Chapel Hill High Grad To Represent Ireland In World Softball Championship

According to Irish law, the children of Irish citizens born in other countries have the opportunity to become citizens themselves.

Irish immigrant Terry O’Regan said his children John and Kelsey, although born and raised in America, wanted to make sure they became dual citizens.

“They both badgered me,” he said. “It’s a fair amount of paperwork and they both badgered me for years to get the paperwork done and get it all organized.”

Now that paperwork will pay off as his daughter Kelsey will represent his home country in the 2016 World Softball Championship, which will begin July 15 in Canada.

She said the opportunity to play internationally was something she couldn’t pass up.

“It means the world to my dad,” O’Regan said. “I’m just excited I have the chance to play on such an elite stage, but I can definitely tell my dad is so proud and so excited about it and he’s not normally the sentimental type.”

O’Regan is a second baseman with a knack for getting on base.

According to MaxPreps, she hit .422 with eight runs and 18 RBI in 2013, her senior year at Chapel Hill High School.

She made the Irish team after getting a recommendation from her aunt, Lisa Lyness, who played for Ireland, but was unable to make the trip to Canada.

“Kelsey came to mind immediately because I knew she was an infielder,” Lyness said. “(The Irish) don’t grow up running towards the ball, they’re not taught that way. So good infielders are quite rare.”

O’Regan will join a team with its work cut out for them.

This will be the first major international tournament for the Irish team, which was created in 2014.

They’ll have six days of practice together before pool play begins and they take on Canada, Great Britain and Uganda.

“What the team is doing is just amazing,” Lyness said. “It’s not a sport that people here play. They’ve done well to go and I hope they do well when they’re there.”

Streaming is available online for anyone that wants to watch the games. For more information visit the tournament website.