As has been said Ladies Football is NOT affiliated to the GAA.
Fair play to the GAA for allowing them to have their finals in Croke Park as most of the other intercounty fixtures are held in club grounds around the country not even county grounds. They are sponsored by TG4 who have also have the television rights.

While ladies football is widely acknowledged as one of the fastest growing sports in the country, it is still a relatively young sport so obviously the numbers participating/attending games is going to be significantly lower.

I play and coach ladies football in my club and we are very much the poor relation after football, hurling and camogie.

Peoples attitudes to girls playing sports have improved and with the success of the Irish U17 girls football team and the Irish ladies rugby team together with Katie Taylor's success things are only going to get better. The ladies gaelic association have been putting in phenomenal work at grassroots level and if they amalgamate with the Camogie Association and GAA and can draw on their financial and human resources then the rewards are there to be had for them and then they will get the recognition on a national scale.

Long.Dub.Glic (Dublin) - Posts: 190 - 30/09/2013 19:19:35    1492357

Muckross of course a good mens Club side would beat a Ladies team. There is no disgrace to the Ladies there, men are by and large bigger and stronger then ladies or haven't you noticed. The game on Sunday was more enjoyable then a lot of the men's games that I have seen in recent years, and the crowd at over 20,000 wasn't bad either. Ladies are playing an increasingly important part in local GAA Clubs and in our local Club here there must be 50 girls under 10 turning up every week for training. Camogie and Ladies Football is definitely on the rise. However I do feel the Final should be scheduled for the same day as Under 21 Hurling to allow a free Sunday in Sept. to cater for any future All Ireland replays.

corkcelt (Cork) - Posts: 4388 - 30/09/2013 19:23:11    1492366

I remark this year where a mother of a Wexford camogie player called for the gaa to use the players looks to attract viewers! If it was a man that said that women would be up in arms and call for his head! Nothing said cause its a woman

Villatown (Leitrim) - Posts: 902 - 30/09/2013 19:38:57    1492385

corkcelt
County: Cork
Posts: 3870

1492366
Muckross of course a good mens Club side would beat a Ladies team. There is no disgrace to the Ladies there, men are by and large bigger and stronger then ladies or haven't you noticed.

Of course I noticed although I don't think size & strength is the whole story.

I was simply replying to the original poster who was calling for coverage of banquets etc etc. I am hugely in favour of Gaelic Games being played & enjoyed in every corner of Ireland but we don't get coverage of the minor banquet the U21 banquet or the Club banquet all of which would be of a higher standard.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 30/09/2013 19:52:27    1492395

Fair point Muckross

Greengrass (Louth) - Posts: 6178 - 30/09/2013 20:19:35    1492415

Ladies football has actually 140K registered players, excluding girls playing it in school. With nearly 2,000 schools playing it a good estimate from the LGF of girls/ladies playing the game would be 200K. Which is a terrific figure one which a lot of the more "global" sports would be proud of.

Girls don't generally WATCH games they prefer to engage in them. The vast majority of people watching men's GAA have never kicked a ball or pucked a sliotar in their lives thats the reality. Men sadly prefer to sit and watch, girls like to participate.

Its a huge earning potential for both LGF/Camogie to tap into. Girls also like to BUY gear, lots and lots of nice gear. Boys look like a dogs dinner and couldn't give a damn and wouldn't spend a cent. So as the girls numbers rise (50/50 in Na Fianna for example) this is a massive earning potential for ladies games and for the clubs that embrace them. Believe me running a club shop with lots of the right gear is a huge earner.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4953 - 01/10/2013 09:27:46    1492548

Girls also like to BUY gear, lots and lots of nice gear.
arock
---------------------------------------------------------------

How do they expect to find a boyfriend/husband going around in GAA gear!
Definite turn off for any lad to see a girl in GAA gear!
The limit of ladies GAA attire should merely be a wool headband tied around the neck or wrist!...Classy!

Regards,

Snufalufagus....Laochra Gael

Snufalufagus (Dublin) - Posts: 8100 - 01/10/2013 10:47:59    1492605

Sinead can field my O'Neills anyday ;)

realdub (Dublin) - Posts: 8744 - 01/10/2013 11:02:17    1492618

Very impressed by the skill of some of the ladies. Cork players were all very composed on the ball. Cora Courtney's footpassing betters what I see from a lot of the men in inter-county games. And young Caoimhe Mohan - wow what a talent! Lightning fast, powerful, direct, kicked 2 fantastic points off either feet....and she's only 19!!!

benjyyy (Donegal) - Posts: 1428 - 01/10/2013 11:13:16    1492624

Snufalufagus

Point taken:
http://www.hoganstand.com/ArticleForm.aspx?ID=196841

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4953 - 01/10/2013 13:06:43    1492731

I agree they could have given ladies bit more coverage, especially given the hurlers had saturday night coverage also.
The Senior final in particular was a brilliant game to watch as a neutral! V exciting game with 2 excellent teams. Monaghan's day will come.
The ref cam idea when I first heard about it sounded pointless, but must say it was interesting to see some incidents from the refs perspective



I don't post often these days, so while I'm at it, on another note: snuff, whats with the constant sign off?
very egotistical!

Le Meas,

Mac21, fear grinn

mac21 (Leitrim) - Posts: 677 - 01/10/2013 13:34:45    1492754

mac21,

'EGO' on the internet is about as futile as a chocolate teapot and so has nothing to do with it!
A little bit of businesslike manners, formality and class is the hallmark of a native Lucanian!

Regards,

Snufalufagus....Laochra Gael

Snufalufagus (Dublin) - Posts: 8100 - 01/10/2013 13:59:38    1492770

dont get people putting the ladies football down as the most consitent player in the gaa over the last decade has been a woman
Cora Staunton

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 01/10/2013 15:22:15    1492832

A few points:

1. Nobody is 'putting down' ladies football! I dont care for bowling or hockey but I wouldnt 'put them down'!
2. Just because ladies football is GAA....doesnt mean I have to like it!
3. If ladies football is at the standard of mens Junior C.....would you expect Junior C football to be on TV?
4. RTE = VIEWERSHIP = RATINGS = ADVERTISING = BUSINESS CASE!.....What part of this do you people not understand?! Ladies football shown on TV = people changing channels 'very quickly'!!!.....So get with the reality of that!....Thats not 'putting it down', thats 'business reality' for broadcasters!

Regards,

Snufalufagus....Laochra Gael

Snufalufagus (Dublin) - Posts: 8100 - 01/10/2013 15:39:36    1492848

snuf

women by virtue of evolution and lack of testosterone will never be physicaly able to compete with men.
but in terms of skill level womens football displays every bit as good a skill level.
the same as womens tennis in comparison to mens tennis

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 01/10/2013 15:56:32    1492860

Probably unfortunate for the Ladies GAA that the hurling replay was on the day before, took away a bit form their exposure, thot the Sunday Game did a decent job considering.
On the wider issue, the GAA needs to support the ladies game much more; every club should be trying to form a ladies team, no matter what standard, the benefits from a health perspective and from increased participation in the club would be considerable. Counties should also make more of an effort e.g play a ladies league match before the men's league match. This would greatly increase the profile of the ladies game

befair (Down) - Posts: 238 - 01/10/2013 16:24:24    1492889

befair

the problem being they are seperate associations and therefore you cannot really be laying it on the gaa door to promote ladies football as its down to the ladies assocation to that and by all means are certainly growing year in year out in terms of playing numbers and viewing figures

hill16no1man (Dublin) - Posts: 12665 - 01/10/2013 17:01:34    1492929

Thought the ladies got great coverage of their finals day with full coverage of all 3 finals. The intermediate and senior finals were as entertaining as any games i have seen all year...especially the senior final. great stuff!!!

breakingball22 (Louth) - Posts: 419 - 01/10/2013 17:03:34    1492933

Should come with a health warning that garbage.

Samsforthehills (Donegal) - Posts: 1075 - 01/10/2013 17:06:29    1492936

You cant compare a ladies football to the mens game its a different game just look at the fouls. Very few womens sports can be compared. But because they are different dosent mean they are lesser or not deserving of respect. RTE should not get ladies football anyway it should stay with its promoters Tg4. RTE do little enough hfor the GAA without adding the atrocity of womens games to their crimes.
The fact is the LGF do promote their own games, people need to see what is happening, the terms of the liberty insurance sponsorship is vsry clear with camogie voting to formally joining the GAA. Only a matter of time before the GAA will have all codes and genders undrr the one association.

arock (Dublin) - Posts: 4953 - 01/10/2013 17:22:45    1492954