01 October 2003 Huge upsurge in Ladies Gaelic Football Share this Article 0 0 0 Shares! 0 Shares! Huge upsurge in Ladies Gaelic Football Dublin and Mayo TG4 All-Ireland final could could increase it even more and with the spotlight on the finals at Croke Park it is an opportune time to examine the phenomenal growth of ladies Football in the country. Last year there were 82,000 players registered and with late registrations for the rest of the year to come in, its looks like this years figure will be pushed up to over 90,000. It is one of the few ladies sports in the country that has 32 county involvement in Inter-co Competition. Kilkenny were the last County to come in earlier in the year. The sport is growing very fast overseas with many teams in Britain. It is particularly strong in Australia and in Perth alone there are 5 senior clubs. There is potential for more growth, when one considers that Cork city has just one Club Nemo Rangers who trades as a Junior Club, so there is no Senior Club in the 2nd largest city in Ireland. This is well compensated for in the rest of the Co with clubs springing up at a very fast rate. There are now more than 50 clubs in the County. Dublin has seen a similar growth and no doubt with Dublin’s involvement in the Senior final that growth will be accelerated even more. At National Level the ladies Gaelic Football has its office at the back of the Cusack Stand in Croke Park. The hardworking Chief Executive Officer Helen O’Rourke has given the sport a huge profile,attracting major sponsors like TG4 for the Senior and Junior Championships. Suzuki for the National Leagues. The All Star awards are sponsored by O’Neill’s and TG4. O’Neills will sponsor the first All Star awards in conjunction with TG4 at City West on November. This new and exciting venture was launched at Croke Park on Tuesday in conjunction with the meeting of the Dublin and Mayo’s captains Martina Farrell and Helena Lohan before Sundays showdown. Speaking at the launch managing director of O’Neill’s Tony Towell said. ” O’Neills are proud of our close links with the GAA and are delighted to be sponsors of this years All Stars. This has been a wonderful year for ladies Football and we feel it is appropriate that the stars of the ladies game are properly honoured. The O’Neill’s/TG4 Ladies All Stars Ceremony will do just that” President Geraldine Giles who has brought a new dimension to the sport since eelcted in March also welcomed the news and stated “We are honoured to welcome O’Neills Sportswear and TG4 on Boards as the first sponsors of our all Star awards. O’Neills TG4 and Cumann Peil na Mban have had a great alliance over the years and this partnership will help to put our All-Stars on a different plane and heighten the profile that our players richly deserve. Cumann Peil Gael na mBan are grateful to TG4 and O’Neills for their support and commitment to the Ladies game and we look forward to 2 sporting finals this weekend and an exciting night in November” she added. Also in attendance was Pol O’ Gallchoir Chief Executive of TG4 who sated “TG4 is very proud to be associated with Cumann Peil na MBan. The partnership is working to our mutual benefit and we are looking forward with great confidence to many years working together. The O’Neill/TG4 All Stars in November will be a very special event as Tg4, O’Neill’s and the Ladies GAA acknowledge the effort put in by these athletes and the enjoyment they provide for us all” Televised live by TG4 Speaking about Sunday’s TG4 finals which will be televised not only in Ireland but all round the world. Geraldine Giles said “Sunday is a unique day in the history of the ladies game, all our 4 teams participating have not met in a final to date. Kildare and Donegal have competed alternatively in the Junior final in the pat 2 years and even though Mayo are making their 5th consecutive appearance in a senior Final this will be Dublin’s first ever appearance in an All-Ireland Senior final. This is generating major excitement around the capital and we are sure it will be matched by the other participating counties as their team bids for All-Ireland glory” Dublin may be appearing in their first ever final but they have a team littered with stars such as Angie mMcNally, Louise Kelly and Louise Keegan. Dublin were extremely impressive in claiming the Leinster title this year and had to overcome an excellent Kerry team in the semi-final. Managed by former Dublin Minor Coach Mick Bohan, Dublin are sure to be massively supported on Sunday as they strive for their first All-Ireland crown. Interestingly Sunday is the last chance the Dublin fans will have to stand on the old Hill 16, before renovation work starts to completes the building of GAA headquarters. Mayo are the current champions who produced a memorable performance to claim the title last year in a close fought encounter with Monaghan. Mayo started this years campaign as they finished the last but had to sweat it out to beat a determined and much improved Galway team in the the semi-finals after extra time. Mayo have the incentive of winning their second successive title and are no strangers to this special day for Ladies Gaelic Football, If Mayo are successful on Sunday it will be their 4th title in 5 years. Mayo’s team contain several players who are household names such as Cora Staunton, the Heffernan sisters Chris and Marcella and they will be very hard to beat. Captain’s views Speaking at the Press day at Croke Park on Tuesday, Mayo Captain Helena Lohan was not taking the Dublin challenge for granted ” Dublin will be very hard to beat. They are strong, fast and very well drilled. I saw them in the semi-finals and we will have our work cut out to beat them and their midfield in particular is very strong. We are looking forward to the All-Ireland and it is a very special day. We were very lucky in the Semis against Galway who played much better than we expected. In saying that we are very upbeat and it would be a huge honour for me to follow in Chris Heffernan’s footsteps and to lift the cup again this year and bring it back to Mayo” she added. Helena is a 20 year old student based in Maynooth and would be one of the youngest captains ever in any code to lift an All-Ireland Senior title if Mayo defeat the Dubs on Sunday. Dublin captain Martina Farrell will be hoping to be the first ever Dublin captain to lift the most coveted prize in ladies Football the Brendan Moran Cup The Ballyboden stalwart is exited about the prospect “As Peter Canavan said last Sunday I cannot think of anywhere better in the world to be” she said. Martina is really looking forward to the game despite it being Dublin’s first at this level. “This is all new to us but it will be a fantastic experience. This is the reason why you play football, to play in an All-Ireland final” The Dublin skipper is well aware of the threat Mayo pose and respects their pedigree, as current champions. Indeed dublin were beaten by Mayo in last years Semi-final. As regards the support form the metropolitans. “I hope Dublin GAA supporters come out in force on Sunday and I fully expect they will. Interest is high and Mayo will be well supported so it would be great if Dublin fans came to cheer us on.” Fr. Liam Kelleher PRO Share this Article 0 0