Noons sisters continue Cill Dara's Leinster family values

Women’s rugby continues its meteoric rise across the globe and Ireland is no different. The recent senior and U18 Interprovincial Championships saw remarkable representation from Kildare players, with the county fast become the epicentre of women’s rugby in Leinster.

Both the senior and U18 teams featured numerous Kildare players across the four games, with approximately 50% of each squad coming from clubs across the county.

The amalgamation of Cill Dara and Portarlington – PortDara Falcons – were especially well represented, with several players playing a big part for Leinster, including senior captain, Sarah Delaney, U18 captain, Emily Miller, and the Wilson sisters, Hannah and Emma-Jane.

Another set of Cill Dara sister who have become a fixture of Leinster rugby are the Noons sisters, Kate, Molly and Lucy.

Each of the sisters have collected a winners’ medal with Leinster U18 over the past three seasons as the province went back-to-back-back in the PwC U18 Interprovincial Championships, with the three-peat completed a few short weeks ago.

Kate Noons was part of the 2024 Leinster side that got the ball rolling on this magnificent run of success, with Molly Noons playing in 2025 and Lucy Noons continuing the family tradition this year, coming off the bench in the final as Leinster beat Munster 28-14 in Mullingar.

There are four sisters in all - Kate, Molly, Lucy and Elsie – with parents, Orla and Phil heading up a “die-hard GAA family” that lives in Ellistown, with all six of Noons having played Gaelic football at some stage.

Karen White, the current Women’s Coordinator for Cill Dara RFC and former Director of Rugby at PortDara, spoke to The Kildare Nationalist about the Noons sisters, telling us:

“Kate started playing rugby with the Cill Dara Mini’s Boys as there weren’t enough girls playing to have their own team at the time. She then moved up to PortDara youths; the Cill Dara and Portarlington amalgamation; which starts at U14s.

“Kate was a force to be reckoned with, even at youth level, and was known for her strength, dogged determination and leadership. By the time she got to U16s, she was on the North Midlands squad, and then on to Leinster U18s.

“Kate played two seasons with Leinster, winning the interpros with them in 2024. She was also vice-captain that year. She also played for two seasons with Ireland U18s.

“Molly didn’t start rugby until U16s with PortDara. It’s fair to say that Kate was a big influence on Molly. When she did eventually join, she was a natural. Again, she moved up through North Midlands and on to Leinster U18s, which is phenomenal given how late she started rugby. And again, another interpro winner.

“Lucy played for two seasons with the Cill Dara U12 girls, before moving up to PortDara U14s. She was brought into the North Midlands set-up a year early, and on to Leinster U18s. She featured heavily in this year’s winning squad. Lucy was also part of the PortDara U16s squad who won the Leinster League and Cup last season.”