Ronan succeeds King at Ireland helm

Susan Ronan has been appointed to replace Noel King as Republic of Ireland women's senior team head coach.

Ronan has been promoted from coaching the Under-19 side, and will also be in charge of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI)'s female development. She took caretaker control of the senior team in July for the last two games of 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup qualifying, King having been appointed men's U21 coach, and the team drew 1-1 with Russia before beating Israel 3-0 to finish third in their group.

An Irish international midfielder, Ronan joined the FAI in 1994 as U16 coach and six years later took on the U18 team, reclassified as U19 in 2002. In nine of her 11 seasons in charge, Ireland moved through one round of UEFA European Women's U19 Championship qualifying.

Wim Koevermans, FAI international high performance director, said: "Sue has an excellent track record and has built up a wealth of experience both as a player and a coach. Her passion, commitment and knowledge of the women's game will be very important for the future development of women's football in Ireland."

Ireland will discover their UEFA Women's EURO 2013 qualifying opponents when the draw is made on 14 March 2011 and fixtures begin next September. King, who had been in charge since 2000, led Ireland to the UEFA Women's EURO 2009 play-offs, their best performance, and was also in charge when the junior team reached the 2010 UEFA European Women's U17 Championship final and FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup quarter-finals.