Laois GAA refused 'written request' for the use of O'Moore Park says Laois Ladies Football Executive

Last weekend saw three Laois LGFA county finals take place in Park-Ratheniska and Stradbally but it wasn't without controversy as there was plenty of outrage among supporters that they weren't being held in the county ground, Laois Hire O'Moore Park.

Mo Nerney, Laois Ladies Football star, also expressed her disappointment on X (formerly Twitter) that the Ladies County Board weren't able to secure the use of O'Moore Park for such a big day of football and one that the players want to be apart of.

Following all this, Laois LGFA have released a statement in response to the whole situation.

The statement reads, 'Laois Ladies Football Executive would firstly like to congratulate Crettyard, Shanahoe and Portlaoise football teams on winning the Junior, Intermediate and Senior Championships respectively on Saturday last the 7th of October.'

'In the days leading to the finals there was considerable public discourse in respect of several issues relating to the finals and Laois Ladies Executive did not respond at that time in order not to detract attention in any way from the teams participating in their most important footballing event of the year!', they said.

The statement is based around how women in sport in Laois are treated as well as the issue of equality as a whole.

'Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources and opportunities regardless of their circumstances. Gender equality is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender including economic participation and decision making.', the statement says.

'On the 22th of May this year when Laois GAA Management Committee met, and on their agenda was the written request from the Laois Ladies Executive asking that our Adult finals on October 7th be hosted in O’Moore Park, the challenges facing the group was the allocation of scarce resources in high demand. On the 24th of May, the Ladies Association were informed that we could not be accommodated.', they added

It also goes on to say, 'We are all aware of the growing movement and public discourse regarding the amalgamation of the respective associations that represent the GAA family. Having experienced at a club level the challenging conversations that are required to make progress towards a One Club model, I welcome the recent conversations that have been sparked by the venue debate. It is important as it gives the Ladies Football Executive the opportunity to highlight the gender equality gaps that exist in sport and extends the invitation to the other associations in Laois to join in the conversation.'

The latter part of the statement delves into the statistics surrounding women in sport and how the gender gap is still evident in not just the GAA but across all sports.

'The Sport Ireland report published in 2019 “Women in Sport “ reminds us of the gender gaps that still exist in sport. It states that since the introduction of Irish Sports Monitor in 2007 the gap between adult male and female sports participation has shifted from 15.7% to 4.5% but rates remain high at younger age range  42% gap for  14-15 year olds,  63% gap for 16-17 year olds and 65% gap for 18-20 year olds.  As a community in Laois we should not accept this situation and the challenge for us all in Laois is to create the conditions that maximises participation. Sitting at the table having the conversations about sharing the scares resources that do exist, lobbying our public representatives to increase grants and direct funding to sport, sharing and valuing the expertise of all involved in the daily delivery of sporting activity in our community.'

The statement ends with 'There is an opportunity for us all now to become leaders in our community and “blow the whistle on inequality”.'