18/08/2026
🏹💙💚 HOME NATIONS CUP 2026 – STIRLING 💚💙🏹
Well… where do I even start with last weekend? 😂🏹
My first Home Nations Cup representing Northern Ireland was certainly one I won’t be forgetting anytime soon — for both the right reasons and a slightly unexpected ending! 🙈
It all started on Friday night with the boat from Belfast to Cairnryan, followed by what should have been around a 2.5-hour drive to Stirling.
Except Google Maps apparently wanted to give us a tour of every questionable road in Scotland. 😂
After being sent down some absolutely awful roads, we eventually made it to our accommodation at around 2:30am.
Safe to say, there wasn’t much sleep before the alarm was going off and it was time to get ready for qualification!
🏹 SATURDAY – QUALIFICATION
Going into qualification, I wasn’t putting too much pressure on myself. After the journey we’d had and with very little sleep or energy, I was just happy to get onto the shooting line and put some good shots down range.
I was on a target with Clare and Michelle and honestly couldn’t have asked for better company. We had such a laugh throughout the round and they definitely helped take my mind off just how tired I actually was! 😂
Somehow, running on very little sleep, I finished qualification with…
650 – NEW WA720 PB! 🎉
🏹 4th overall in the competition
I was absolutely buzzing!
To shoot a new PB and rank 4th overall at a Home Nations weekend was something I was incredibly happy with especially considering how the previous 12 hours had gone. 😂
💙 HOME NATIONS TEAM MATCHES
The Northern Ireland Compound Women’s team was:
🏹 Katie Jennings
🏹 Amy Johnson – England reserve
🏹 Myself
Following qualification, Team NI were ranked 2nd overall, putting us into our semi-final against Scotland.
We shot really well and were leading going into the final end, but unfortunately that was when the wind decided to make an appearance!
I really struggled to get one of my shots away and ended up with a miss. With the clock then running down, Katie wasn’t able to get her final arrow away before the buzzer.
I was absolutely gutted afterwards and really annoyed with myself because I felt like I’d let the team down, especially after we had shot so well throughout the match.
But sometimes that’s just archery. You can’t change the arrows that have already gone, and thankfully I had brilliant teammates around me who reminded me of exactly that. 💙
We still had a bronze medal to fight for!
🥉 SUNDAY – BRONZE MEDAL MATCH
Sunday brought our match against Wales, and we were determined to finish our Home Nations campaign on a high.
And what a match it was!
Our shots were consistently in the gold and we put together some brilliant ends, including our highest scoring end of 58! 🔥
🥉 NORTHERN IRELAND 220 – 204 WALES
HOME NATIONS BRONZE MEDALLISTS!🥉
After going into the H2Hs ranked 2nd, we finished the Home Nations competition 3rd overall, bringing home the bronze medal for Northern Ireland. 🥉
After the disappointment of Saturday, that medal felt even sweeter. We picked ourselves back up and shot the way we knew we could.
Standing there afterwards with a Home Nations bronze medal around my neck representing Northern Ireland was a pretty special feeling. 💙
There was even more to celebrate across Team NI, with Northern Ireland finishing the weekend with:
🥇 1 Gold
🥉 4 Bronze
Not bad for our wee country! 💙💚🏹
🙈 AND THEN THINGS GOT INTERESTING…
Of course, with Team NI celebrating our medal haul, we decided it was the perfect time to film a funny video together.
Turns out that might not have been my greatest idea. 😂🙈
During the video, my knee suddenly gave way underneath me. I heard and felt a snap and ended up straight on the ground.
At first we were hoping it was something minor and would settle, but during the drive from Stirling to Cairnryan the pain became increasingly worse.
By the time we reached the ferry, I was struggling to walk and in a lot of pain.
I honestly can’t thank everyone from Team NI enough for how they looked after me. 💙💚
Everyone rallied around me, helped me move around, carried my things, made sure I was okay and did everything they could to make a pretty horrible journey home that little bit easier.
It really showed that Team NI is about so much more than who you stand beside on the shooting line. When one of us needed help, everyone was there.
⛴️ A HUGE THANK YOU TO STENA LINE
I also have to give a massive thank you to Yvonne and the staff on our 11pm Cairnryan to Belfast sailing.
By the time we boarded, I was in significant pain and really struggling with my mobility.
They couldn’t have done more for me. They provided a wheelchair and ice pack and helped me into the private recliner lounge where I could get my leg up and try to get comfortable.
What meant even more was that they allowed our entire Northern Ireland team to stay together with me rather than separating us.
They continued looking after me throughout the crossing and, when we reached Belfast, helped me safely in the wheelchair back to our minibus.
The kindness and care they showed me made a genuinely horrible situation so much easier. I can’t thank Yvonne and everyone involved that night enough. 💙
🏥 STRAIGHT FROM THE BOAT TO A&E…
Once we arrived back in Northern Ireland, it was pretty much straight to A&E to find out what I’d actually done.
Thankfully, nothing is broken! 🙌
Unfortunately, I have damaged/torn ligaments in my knee and have now been referred to the MSK specialists on 4th September for further assessment and to find out exactly what damage I’ve done.
Until then…
🩼 Crutches are my new best friend
💊 Painkillers are keeping me going
🏹 And unfortunately the bow is having a little rest!
Definitely not the ending I had planned for my first Home Nations Cup. 😂🙈
But when I look back at the weekend, there is so much to be proud of:
650 – NEW WA720 PB
🏹 4th overall in qualification
🥉 3rd overall after the H2Hs
🥉 HOME NATIONS BRONZE MEDAL
🏆 1 Gold & 4 Bronze medals for Team NI
From arriving in Stirling at 2:30am, shooting a PB on barely any sleep, battling through the team matches, winning bronze with Katie and Amy and celebrating an amazing medal haul for Northern Ireland… to ending up in a wheelchair and heading straight to A&E.
Eventful doesn’t even begin to cover it. 😂
Above everything else, I’m incredibly proud that I got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland. 💙💚
A massive thank you to my teammates, coaches, family and everyone who helped me throughout the weekend — particularly everyone who looked after me when things went slightly sideways at the end! 😂
Now it’s time to rest, get this knee sorted and hopefully get myself back on the shooting line as soon as I can. 🤞🏹
One thing is for sure…
I’ll definitely never forget my first Home Nations Cup! 💙💚🏹🥉
