Casey Howe's Journey from Fermanagh to Celtic

From Maguiresbridge’s back roads to the bright lights of Celtic, Casey Howe has crammed a lot into 23 years. The journey has crossed borders, leagues and levels – and yet, this latest stop in Glasgow feels like the one that could change everything.

A Northern Ireland debut at 17. A treble with Glentoran. A move to Nottingham Forest. Promotion with Wolves. Each line on her CV reads like a step on a steep, relentless climb. Now she’s at one of the powerhouses of Scottish women’s football, asking more of herself again.

On only her second appearance for Celtic, she delivered a moment that hinted at why the club wanted her. Eighty-two minutes gone against Montrose in the SWPL, a tight game fraying at the edges, and Howe found the angle. One touch, a swing of her left foot, and the ball curled beautifully into the far corner. Deadlock broken. Celtic went on to win 3-0, but it was her strike that cracked the game open.

“Being just a young girl from Maguiresbridge, it is pretty surreal to do this,” she told BBC Sport NI. The line sounds simple. The road behind it was anything but.

Miles on the clock

Before Barrowfield and its pristine pitches, there were endless car journeys and late-night returns. Her parents ferried her to Ballinamallard, Cookstown and Belfast four or five times a week as she climbed through the age groups, chasing better opposition and bigger opportunities.

“They wanted to give me the best platform to be the best I can,” she said. “They were massive in enabling me to take these opportunities and get these opportunities because if it wasn't for them sacrificing a lot of driving, a lot of miles, I wouldn't be here.”

Those miles built a career. Spells with Linfield, Glentoran and Sligo Rovers sharpened her game at home and across the island. Then came Athlone Town, where a prolific run in the League of Ireland Women’s Premier Division pushed her name across the water and onto recruitment lists in Britain.

That form led to Nottingham Forest, then Wolves. Now it has carried her into a Celtic squad with serious ambitions and serious standards.

A stage built for attackers

At Celtic, Howe has found a style of play that fits the way she wants to express herself. The 14-cap international speaks with energy about the tactical work under head coach Grant Scott, but her eyes are clearly drawn to what happens in the final third.

“I think as a player, you're always looking to develop in any training session,” she said. “It's definitely a big improvement tactically, and we're adapting to different styles, getting used to how Grant Scott wants us to play, so we're always adapting tactically and keeping on top of the technical stuff.”

Celtic’s front-foot approach suits her instincts.

“We're trying to play a nice attacking brand of football, and as an attacker myself, that's the way you want to play and want to be a part of, is when you're attacking and playing free-flowing football.

“I think that's when you get the best out of people, is when you have that freedom to go forward and make different runs, make different movements, and dribble and drive at people so it's definitely perfect for the way I like to play.”

The word she keeps coming back to is “freedom”. It matters.

“I've played under people in the past where it's almost robotic. You have to do this movement, that movement, but to have the freedom to be allowed to run into different areas or make different movements, it just makes for an all-round performance, team-wise, because everyone's moving.

“It makes it difficult to play against, so it definitely gives you confidence as a player.

“I think you're being backed to do that, and you're being allowed to do that. It definitely gives you confidence.”

Confidence, movement, freedom – the pillars of an attacker who wants to do more than just follow arrows on a tactics board.

Carrying Fermanagh with her

The connection to home is never far away. Howe knows exactly what it takes for a young girl from Fermanagh to make it this far, because she has lived every stretch of the road.

“I think sometimes it's hard because being from Fermanagh you don't necessarily have the facilities on your doorstep,” she explained. “A lot of the time, a lot of girls, even young girls now, will still have to travel up and down.”

Those long drives that shaped her childhood are still part of the reality for the next generation. She doesn’t sugarcoat it – but she knows the payoff.

“All the sacrifices, as we spoke about earlier, like, winning makes it all worth it.”

And now, her progress at Celtic is not just about medals or minutes. It feeds directly into what she can offer Northern Ireland.

Legacy in green – and beyond

Howe’s ambitions stretch beyond club success. She broke into the Northern Ireland senior side as a teenager, and the growth of the national team since then has only sharpened her sense of responsibility.

“I want to leave the Northern Ireland shirt in a better place than when I came in,” she said. “I always want that legacy to continue to build and grow.”

That idea of legacy doesn’t stop at one badge or one border.

“If I can leave women's football in Northern Ireland, in Scotland, in England that 1% better than when I joined it – that's a win for me and if that inspires young girls in Fermanagh to push on and know that there is a path there then that's good enough for me.”

From Ballinamallard United to Barrowfield, from those first drives out of Fermanagh to scoring in Celtic colours, Howe has already travelled far. The treble with Glentoran, the promotions, the caps, the goals – they’re milestones, not endpoints.

Now she’s at a club chasing trophies on all fronts, with a national team still building its own story and young girls back home watching her every step.

The road that once felt impossibly long suddenly looks like it’s only just beginning.