Wonder Woman of the Week: Rena Buckley

Gone are the days of women's sports being a purely American trend. As more countries thrust sold out crowds into women's sporting events, a diverse range of sports and geography is growing in the field- especially in Ireland where women are finding their groove in the traditional sports of Gaelic football and camogie. This week's Wonder Woman is a veteran of both sports and is making a name for herself in Ireland as one of the best sportswomen in the country's history.

Rena Buckley was born in 1987 and attended University College in Dublin where she earned her Bachelor's in Physiotherapy and PErformance Science all while playing Gaelic football and camogie for collegiate teams. For those who don't know much about either of these sports, Gaelic football is a lot like rugby, and camogie (hurling for men) is a lot like lacrosse. After college, Buckley joined the pros for both sports. Between 2005 and 2016, Buckley helped her Cork Gaelic football club win eleven national titles. Between 2005 and 2017, Buckley helped her Cork camogie team win seven national titles- including captaining the 2017 championship team.

Between her two sports, Rena Buckley is one of the most decorated athletes in the history of Gaelic sports- a category of sports based on traditional Irish games. After earning her Master's and an honorary PhD, Buckley started her own physiotherapy practice and works with patients all while continuing to play in both of her sports. Buckley is just one of many incredible athletes in both Gaelic football and camogie, and- if you have an opportunity to watch games from either of these sports- definitely watch.