Ireland boss Carla Ward baffled by 'ludicrous' skorts fallout
Republic of Ireland women's boss Carla Ward has described the skorts/shorts camogie fallout as "absolutely ludicrous", and said it's symptomatic of "an old mentality towards women".
Ward names her squad next week for the Nations League clashes away to Turkey and at home to Slovenia, which will be played at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, the home of Cork GAA.
Last Saturday's Munster senior camogie final between Cork and Waterford was deferred after both teams confirmed their intention to wear shorts. That goes against the current rules that dictate camogie players must wear skorts in matches.
The saga has left Englishwoman Ward bemused and frustrated.
"It's absolutely ludicrous," she said. "I'll be honest, some of the (backroom) staff shared it a couple of weeks ago when it first happened, and I actually did say, 'is this some sort of joke?'. I think it's absolutely mental to be even having these conversations in 2025.
"It's an old mentality though isn't it? There's still some countries that have that old mentality towards women. It's crazy. I'll be honest with you, it did blow my mind because I didn't believe that anyone in this country could have that mindset that women had to wear a certain, or couldn't wear a certain short, or skort."
When it was put to her that the rule does not consider the wishes of the players, Ward replied: "100%, but what does that say about the people at the top? Should they really be there or should they probably move on and pass the baton to a younger generation."
In team news Ward revealed that Louise Quinn has made herself available until the summer, meaning the towering defender could add a few more caps to her tally before heading off into the sunset. After the Nations League window, Ireland are slated to play the USA in two June friendlies.
Quinn announced her retirement last week. She came off the bench in the closing stages of Birmingham City's 2-2 draw against London City Lionesses for her final club appearance, but might not be done in a green jersey just yet.
"She has made herself available until the summer," said Ward. "I think when she called me, she called me to say, 'I'm going to retire from football, but in the summer', and I said, 'what does that look like then?'. And she said, 'I want to let you know I'm available. I'm available for camp'. I said, 'OK, OK, that's good to know'.
"So we've had a few conversations and she is she's such a top pro. I've said it a lot. I think one thing we've lacked is leaders. I said that we need to create new leaders. Do I think Lou can play a part in helping those young players breed leadership? Absolutely, I do."
Heather Payne (Achilles) and Leanne Kiernan (quad) are unlikely to be available for the Turkey and Slovenia games, but Megan Connolly is fit and available again, as is Kyra Carusa.
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