The exodus of talent from the LGFA to a professional life in the AFLW shows no signs of any let-up.
Meath star Mary-Kate Lynch is the latest to hitch her wagon to Aussie Rules, the 24-year-old moving Down Under at the start of May for pre-season before the AFLW campaign gets under way on 10 August.
Now entering its 10th season, Irish interest has never been as strong, with over 40 Irish players expected to be involved in the league for the 2026 season.
With the imports thriving rather than merely surviving - a record five Irish players have been selected on the All-Australian AFLW team of 2025 – concerns continue at home for the standard of the inter-county game.
Kerry legend Louise Ní Mhuircheartaigh this week said she fears for women's football given the exodus of talent, a sentiment echoed by Cavan's Aishling Sheridan, who herself featured regularly for Collingwood between 2021 to 2023.
Sheridan is part of a Breffni side on the up – they are on the brink of successive league promotions after winning their opening five games in Division 2 – but feels the ambition of many budding footballers in the county is to experience a football career in Australia.
"It is going to be scary," she told RTÉ Sport at the LGFA launch of the 'For the love of our sport' campaign.
Born from a whisper in 1974 at Hayes' Hotel, not just a sport – but a movement.
— Ladies Football (@LadiesFootball) March 5, 2026
This is our Love Letter to Ladies Gaelic Football 💌#LGFA #ProperFan #SeriousSupport #GetBehindTheFight #TG4Championships #LidlLeagues pic.twitter.com/kFJoavoVnn
"I know from talking to underage players in Cavan, who are very talented footballers, if you ask them their goal, a lot of them are saying it is to go over and play AFLW. It’s not to represent their county at senior level or to win an All-Ireland.
"These are talented footballers that I have no doubt can get picked up by the AFLW.
"Having experienced it, I think it is such an amazing opportunity that I’d never tell anyone not to go. You are being put into a professional environment. It helps develop you as an athlete and as a person.
"I really enjoyed my time there, but I was quite content with coming back to Ireland. Playing over there suits a lot of people’s lifestyles."
Sheridan admits there is no simple solution from the LGFA’s perspective, the lure of a full-time sporting career is irresistible for the majority of people it is offered to.
Bríd Stack, who amassed 11 All-Ireland titles during a decorated career with Cork, was one of the early AFLW adopters from Ireland 2021 when she joined the GWS Giants, following in the footsteps of Cora Staunton, but her path was different to most currently in Australia.
Already retired from inter-county duty, she travelled with her husband and one-year-old child for lifestyle as much as sporting reasons.
"I didn’t even care if I was paid, I just wanted the experience.," she told RTÉ Sport. "For me, the draw home was too strong," pointing out that the likes of Sheridan, Fermanagh’s Joanne Doonan and Tipperary’s Anna-Rose Kennedy are among those that were also happy to return home and resume inter-county football.
Stack feels that while the outlook is bleak at the moment, she can foresee a change in the landscape as the AFLW continues to establish itself.
"If you took 40 of the best players out of the men’s game, it would diminish the standard, there is no doubt about it," she says.
"There is the draw for another couple of years. Do I see it plateauing, or even diminishing in the years to come? I do, and I hope so. I know the academies in Australia are churning out more ready-made talent, talent that wasn’t there before.
"Is it going to be harder for Irish girls to get their place? Is there going to be the requirement for so many Irish players?
"There will always be that draw, but I think it will diminish in time. At the moment we just have to weather the storm."
