people to get involved in the sport because of its “inclusivity”, Susan said she cannot wait to pull on the green jersey at the World Cup.

“We will enjoy the occasion but we are going there to do our very best and hopefully get some good results. We have a committed group and let's hope we can do the country proud,” said the Birr native.