12-05-2025
‘Is this a joke?' – Ireland boss Carla Ward slams ‘ludicrous' skorts row & urges camogie chiefs to ‘pass the batton'
IRELAND manager Cara Ward admitted she thought the Camogie Skort controversy was a joke - as she questioned how it could still be happening in 2025.
English woman Ward became Ireland manager earlier this year and has spent a lot of time in Dublin in the past four months getting up to speed on all Irish sport, not just soccer.
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Cork vs Waterford in the Munster camogie final was postponed after players said they would be wearing shorts instead of skorts
Credit: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile
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Ireland head coach Carla Ward slammed the controversy
Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
But she said she was stunned when sent a WhatsApp message recently that outlined the players' wanting the option to wear shorts, but being forbidden.
The Camogie Association - which said the rule change could not be discussed until 2027 - will now have a
But the whole story has left Ward flabbergasted.
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She said: 'It's absolutely ludicrous. I'll be honest, some of the staff shared it a couple of weeks ago when it first happened and I actually did say, 'Is this some sort of joke?'
'It's absolutely mental to be having these conversations in 2025. It's an old mentality isn't it. There are some countries that have that old mentality towards women.
'It's crazy. I think we're getting there in a lot of places.
'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 shorts.
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'What does that say about the people at the top? Should they really be there or should they move on and pass the baton to a younger generation.'
Meanwhile, Ward has confirmed that Everton's Heather Payne and Liverpool's Leanne Kiernan are likely to miss the Nations League finale against Turkey and Slovenia.
'It's a failure on the camogie association' - RTE GAA pundits don't sit on fence over 'no-brainer' skorts saga
The Girls in Green face Turkey in Istanbul on Friday May 30, before taking on Slovenia in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Tuesday June 3.
Ward said: 'Heather Payne missed the rest of the season, missed our last squad and she is struggling a little bit and will this camp.
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'Leanne Kiernan has had a re-occurrence of a quad injury and she is very likely to miss this camp also.'
