Analysis: despite the success stories, women in Irish sport have had to constantly fight uphill battles and more still needs to be done
Sport is a powerful platform for empowering women and girls and for promoting gender equality. However, women involved in Irish sport constantly fight uphill battles. Here are some stories of Irish women who have broken down barriers in sport - and why more still needs to be done.
The first modern Olympic Games in 1896 were an all-male affair but 12 women competed in the 1900 Games in Paris. Those numbers rose gradually and in 1956, Maeve Kyle became Ireland's first female Olympic track and field athlete (100m and 200m) and she had to raise £200 to cover the cost of the trip to Melbourne.
Kyle remembered how many people did not approve of her participation: "I had the distinction of having a letter in the Irish Times saying what a disgraceful hussy I was going off to the Olympics, leaving my husband and small child behind. That shows you the attitude of certain sections of what was a very conservative society.". She went on to compete in the Olympic Games in 1956, 1960 and 1964, earning herself the nickname of the Irish Suffragette of athletes.
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From RTÉ Archives, RTÉ News interview from 1968 with Maeve Kyle
The Olympic Games held in London in 2012 marked the first time in the history of the Olympics that all 204 participating countries sent at least one woman to compete. Another precedent set during the 2012 games was that any new sport to join the Olympic programme must have female competitors. This new rule allowed Irish boxer Katie Taylor to complete a lifetime dream by winning an Olympic gold medal. That medal is one of many historic moments for Taylor including becoming pound-for-pound world number one and the first female boxer to headline a boxing card at Madison Square Garden.
Taylor is now a household name but as a young boxer, she disguised her gender and name to get into boxing competitions. In a CNN documentary, she recalls: "I used to have my hair up in my headgear and I used to be known as 'Kay Taylor.' When I took the headgear off at the end of the fight and they realised I was a girl, there was uproar.".
Taylor regularly cites Deirdre Gogarty as an inspiration for her boxing career. Deirdre was a successful pro-boxer in the US where she became world champion in 1997, having fought on the undercard of Mike Tyson v Frank Bruno the year before. But back home in Ireland, boxing was illegal for women and her success went unnoticed by many. The ban was lifted in 2001 and in 2015, Gogarty was deservedly inducted into the International Women's Boxing Hall of Fame.
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From RTÉ's Upfront podcast, Katie Hannon talks to Deirdre Gogarty, the first Irish woman to win a boxing world title in 1997 when it was still illegal for women to box in this country
When Raidió na Gaeltachta began broadcasting from its main studio in Connemara on Easter Sunday in 1972, Dóirín Mhic Mhurchú was the station's first and only female sports reporter. Her entry into sports broadcasting was not without its obstacles: in one instance, she was initially refused entry to the media box at a GAA match in Semple Stadium, Thurles.
This prompted Mhic Mhurchú to make her own press card for identification as she awaited the arrival of her official National Union of Journalists card. The makeshift press pass sufficed as proof of her credentials and has been kept by her family as a reminder of the barriers that Dóirín had to overcome to make her own special mark in GAA broadcasting.
The increase of female presence in the field of sports journalism marks a welcome shift in sports coverage and the visibility of women in the sports landscape. The act of simply hiring more female journalists, editors or broadcasters is by no means the equivalent of extending coverage of women's sport. The 20x20 campaign, which aimed to increase media coverage of women’s sports, reported that women’s sport commanded just 3% of print output, and 4% of online content after their campaign.
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Ó RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta's An Saol ó Dheas, eagrán speisialta ón Rinn ón gCuanach in omós do Dóirín Mhic Mhurchú
Ladies Gaelic football is a code that has benefitted from the power of sponsorship in generating interest and increased attendance at marquee games. Up until 2019, the Ladies football finals at Croke Park broke attendance records with over 56,000 supporters in attendance and figures more than doubling since 2013. Sponsorship from large corporations such as Lidl and reasonable ticket prices have contributed to these figures.
But much of the fanfare is mere optics as intercounty female footballers and their camogie comrades still face constant challenges in obtaining fundamental resources such as travel expenses and access to facilities, and also navigating unfair fixtures scheduling. In 2019, €3.7 million was paid out by the Government to support Gaelic games players, with €3 million being made available for male players and teams, and €700,000 for female players and teams.
Last month, players from all counties came together at a press conference, arranged by the Gaelic Players Association, to outline their frustration at the LGFA, Camogie Association and the GAA and to engage in discussions to develop a charter designed for inter-county players. This has been followed up by match day protests including players sitting down after the national anthem, wearing t-shirts with the slogan '#UNITED FOR EQUALITY' and returning to the dressing room to delay games. This protest has gained more momentum with the announcement of male inter-county captains’ support which frustratingly demonstrates how women’s plights are often only amplified when male athletes sit up and take notice.
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From RTÉ 2fm's Game On, Nadine Doherty and Aislinn Connolly discuss the protests by ladies football and camogie players
Sportswomen having to push for better treatment and conditions by Irish sports organisations has been a common thread. In 2017, the national women's soccer team addressed a media conference at Liberty Hall outlining how the level of commitment they give with minimal investment by the FAI was unsustainable. Stephanie Roche, a one-time nominee for FIFA's Puskás goal of the year award, explained how the players had to return tracksuits so they could be used by Ireland underage teams and having to change in airport toilets.
Eventually, all parties sat down and a deal was agreed with the FAI for basic entitlements, including tracksuits, gym membership and match success fees. The press conference at Liberty Hall is considered by current Ireland World Cup squad member Louise Quinn as one of the most significant moments of her long career and a "turning point" in the history of the women's game in Ireland.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Brendan O'Connor, Joanne O'Riordan on Ireland's chances of success at the Women's World Cup 2023
The soccer, ladies football and camogie players are not alone. In 2021, a large group of prominent figures in Irish women's rugby put their names to a letter to the Government stating how they had "lost all trust and confidence in the IRFU and its leadership after historic failings".
The Irish women’s hockey team won silver at the Hockey World Cup in 2018 despite no main sponsor to help fund its high performance programme in the build-up to the tournament and members of the international squad requiring to pay an annual levy of €550 to go towards their preparations. But not to worry, the glorious Reeling in the Years clips of famous victories and celebrations will paper over the cracks created by governing bodies’ lack of investment.
READ: How will Ireland's first Women's World Cup compare to Italia '90?
Whereas in the past, the presence of women in the world of sport was considered abnormal and seen by some as positively perverse, the landscape for women in sport has significantly shifted. There is a long list of Irish sports women with remarkable achievements on an international stage but the stories of most have an undercurrent of overcoming challenges that male athletes do not have.
Equal opportunities are still wishful thinking and there is still a clear hierarchy between men’s and women’s games. When media coverage will be at an all-time high for the Irish national women's soccer team , this is an opportunity for long term investment, consumption and participation in women’s sport in Ireland. There has never been a more appropriate time in women’s sport in Ireland to transform moments into habits.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
