Longford ladies GAA star says they are ‘fighting’ for pitches

Talented Longford Gaelic footballer Michelle Farrell said women and girls deserve far better resources such as improved access to pitches and floodlights for training.

The Colmcille player's team defeated Ballymahon-Forgney in the Junior Ladies Championship on Sunday to qualify for the county semi finals.

Michelle said the resignation of Mary McAleese as the Integration Committee chair was a setback.

"I don't think she just stepped down because of something that is only a small frustration."

She stated in smaller counties such as Longford they 'aren't getting the funding, we're not getting expenses' and 'we're fighting for club pitches'.

Michelle added, "We could be training on a Friday and we might know at lunchtime on Friday what pitch we are training on because you are waiting to get confirmation from some club that is willing to give it to you.

"And it's dependent on if there's an under-16 lads game or if there's a men's senior club that want their full pitch for an in-house game or whatever it is."

She referred to GAA President Jarlath Burns’ estimate that if the associations merge the existing €45 million annual spend would double to €90 million for achieving full equality, high-performance funding for the three associations.

Michelle stated that they put in significant time and effort that is comparable to their male counterparts.

She said, "I think that is a little bit mad of a reason to just postpone it all."