Katie Power: 'It was great to have done it … but those two weeks were tough going'

Extra.ie​

3 days ago

Katie Power never intended to become one of the faces of a national campaign. When she lined up for the toss as Kilkenny captain alongside Dublin's Aisling Maher for the Leinster camogie semifinal, she never imagined that image with the match referee would become iconic in terms of the whole shorts and skorts controversy.
Ordered back to the dressing room to change so that the match could proceed under the existing rules governing playing attire, that was the image that quickly went viral.
Speaking at the official launch of the 2025 Glen Dimplex All-Ireland camogie championships at Croke Park, only a matter of days after delegates to Special Congress voted 98 per cent in favour of allowing players a choice, Power admits to being 'overwhelmed' by it all. Kilkenny captain Katie Power. Pic: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
How the whole episode was 'tough mentally' and 'very draining'. But how the legacy of that stance has been a powerful and positive one.
She ended up being the target of podcasters, social media influencers – you name it. All are looking for a piece of her and to talk through the impact of the protest action that day, which snowballed into a national and even international debate. How had she found the last few weeks?
'I found them tough going. I didn't expect what happened to happen – we were just making the protest to voice our opinions. I definitely wasn't aware of what was going to come.
'The two weeks after that were tough mentally, very draining. The phone was just absolutely blowing up, but for the better.
'I'm happy that we decided to do it. Obviously, what came in the aftermath was huge, but it's done with now. Kilkenny captain Katie Power. Pic: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
'It was great to have done it, for the future of camogie and the younger girls, it's great. But those two weeks felt like two months.'
Right in that moment of the matchday protest, she didn't know if the backlash would be negative rather than an overwhelming tide of support for player choice.
The picture of a male referee, Ray Kelly, instructing two female captains on playing gear carried a power all of its own.
'I was probably away with the birds a small bit. It was only after the match that it kind of dawned on me that I was obviously in for the toss, and that was what was going to go out, that picture. It just didn't dawn on me until after that.
'Aisling is obviously a rep with the GPA [Gaelic Players Association]. She was there, obviously in for the toss and she kind of understood what was going to happen more than myself maybe. I think we did it for the right reasons.' Pic: © INPHO/Tom Maher
The campaign for immediate change led on to the Munster final being postponed when Cork and Waterford declared their intention to wear shorts, and culminated in the Camogie Association quickly calling a Special Congress to vote on the issue of players being allowed a choice.
Power didn't hear the news until the next morning. As a personal trainer, she had a 5 am start, so she was tucked up in bed for the verdict.
'I was working early, up at five o'clock so I said, 'here, I'm not going to be able to change this now', and I woke up, checked the phone.'
She was confident it would be passed, especially after the example of Kilkenny, where players had been mandated through their clubs, and the support for change was obvious. 'There was too much about it for it not to go through.
'In Kilkenny anyway, the surveys went out through all the clubs, and if it was the same in every other county, there was only going to be one decision.'
Were there any messages from people she didn't expect? 'Oh, a huge amount. Famous people, famous influencers, podcasters. I was trying to work, and they'd be looking to talk, and I just didn't have time for that.
'I did not see that coming at all and it was great because it did give it a huge exposure. I suppose that's probably what gave it that extra push for it to just get passed and to bring the Special Congress forward as well.'
Power is asked if she thinks there's a way of turning all the publicity of the last few weeks into a positive for the game. 'Oh, I think the whole thing can be turned into a positive,' she says.
'People that have never really taken notice of camogie have taken notice. The amount of messages that we got from mothers of young girls that play camogie. Or teachers in schools that teach girls, bring them to camogie games or the blitzes.
'So that's another positive, that they now have the choice.'