Latest news with #skorts
Irish Times
06-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Camogie president challenges skort protest backers to show their support by attending All-Ireland finals
Camogie president Brian Molloy has challenged the Irish sporting public – including those who were exercised by the skorts debate earlier this year – to help Sunday's All-Ireland finals attract a record crowd. The triple header of finals will see Armagh face Laois in the junior decider at 1pm, followed by the intermediate clash of Kerry and Offaly at 3pm before the main event at 5.15pm between Cork and Galway. It is just three months since a protest by the Kilkenny and Dublin camogie teams in relation to wearing skorts sparked a debate that spread rapidly from the sporting sphere to become a central part of the national discourse for several weeks. Taoiseach Micheál Martin even entered the conversation as folk from all walks of life rushed to offer their tuppence worth on the matter. For a period, it felt the Camogie Association was under siege until a vote to allow choice was strongly supported and ended the controversy. READ MORE 'There was a huge amount of comment all through May on the skorts issue,' said Molloy. 'There were TikToks and WhatsApps and all sorts of Instagram and Facebook (posts) and all that. All really good, all really positive. 'There were loads of media interviews, the vast majority of which, I'd say, was positive. There were some who didn't really understand the situation, but those who understand camogie, understand Gaelic games and understand sports understood what the process was. Kilkenny's Katie Power and Dublin's Aisling Maher wear shorts as they speak to referee Ray Kelly before both teams returned to the dressingrooms to change into skorts ahead of the Leinster semi-final in May. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw 'And we got there. The vast majority of those people that commented at that time made it very clear they wanted to make a point in support of the voice of the female athletes, in support of female participation in sport. 'And if that's the case, and I have no reason to believe it isn't, their social media accounts should be as lit up this week calling on all of their followers, their constituents, their supporters to get to Croke Park on Sunday and demonstrate physical, tangible support for the women that in May they called on the Association to support. 'A lot of politicians were involved, a lot of senators, a lot of TDs, a lot of ministers. I want to see all those people using their position of influence in a positive way now for the camogie players and urging their supporters to come to Croke Park on Sunday.' While reluctant to float a figure, Molloy is hoping the 40,000 ceiling can be broken for the first time. There was a crowd of 27,811 at the finals last August for a triple header that was also headlined by the meeting of Cork and Galway. The largest ever attendance at an All-Ireland camogie final was 33,154 in 2007 when Cork beat Wexford – though that figure is skewed by the fact the All-Ireland under-21 hurling decider between Galway and Dublin was the curtain raiser. Cork's Meabh Cahalane with Galway's Áine Keane at Croke Park ahead of Sundays All-Ireland final. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho A crowd of 30,191 attended in 2023 when Cork beat Waterford – the first time the 30,000 mark had been broken by stand-alone camogie fare. 'I would like to see us get up over 40,000,' says Molloy, whose ultimate ambition is to have Croke Park full on All-Ireland camogie final day. 'My point wasn't about the ability to be able to deliver it (full house) in one year but I think we need to have the aspiration.' And Molloy's appeal is not merely for those engaged by the skorts debate. He believes a broader societal shift is needed to move the dial on how female sport is viewed in Ireland. 'I think we do need to look at ourselves as a society, where we have four All-Ireland finals and two of them are full houses and two of them aren't,' he says. 'There's a gender split. I think if there was any other part of life where we're looking at similar events but the only difference is gender split, there'd be question marks being raised as to, 'hold on a second, what's going on here?' 'I can go through all the counties. Kerry, the number of people who came up to watch the Kerry footballers win their All-Ireland final, are all those people going to come to watch the camogie players in their All-Ireland final? '(It's a) historic All-Ireland final for those intermediate camogie players, it's the first time that Kerry have got to the final in the intermediate grade. If they're not (going to come support the team), why not? Cork's Amy O'Connor celebrates scoring her third goal during last year's All-Ireland senior camogie final against Waterford. Photograph: Bryan Keane/Inpho 'Why would you support your county men in the football but you wouldn't support your county women in the camogie? You could ask the same question with regards to Cork. 'Cork obviously had a difficult hurling final but all those people who came up to support the lads playing hurling, surely all those people are also going to come up and support the women playing camogie. And again, if not, why not? 'Galway and Armagh, both counties happen to be in different competitions but both are playing on Sunday. 'They filled Croke Park for an All-Ireland football final just a year ago. So are all those people going to come and support the Galway and the Armagh camogie players?' Molloy praised the initiative of Offaly GAA, who cancelled all of their club games on Sunday to try encourage fans to support the county's camogie team at Croke Park. 'The first thing we need to do is get our own members to go to All-Ireland final Sunday, irrespective of which counties are competing,' he adds. 'The Association was set up over 121 years ago, it's one of the oldest established national governing bodies for women's sport in the world. 'If all just the camogie members came on Sunday, that would be over 124,000 people.'
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
‘Those two weeks felt like two months': Kilkenny captain Katie Power reveals overwhelming toll of skorts protest
Katie Power admits the reaction to the Kilkenny-Dublin skorts protest was, at times, overwhelming. The Kilkenny captain and her Dublin counterpart Aisling Maher emerged as the embodiment of the campaign following an Irish Times photograph of the pair wearing shorts prior to their Leinster semi-final. The momentum gained from that initial stance ultimately led to last Thursday's Special Congress, at which 98 per cent of delegates supported a motion to provide players with a choice of wearing shorts or skorts. Power was happy with the outcome but admits the level of attention generated by the protest was difficult to manage. READ MORE 'I won't tell you a lie, I found those few weeks tough going,' she said at the launch of the 2025 Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Camogie Championships. 'Overwhelmed, I suppose, with everything that came with it. 'I 100 per cent didn't expect what happened to happen. We were just making the protest, obviously to voice our opinions, but I definitely wasn't aware of what was going to come afterwards. 'The two weeks after that were tough mentally – very draining. My phone was just absolutely blowing up, but for the better. 'It was only after the match that it kind of dawned on me that I was in for the toss and that was the picture that was going to go out. Kilkenny captain Katie Power and Dublin counterpart Aisling Maher, both wearing shorts, are addressed by referee Ray Kelly before the Leinster semi-final. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw 'I'm happy that we decided to do it, but obviously what came in the aftermath was huge. It's done with now and looking back, it was great to have done it for the future of camogie and the younger girls. It's great now, but those two weeks were tough going, they felt like two months.' Power, who is entering her 18th season with Kilkenny, works as a personal trainer. She had to be up at 5am last Friday morning, which meant she was tucked up in bed as delegates were voting at Special Congress the night before. 'I didn't even look at the phone until the next morning,' she said. 'I was in bed, I was working early. I was [able to sleep]; I was nervous about it at the beginning, but in the few days beforehand there was too much about it for the motion not to pass.' Of the eight players present at Croke Park on Monday for the launch of the 2025 championships, seven wore shorts. Armagh's Nicola Woods wore a skort and the defender pointed out that nearly all her teammates togged out in skorts for last weekend's championship clash against Roscommon. I have an uncle in America and he was on the phone to my mother wondering if we were wearing shorts or skorts at the weekend — Méabh Cahalane 'Personally, I prefer shorts even though I'm wearing a skort here today,' said Woods. 'I think everybody just wanted players to have a choice. 'Unlike probably many counties, a lot of the Armagh girls are keen to keep the skort. For our game on Saturday, I think I was the only one on the team who wore the shorts.' Cork captain Méabh Cahalane also supported the campaign for players to have a choice. The late postponement of the Munster final between Cork and Waterford denied Cahalane the opportunity of leading her team to a possible provincial title earlier this month. [ Camogie president targets filling Croke Park for All-Ireland final Opens in new window ] [ Nicky English: Improving Galway will be serious opposition in Leinster final but nervous Cork continue to struggle Opens in new window ] There remains uncertainty around when the Munster final will be refixed because there is very little space in the calendar with the All-Ireland series now ongoing. However, Cahalane is pleased a resolution was found on the skorts-shorts issue. 'It obviously got huge coverage both on social media and in the news, it travelled fast and travelled wide,' she said. 'I have an uncle in America and he was on the phone to my mother wondering if we were wearing shorts or skorts at the weekend. I suppose it got huge coverage and hopefully now camogie, the game, will get the same coverage. 'Getting the result that a choice would be introduced, we were just delighted.'
BBC News
22-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Camogie Association votes for change to allow shorts
A special Congress of the Camogie Association has voted overwhelmingly in favour of allowing shorts to become part of the official kit for the ballot on Thursday night saw 98% vote in favour of the change which will result in players having the option of wearing shorts or skorts. The adoption of the change will come into effect within days, starting with this weekend's games in the All-Ireland senior, premier junior and Under-23 championship matches. The Camogie Association, which governs the sport and is made up of both male and female committee members, held their meeting at Croke controversy over whether camogie players should have the option of wearing shorts or skorts had intensified in recent weeks, with players across Ireland staging protests by turning out for matches in shorts rather than the regulation skorts, leading to match postponements and had dictated that camogie players must wear a skort, or a divided skirt, for matches, though many players train in skort has the appearance of a skirt but has built-in shorts underneath.A recent Gaelic Players Association survey indicated that 70% of players had experienced discomfort while wearing skorts and that 83% of players believed they have the option to is closely linked to the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and alongside the Ladies Gaelic Football Association is due to integrate into the wider GAA in 2027.
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Times
Camogie Association Special Congress passes motion to allow players to wear shorts
Camogie players will be permitted to wear shorts for competitive fixtures after a motion was passed by Camogie Association delegates at a Special Congress held in Croke Park on Thursday evening. Delegates voted on the motion which proposed players be given an individual choice over whether they wear shorts or skorts for games. The motion passed 98 per cent for to 2 per cent against and the change will take effect from midnight. Delegates at Camogie Special Congress vote 98% for change - players will now have the choice of wearing shorts or skorts. — Gordon Manning (@Gordon_Manning) The Special Congress was held in camera with only voting delegates permitted to enter. Delegates voted by secret ballot with a two-thirds majority needed for the motion to pass. READ MORE The issue prompted considerable debate in recent weeks after a survey by the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) highlighted 83 per cent of players said they would prefer to wear shorts or believe players should have the option to choose. The matter escalated when the Dublin and Kilkenny senior camogie teams staged a protest by wearing shorts during the warm-up ahead of the Leinster semi-final on May 3rd. Club and county teams around the country joined the protest and the issue gained widespread news coverage, prompting the Camogie Association on May 8th to schedule a Special Congress to vote on a rule change.
Irish Times
21-05-2025
- Climate
- Irish Times
‘If one girl gives up because of a skort, that's one too many': Dublin camogie team hope for change at Congress
The weather took a wintry turn on Tuesday night but as the Dublin camogie players trained under grey skies in Abbotstown, the hope among the group was that after the rain will blow the wind of change. Because while Tuesday's cloudburst was fleeting, the outcome of the Camogie Association's Special Congress on Thursday will leave a lasting imprint. It's stick or twist time. The skorts and shorts debate has been a topic of conversation in camogie circles for years but the recent protest initiated by the Dublin and Kilkenny teams has moved the dial in terms of the public discourse. Dublin's focus this week is on their All-Ireland championship opener against Galway but the reality is the outcome of Thursday's vote in Croke Park will be remembered long after the result of Saturday's game in Kenny Park has been forgotten. READ MORE 'We want every girl playing sport, if the barrier is wearing a skort it shouldn't be the case, it's a piece of clothing you wear, it's not the sport you play,' says Dublin defender Aoife Higgins. Dublin captain Aisling Maher has been at the forefront of the campaign. She'd prefer to be concentrating entirely on playing and leading the team, but this felt like a moment to stand up. 'We had a conversation as a team and every player unanimously agreed this was the right thing to do,' says Maher. 'I guess you don't think of yourself as an individual in those moments, we were doing it as a team and doing it as a representative decision of how we knew other teams felt. 'It's a funny one because as camogie players we have been wearing skorts for so long that you kind of forget how ridiculously archaic it is in a lot of ways. 'It's only when you take that step back and think about it from the perspective of the public that you realise we probably are lagging miles behind in not offering choice.' Members of the Dublin senior camogie team (from left) Aoife Higgins, Sinead Wylde and Aisling Maher arrive training at Abbotstown Sport Ireland campus last night. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien For Dublin manager Gerry McQuaid the challenge of keeping girls in sport is one he encounters daily because of his job as a PE teacher. 'I'm 30 years teaching physical education and it's usually around the age of 13-14-15 that girls start opting out with excuse note after excuse note,' he says. 'I would be of the opinion we should do whatever we can to keep girls involved in sport. And if this is a barrier, let's just get rid of it and move on.' Sinéad Wylde hopes the momentum of public sentiment resonates with delegates. 'Something as small as allowing players to have choice, that can take away a barrier,' says the Dublin forward. McQuaid, who was a talented runner and earned an athletics scholarship with Indiana State University, was involved with Wexford's management team for their three-in-a-row O'Duffy Cup success between 2010-12. '[The protest] hit a nerve with the public, you can see that,' says McQuaid. 'There is no other sport that I know of, elite or otherwise, where players train in something differently to what they compete in. 'I'm 15 years involved with camogie with a number of different teams and never once can I remember, somebody might correct me, but I can't remember seeing a girl wear a skort at training.' The prevailing message coming from the Dublin squad on Tuesday night was a desire to have a choice. 'If players want to wear a skort that's absolutely fine, it's about looking at the young girls coming behind us and standing up for them,' says Higgins. There is a sense this cause has galvanised the Dublin group. And there is pride at being one of the squads driving the campaign. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien For Maher, there is frustration the outcome rests solely with others. 'It is hard as a player that even still the choice of what I wear isn't in my hands, it's in the hands of delegates,' she adds. 'So I'd like to encourage delegates to remember that we are not looking to get rid of the skort, we are not looking to remove it from the game, it will remain an option.' There is a sense this cause has galvanised the Dublin group. And there is pride at being one of the squads driving the campaign, but Wylde believes failure to change the rule banning shorts could have implications. 'Unless the vote represents what the players have been asking for then there won't be a championship the way championships have gone in the past,' she says. 'Thursday will be the deciding factor whether all our work has come to fruition. On Friday I'll let you know if we are proud or not.' For McQuaid, the message is simple. 'I'm hoping delegates see sense and listen to their players because if you don't have players you don't have camogie games,' he says. 'If one girl gives up this sport because of a skort, that's one too many in my opinion.' Dublin played a challenge game last week and both sides wore shorts. Before training commences, we wonder if all the players will take to the field in shorts. 'For every player you see in a skort, I'll give you a tenner at the end of the session,' smiles Maher. We left with no more money than when we arrived. It is up to those delegates voting on Thursday now to determine if the cost of change makes the sport of camogie richer or poorer.
