in 2019
Youth career Growing up, McCabe played on boys' youth teams for Kilnamanagh AFC and
Crumlin United F.C. At the age of 10, she joined her first girls' team in
Templeogue, playing for both the girls' team and the boys' team until she turned 13. Her favourite player as a child was
Damien Duff. During secondary school, she also played Gaelic football and basketball.
Women's National League: 2011–2015 When the
Women's National League (WNL) was formed in 2011, McCabe signed with
Raheny United. She had previously trained with the club, but league regulations prevented her from signing a contract until she turned 16. She represented the club in
the competition's first season. Over the next three seasons she won two league titles and three consecutive
FAI Women's Cups with "The Pandas". She also represented the club in the
UEFA Champions League. She missed four months of the
2013–14 season with a broken leg. Despite spending a majority of the season sidelined due to injury she still won the
WNL Young Player of the Year award. That year, she had also been recruited by
Florida State University to play for the
Florida State Seminoles women's soccer team in the United States, but the move collapsed due to her injury. In
2014–15 McCabe scored 23 WNL goals for Raheny, two behind top scorer
Áine O'Gorman of
UCD Waves. In November 2014, she scored the opening goal for Raheny in the
FAI Women's Cup final, from a 35-yard free kick, winning her second FAI Cup with the club. She clinched the last minute winner for the 2015
WNL cup in extra time, defeating
Peamount United 3-2. Her performance in the 2014-15 season landed her a spot on the
WNL Team of the Season for the first time. For the
2015–16 season, McCabe remained with the club in their new guise as
Shelbourne Ladies.
Arsenal: 2015–2017 In December 2015 she signed for London club
Arsenal, rejecting competing offers from
Glasgow City,
Chelsea, and
Manchester City.
Glasgow City: 2017 (loan) After struggling with injuries and a lot of first-team playing time in her first year with Arsenal, she joined
Glasgow City on loan in August 2017, for the second half of the
Scottish Women's Premier League season. She would help lead Glasgow City to the Scottish title as well as making a handful of appearances in the UEFA Champions League.
Return to Arsenal: 2017–present Upon returning to Arsenal at the end of her loan, new Arsenal manager
Joe Montemurro shifted her to the left-full-back position. In the 2018–19 season, McCabe helped lead Arsenal to the FA WSL title, playing the most minutes of any player in the squad. On 26 March 2019, she signed an extension with Arsenal. Five days later, in one of the last matches of the year, she scored a crucial game-winning goal against
Birmingham, keeping Arsenal one point clear on top of the league table. McCabe scored 5 goals and picked up 12 assists during the
2020–21 FA WSL season as Arsenal finished third. She tied for first in the league for assists and was named in the
PFA Team of the Year. In December 2020, she made her 100th appearance for Arsenal in a 4-0 victory over Everton, assisting a
Jen Beattie goal from the corner. Later that month, McCabe was involved in a COVID-19-related controversy after posting a picture of herself on a beach in Dubai despite a travel ban for Tier 4 residents in London. She stated that she had gone to Dubai for a business meeting with her agent. She did not receive any disciplinary sanctions from the FA for the controversy. Ahead of the
2021–22 FA WSL season, McCabe signed a new long-term contract with Arsenal. McCabe won Goal of the
2022–23 Season for her game winning strike against
Manchester City. On 20 June 2023, McCabe was announced as the Arsenal Women Player of the Season. She made her 200th appearance for the Gunners against
Manchester City on 5 November 2023. While playing against
Chelsea in her 250th game for Arsenal on 26 January 2025, McCabe received a red card for dissent, the second of her career and resulted in a two match ban. McCabe won the club-wide goal of the month for March 2025. On 24 May 2025, McCabe was part of the team that defeated
Barcelona 1–0 to claim the
2024–25 UEFA Champions League trophy. She played 1,296 minutes during the entire campaign, breaking the record for amount of minutes played in one
UWCL season. ==International career==