Limerick Women's Football Club (Irish: Cumann Peile Luimnigh na mBan) was an Irish association football club based in Limerick. It is the women's section of Limerick F.C. Their senior women's team made their debut in the Women's National League in 2018. However the club has been organising women's teams, often in conjunction with the Limerick Women's & Schoolgirls' Soccer League, since at least 1973. Limerick have been credited as the inaugural winners of both the Ladies League of Ireland and the FAI Women's Cup. Ladies team was dissolved after financial collapse of Limerick F.C. main division.[4]
History
1970s
Limerick F.C. organised a women's team during the 1970s. In 1973 Limerick were both founding members and the inaugural champions of an earlier incarnation of the Women's National League known as the Ladies League of Ireland or the Woman's League of Ireland. Limerick were among its twelve founder members. Like Limerick, other founder members included several teams associated with clubs in the men's League of Ireland. These included Finn Harps, Cork Celtic, Dundalk and Sligo Rovers.[5][6] Limerick finished the 1973 season as champions after going unbeaten in a fifteen match series. In a post season friendly they lost 3–1 to a touring Stade de Rheims at Markets Field.[7] Limerick have also been credited as the inaugural winners of the FAI Women's Cup. Although the RSSSF archives only list finals from 1989,[8] a match programme from a 1978 international between the Republic of Ireland and France confirmed that the FAI Women's Cup was first played for in 1975 with Limerick defeating C.S.O. (Dublin) 2–1 in the final.[9]
LWSSL
The Limerick Women's & Schoolgirls' Soccer League was formed in 1973.[10] The LWSSL representative team with the support of Limerick F.C. enters teams in various inter-league competitions.[11][12][13][14] Between 2006 and 2011 a Limerick F.C./LWSSL team regularly entered the FAI Women's Cup.[15][16][17][18][19][20]