Anne-Marie Ulliac at the vanguard of Treaty United's Canadian invasion

Anne-Marie Ulliac's leap of faith across the Atlantic is paying off after an initial bumpy landing.

Her wanderlust brought her from the city of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, to Limerick and to Treaty United ahead of last season.

Ciara McCormack was coming back from Canada with a drive to transform the club. She had known Ulliac through the collegiate football scene there.

READ MORE: Everything's mumderful for Julie-Ann Russell as Galway United top League table

McCormack also knew that Ulliac wanted to experience a new environment, having played the previous season in Portugal. She suggested the move to Treaty."I'm an outdoors person and I love exploring the Clare and Kerry coastlines," Ulliac said.

"I even got a ticket for the All-Ireland hurling final last summer, my first ever game, and it was very exciting. I'm hoping to get to Camogie games soon. I love it here."

She was one of six Canadians who joined the Treaty squad. The others eventually went home but Ulliac stayed out of interest in where McCormack was bringing the club as the new CEO.

She has been joined by more compatriots, including housemates Kayla Kyle and Talia White.

Canadian Anne-Marie Ulliac joined Treaty United ahead of the 2023 season

Last season was tough for a young Treaty team that suffered a series of heavy defeats.

As the side's goalkeeper, Ulliac had the mentality to deal with it, even though Treaty lost their second game of the season 8-0 and their third 6-0.

"We definitely suffered some big defeats, but we had a lot of changes throughout the season, there were lineout changes as management tried different things," she said.

"It was a bit disheartening sometimes to have results like that but I was able to keep positive and look at the things I could control, just focus on every shot I had to save."I've played on a wide variety of teams in terms of standard, some really good, some really bad, and I've learned the importance of keeping my mentality the same."It was tough but we finished the season a lot better and brought that into this season."

A Canadian consortium bought the club last October, McCormack is now the club's CEO and, with Dominic Foley brought in as the new manager and a host of new signings, Treaty have started this season with a win and two draws.

"For the Irish girls who returned this season, they are a year older and have more experience - quite a lot of them made their debuts last year," said Ulliac.

"More Canadians arrived and it's nice to have them over here, they have been really impactful.

Avenir Sports All-Island Cup Round 1, Seaview, Belfast 17/6/2023 Crusaders vs Treaty United Crusaders Jessica Rea in action with Treaty’s Anne Marie Ulliac Mandatory Credit ©INPHO/Stephen Hamilton
(Image: Treaty’s Anne Marie Ulliac punches clear from Crusaders Jessica Rea at Seaview in the 2023 All-Island Cup)

"Kayla Kyle went to my university and I asked her to come over and it definitely helps me - all our centre-backs are really good, but it's great to have that understanding with Kayla.

"Ciara has made a tonne of changes throughout the club, she's a very visionary person.

"We're getting positive results on the field and, off it, there's just a different environment. It's more competitive knowing that we have a good opportunity to progress on both the women's and men's side."The men are seeing an increase in attendance and there's just that enthusiasm around what the club is doing."

Treaty are looking to a brighter future.

"I'm hoping for more wins and more clean sheets," Ulliac smiled.

"It's really early still but we know we're capable of building on this start if we stay committed and while it's a small enough roster at the moment, everyone is contributing and that's crucial.

"There's no reason not to aim high in a league that is getting better every season, and you can see that with the parity in terms of results that's happening a lot more now."

Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.