Paula Gorham

Paula Gorham is a former Irish football player who played for Dundalk F.C. and the Ireland women's national team. She played in the Republic of Ireland's official international debut, scoring a hat-trick against Wales.

Career Gorham, one of eleven siblings, began playing competitively at age 11 at the Dundalk Maytime Festival. She played on a women's side representing the local shoe factory. She could play with either her left or her right foot.

Gorham played for Dundalk Ladies. Dundalk, a new team, hadn't lost a game in two years in Ireland's unofficial women's national league when they travelled to Wales in 1970. Gorham was sixteen at the time. The game was played at Prestatyn Raceway as women's football was banned from association-affiliated football grounds. Thanks to her performance, Gorham also was given an award at the North London Sports Awards and was the only woman featured.

Gorham was offered a professional contract from Stade de Reims as a teenager but turned it down.