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Our women’s teams still need more support

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3 years ago

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The Ireland team that played China in a recent World Cup warm-up match in Spain. Photo: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile.

As part of Women in Sport Week, Adam Moynihan reflects on the major issues affecting our female athletes today

Everyone loves a bandwagon. The success of the Irish women’s soccer team has done an awful lot for the visibility and popularity of women’s sport in this country, and both will likely slip into overdrive for the World Cup which gets underway in Australia in July.

We’re witnessing something similar here in Kerry with the ladies Gaelic football team. Last year’s surprise trip to the All-Ireland final captured the attention of a county that is obsessed with its men’s side. Kerry are currently top of Division 1 of the Ladies National League with a perfect record of five wins out of five. The run has people talking.

Of course, it shouldn’t necessarily take success to make people sit up and take notice. After all, female athletes train just as hard as the men and make the same sacrifices. But winning naturally piques public interest and it should hopefully be a springboard to more support and more appreciation down the line.

There are still issues that need to be discussed. Media coverage, or lack thereof, continues to irk participants and officials in the female ranks. As a journalist I have to hold my hands up here and admit that more needs to be done. We can be guilty at times of following the numbers but the reality is that for any sport to grow, it needs to be highlighted and promoted professionally and consistently.

That is something that I’m very happy to do and while we might not have the resources of larger, national papers, I absolutely appreciate that it’s important that we do our best.

I see it for myself when we share articles about Sarah Leahy or the Kerry ladies or St Paul’s or the Killarney RFC girls. The people I meet ask me about them and how they’re getting on. Even on that small local level, it generates interest, which can only be a good thing. 

In terms of professional sport, the question of equal pay continues to divide opinion. A sizeable portion of the sporting community seem to believe that pay should be commensurate to the revenue the sporting body in question is generating. Obviously organisations can’t pay out money that simply isn’t there yet but when men’s and women’s teams and athletes are under the one umbrella, equal pay should be a realistic target.

In the case of the GAA, the LGFA and the Camogie Association, there is no question that the men are being looked after far better than the women are, but this can’t be used as a stick to beat the GAA with. They are separate entities. When the proposed merger happens, you would hope to see a more level playing field in terms of expenses.

Trans inclusion is a hot button topic at the moment (particularly in light of the LGFA’s new policy) and it’s a conversation that stirs up strong emotions on both sides. There are, I think, legitimate arguments to be made both for and against but we must be wary of misinformation. This suggestion that boys and men are suddenly going to “decide” to be women and turn up to football or camogie training so they can dominate is, frankly, nonsense.

Trans players who wish to play will need to provide medical confirmation that they are transitioning if they are under 16 and proof that their testosterone levels are less than or equal to 10 nanomoles per litre if they are 16 or over. Anyone who thinks that boys and men are going to lie to their doctors and/or go through hormone therapy and/or try to trick the LGFA just to play football or camogie with women, is not living in the real world at all.

It’s interesting to note (and the survey that we carried out this week backs it up) that opposition to trans inclusion in women’s sport is far more fervent amongst men than it is amongst women. Ruminate on that for a minute.

There are things that need to be ironed out across the board but, all in all, there are lots of reasons to be optimistic about the future of women’s sport both locally and nationally.

If supporting your local women’s teams isn’t something that you’d normally do, there has never been a better time to start. There’s plenty of room on the bandwagon.

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Home cup tie for St Paul’s could be epic

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1 month ago

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7 November 2025

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Paudie O’Connor National Cup (Round 1)

Utility Trust St Paul’s v GCU Brunell

Saturday 7.30pm

Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre

The St Paul’s women’s team will be hoping to get their National Cup adventure off the ground on Saturday when they welcome 2024 champions Brunell to Killarney. Tip-off in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre is at 7.30pm.

Paul’s have displayed some fine early season form, although their unbeaten start in the Super League came to an abrupt end last weekend when they lost to the Trinity Meteors in Dublin. James Fleming’s side weren’t at their best on the day but they were well in contention heading into the final quarter with the scores at 47-45 in favour of the hosts. The Meteors pushed on in the fourth, however, eventually running out 63-53 winners.

St Paul’s scorers on the night were Maisie Burnham (13), Tara Cousins (12), Lorraine Scanlon (12), Lovisa Hevinder (9), Denise Dunlea (5) and Leah McMahon (2).

The Killarney club are now joint second in the table alongside the Meteors with both teams holding a 4-1 record. Killester are top having won each of their first five games.

Paul’s opponents on Saturday, Brunell, have won three out of five league matches so far.

LAKERS

The Utility Trust St Paul’s Lakers have now won three of their last four games in Division 1 of the Men’s National League following an impressive home victory over Moycullen in Killarney.

Eoin Carroll and Jack O’Sullivan made significant contributions of the Boys in Black; Carroll hit 17 points and collected 13 rebounds while O’Sullivan had 14 points, 12 rebounds and some spectacular blocks.

Steve Kelly posted 30 points and the durable Sam Grant played every second, adding 21 points along the way.

The Lakers started well before the visitors found their footing and the sides went in level at the half-time break after scores by home captain Carroll. There was still nothing to separate the teams entering the fourth quarter (68-65) but buckets by Carroll, Pablo Murcia and Grant opened up a nine-point lead. Moycullen fought back admirably, however, cutting the deficit to just four, but Luke O’Hea’s charges held firm to prevail by eight (88-80).

Next up is a cup tie against the Tipperary Talons, a side they defeated by 30 points just a couple of weeks ago. The cup can be very different to the league, though, and they will need another solid performance to advance to the next round. Tip-off in in Killenaule is at 6.30pm on Saturday.

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Chances of Kerry v Cork Munster final in 2026 decrease as Munster GAA delay seeding plan

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1 month ago

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7 November 2025

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After facing a backlash from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipperary players, Munster GAA have postponed their plan to keep Cork and Kerry separate in the 2026 Munster Football Championship.

The new seeding system – which gives the two highest ranked Munster teams in the National League byes to separate semi-finals – will now come into play in 2027, twelve months later than initially planned.

This will give Clare and Limerick a chance to earn promotion to Division 2 of the league, potentially overtaking Cork if the Rebels were to get relegated to Division 3.

Despite traditionally being the two main contenders for Munster football honours, Kerry and Cork haven’t met in a provincial decider since 2021. The Kingdom have won each of the finals since then (one versus Limerick and three versus Clare) by an average margin of 15.75 points.

More high-profile Kerry v Cork finals might be desirable for fans of those teams, businesses in Killarney and Cork, and neutrals alike but Munster GAA’s plans to effectively keep the great rivals on opposite sides of the draw understandably drew criticism from the other participating counties. A statement by the GPA confirmed that players from Limerick, Clare, Waterford and Tipp had met via Zoom to discuss the matter. They were said to be “deeply disappointed and concerned” by the decision.

The 12-month delay will at least give two of those disaffected teams an opportunity to benefit from the new seeding process.

The draw for the 2026 Munster Football Championship will take place on November 27 under the old rules. As 2025 finalists, Kerry and Clare will get byes to the last four (but they will not necessarily be kept apart).

Nine members of Kerry’s squad are up for All-Stars at tonight’s awards ceremony in Dublin with Joe O’Connor and David Clifford also in contention for the prestigious Footballer of the Year award.

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