An academic conducting research into women in sport has called for more investment to increase participation.
Dr Irene Hogan was speaking at a gaelic football and wellbeing festival in Cork, in which more than 600 women took part.
The Gaelic4Mothers&Others Festival of Football and Wellbeing took place at Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
It was always going to be more about fun than football.
But there was a serious element too: a wellbeing hub with talks on nutrition, mental health and the importance of sport in women's lives.
Cork GAA opened the gates of Supervalu Páirc Uí Chaoimh to the 600 participants for the day.
Eleven-times all-Ireland winner and All-Star with Cork, and former Australian Rules footballer, Bríd Stack, led a 15-minute warmup for the group. Afterwards, she addressed a series of workshops on the importance of sport in her life.
"I'm a recent mom - I've three children now under the age of five. The health benefits that sport gives me and just even getting out and getting active, they're just immesurable," Bríd explained.
"You just need that little time, that little space for yourself.
"I suppose, sometimes as moms we need to learn to be a little bit selfish, put ourselves first and give ourselves time to have that activity."
Many of those playing in Páirc Uí Chaoimh today have returned to sport after years of non-participation.
They spoke of the benefits they felt.
"We've made loads of friends. We've 33 members and we all have a great laugh, get exercise and it's a great way to be able to meet people," said Karena Hayes of Buttevant Gaelic4Mothers&Others.
"There's camradarie. You get to know people. There's a social aspect to it and a bit of fun, a bit of sport as well," said Marion Spillane of Valley Vixens from Innishannon in Co Cork.
Elsewhere, in the stadium's conference facilities, details of an academic study on women in sport, being conducted jointly by researchers from University College Cork and Munster Technological University were shared.
More than 1,000 women who have returned to sport through the Gaelic4Mothers&Others organisation have been surveyed for the research.
The results are currently being analysed.
"We're finding that there's a huge social impact for the women involved. They're role models for the younger girls within their clubs. It's bringing them back into the community.
"It's connecting them with their parish or local community that they might not have been [connected with] since they finished playing," said Dr Irene Hogan of the Department of Sport of Munster Technological University.
"This is an opportunity for them to stay involved as lifelong members of gaelic games."
Dr Hogan said there is a need for more events like today's festival of football, to encourage increased participation in sport by women.
"We need investment. We need these initiatives to be run around the country, not only in ladies' football but in all other sports to get women physically active and to keep them lifelong members of sports and lifelong members of physical activity," she said.
Similar initiatives are also needed for teenagers: research by Sport Ireland indicates that the drop-off rate among teenage girls between primary and secondary school is around 30%.
