Do you have a young daughter who plays Gaelic games or are you a woman who plays or is involved in coaching or organising at local level? We’d like to hear your response to the resignation of former president Mary McAleese as chair of the steering group charged with integrating the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association.
“Women who have given so much to the GAA will see this, rightly in my view, as a slap in the face,” McAleese said.
“I’m broken-hearted for the players, in particular I’m broken-hearted for the parents of young girls,” she said.
We want to hear from parents whose daughters play camogie or football at local level. Do girls feel their teams are equal to the boys? Have you noticed differences in the facilities, pitches, equipment and treatment of girls’ teams? What do you think integration would have meant to them?
Are you surprised McAleese says she does not feel this will happen under the current GAA leadership?
McAleese spoke of women such as her own daughter who was “up to her ears in the local GAA”. Women “won’t be taken in by the language that says ’We’re in favour of integration, but…’”.
‘We nearly lost our boy due to men who needed the under-12 win to make them feel they were great’
We want to hear from women who are involved in the GAA at grassroots level: coaching, playing, fundraising, bringing children to matches across their county; organising snacks and events at their local club.
Does this feel like a “slap in the face” to women? Does it reflect your experience of the GAA? Will this impact your enthusiasm to play the sport or help the local organisation?
You can let us know what you think using the form below. Please limit your submissions to 400 words or less. Please include a phone number for verification purposes only. We will keep your contact details confidential. If you would prefer to remain anonymous in any published articles, please indicate this in your submission.
We will curate a selection of submissions for an article but please note we may not publish every submission we receive.