Sonia Hoey in action for Dundalk City WFC. Photos: Mick Slevin
Everyone at the club was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of former Dundalk City WFC player Sonia Hoey on Tuesday.
A prodigious footballer, Sonia wrote her name into the history books when she scored the winning goal for Dundalk City in the 2005 Women’s FAI Cup final against Peamount United at Lansdowne Road.
The goal was one of 26 that she scored that season, 10 of which came in a match against DCU at Eamon Hiney Park!
It was the first – and to date, the only time – a women’s team from Dundalk captured the trophy.
Sonia, or ‘Sonic’ as she was known to her teammates, also had spells with Castletown Celtic, Peamount Ladies, Rock Celtic and Castletown Belles while she also represented DkIT and played GAA with Dowdallshill and Louth Ladies.
The Dundalk City WFC team, pictured at Oriel Park in 2005, with Sonia Hoey in the middle of the back row
After being diagnosed with cancer in February 2019, Sonia underwent radiation and chemotherapy and was almost a year in remission when she received the sad news in 2020 that cancer had returned and spread to her lungs.
In response, her family and friends launched the ‘Save Our Sonia’ fundraiser and the town of Dundalk rallied around her, raising over €100k that enabled her to receive treatment in Mexico.
Sonia continued to battle the disease head-on and in early 2023, she issued an update, saying: “Here I am, over 2.5 years still alive after being diagnosed with 12 months to live, with terminal incurable and inoperable cancer.”
Her brave fight against the disease eventually came to an end on Tuesday, but her exploits on the field will be remembered forever.
We send our condolences to parents Patsy and Bernadette, her brothers and sisters Gerard, Michelle, Serena and Paul and her “little brother”, her nephew Danny, brothers-in-law Eddie and Emmet, sister-in-law Noeleen, nephews and nieces Chloe, Leah, Kyla, Dean, Ethan, Seán, Ciara, Clodagh and Maya, her closest friends Brendan and Sorcha, godmother Caroline, uncle Gerard, relatives and friends.
Rest easy, Sonia.
Funeral details: rip.ie/death-notice/sonia-hoey-louth-dundalk-549115
