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FORMER REPUBLIC OF Ireland international Marie Hourihan has been appointed as assistant coach of WSL2 side Leicester City. The ex-goalkeeper joins Rick Passmoor’s staff, and will work with four Irish players at the recently-relegated Foxes: young custodian Katie Keane, Heather Payne, and new signings Jess Ziu and Jessie Stapleton. We have welcomed two new additions to our coaching staff with Marie Hourihan joining us as Assistant Coach and Jade Moore taking up the role of First Team Coach 🦊 — LCFC Women (@LCFC_Women) September 4, 2026 📝 https://t.co/HRtHwAnI97 pic.twitter.com/UjuTiMXrrh Hourihan most recently spent a 14-month spell as head coach of Plymouth Argyle in the FA Women’s National League. A Uefa Pro Licence candidate, she was previously manager and academy coach at Stoke City. Hourihan represented Chelsea, Manchester City, SC Braga and Birmingham City, among others, as a player, and won 24 senior caps for Ireland between 2017 and 2021. Leicester – who have also appointed ex-England international Jade Moore as first-team coach and Ollie Colebourne as goalkeeper coach – will be targeting immediate promotion back to the WSL after losing last season’s promotion/relegation playoff to Charlton Athletic. They travel to Sheffield United for their league opener on Sunday afternoon. The Blades are another side with significant Irish interest, home to Lucy Quinn, Joy Ralph and Maria Reynolds. ***** - Check out the latest episode of The 42′s Football Family podcast here