'Secrecy and stonewalling' by Ladies Gaelic Football Association

Ladies’ Gaelic football chiefs have been accused of “secrecy and stonewalling” regarding their highly controversial transgender policy.

The new policy means transgender girls between 12-15 will be able to play pending approval by a special committee, while players over 16 must in addition provide medical records showing their testosterone levels do not exceed acceptable limits.

Earlier this month, Dublin-based player Guilia Valentino became the first transgender woman to have been been given the green light to play ladies football since the policy was introduced in mid-February.

Derry Now has been approached by Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) members in the North West, one of whom described the recently introduced transgender policy as “deliberately ignoring and completely contravening the principles of good governance, from formulation to implementation”.

Helen O'Rourke, CEO, LGFA.

This woman requested the paper maintain her anonymity for fear of being vilified for expressing legitimate concerns.

She added: “Grassroots members of the LGFA were deliberately excluded from the transgender policy ‘consultation’ process. Then, the policy was announced along with the words, ‘the LGFA will not tolerate any harassment or discrimination’. It was a clear threat to members, basically, telling them to keep their mouths shut and not to question it."

Derry News understands an email was sent from the CEO of the LGFA to all county secretaries on February 3, informing them the policy would be discussed at a Central Council meeting on February 15.

It is believed this was the first time county board executive committees were told about the policy’s existence. They were told not to share the email, or discuss the information it contained, with anyone.

It is not clear whether the actual wording of the transgender policy was contained in or attached to that email. 

What is known, however, is that at no stage did the LGFA consult or inform anyone at club level about the proposed introduction of the policy.

Derry News has learned county board representatives attending the February 15 Central Council meeting were unaware the policy was on the agenda for ratification on that occasion.

“Let’s say there were 80 people at that Central Council meeting,” a second LGFA member told Derry News, “those 80 people had absolutely no authority to decide what the majority of the rest of the members of the LGFA wanted in relation to including transgender women in our organisation.”

The woman who originally approached this paper said she could no longer referee ladies’ Gaelic football matches as a result of the policy.

Clearly distraught, she said she had made the “agonising decision” to exclude herself from the sport she loved because she thought the transgender policy was “a travesty”.

“If I continued refereeing, I would be complicit in what I believe to be a shocking act of misogyny on the women and girls this organisation is supposed to nurture, advocate for and protect,” she explained. "I am heartbroken, but for me it is a matter of principle."

She went on to say that many members with concerns were afraid to speak up because those expressing opposition to the policy on the basis that it undermines women's rights were being accused of discrimination and bigotry.

“Is it discriminatory to question a policy that allows biological males to play Gaelic football alongside women and girls? Is it discriminatory to question the scientific, medical and ideological legitimacy of such a policy? I believe this policy is actually discriminatory to the women and girls of this organisation because their right to fairness, privacy, dignity and safety is being pushed aside in the name of inclusion. Gender identity, and how a person feels, should not override biological sex. This policy endangers women and girls. We play sport with our bodies; not our feelings.

“I could not look myself in the eye if I refereed while this policy was in place. It does not stand up to even the most cursory scrutiny. It was issued with absolutely no details on what medical and scientific evidence the LGFA based its decision,” she said.

The woman added that, as a referee, she had a responsibility to uphold fairness and to endeavour, as much as possible, to protect the players on the pitch from physical injury.

“In addition, we need to be mindful of broader safeguarding issues that come into play when we are talking about underage players,” she said.

She added: “To my knowledge, no guidelines have been sent out to referees, coaches, players or parents on this. That alone is grossly irresponsible.

“I am appalled at the manner in which LGFA management drove this policy through, unilaterally and without any meaningful consultation.

“I believe Mícheál Naughton (president) and Helen O'Rourke (CEO) have serious questions to answer in regard to governance and transparency. The way this policy was enacted, the way they have subsequently tried to shut down debate and the way they are point blank refusing to furnish any evidence on what drove their decision is an affront to democracy.

“Over the past few weeks, I have spoken to countless players and coaches involved in women's and girls' football. They are still trying to come to terms with the fact that such a massive policy decision was made behind their backs. They are also deeply hurt that the so-called custodians of an organisation whose purpose is to advocate for women and girls in Gaelic football would introduce a policy that has failed to prioritise the welfare of its members.”

The LGFA member said she believed “fear of litigation, along with external pressure being exerted by organisations captured by trans ideology" were the determining factors in the introduction of the LGFA’s transgender policy.

She added: "LGFA management have no idea of the psychological and emotional damage they have inflicted on their members.. They are basically telling women and girls, 'you have no say, no voice and no right to complain'. They have been betrayed by the very people entrusted to protect them."

Sorcha, a member of the Sports’ Working Group of The Countess (thecountess.ie), told Derry Now the LGFA might find it difficult to get insurance as a result of its transgender policy.

The Countess is a voluntary, non-partisan human rights and advocacy group, which centres women and children in its work.

The aim of the organisation is to “empower the people of Ireland to discuss the unintended consequences of the Gender Recognition Act 2015”.

The Gender Recognition Act provided that a person can apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate in order to have their preferred gender recognised by the state.

Sorcha added: “I think most people are not aware of the extent to which the overall rights of women and girls, in particular, have been compromised by the Gender Recognition Act. They are not really aware of the issues of privacy for women or the issues in hospitals for women, although people do seem to care a lot about prisons.

“However, the more I have learned, the unfairness which the Gender Recognition Act is having in terms of sport, has become glaringly obvious.

“Sport is something everyone understands. Every mum and dad on the sideline wants their child to have an equal opportunity and the guys who are coaching, volunteering, standing on the sidelines, watching their daughters playing ladies’ Gaelic football or camogie or doing athletics or basketball, will all immediately understand the implications of a policy that centres males."

Sorcha said she was not surprised the policy was brought in without proper procedures and allowance for discussion.

She traced the LGFA’s methodology directly to the November 2019 Dentons’ report titled: ‘Only adults? Good practices in legal gender recognition for youth’.

“The Dentons’ report was produced as a guideline for how to get any transgender policies implemented. Basically, it says, you do not allow discussion, so in Ireland, the Gender Recognition Act was tied in with the very popular marriage equality legislation. Very little information about the Gender Recognition Act was out in the public domain. The Dentons’ report is the playbook for any kind of amendments to rights, which people might advise their representatives to vote against.

“It is not surprising to us that the LGFA’s Transgender policy was not discussed and that it was suppressed. Our members who are athletes and who have been involved in football were devastated when they read this policy.

“It was really shocking that an organisation set up for women, to allow women to play football, could then bring in a policy which completely undermines the rights of women and girls in that sport bracket and it was done with no discussion.

“In addition, the response the LGFA gave saying it was legally bound to introduce its trangender policy shows it has been misinformed or cynically telling members this. There is no EU legislation requiring such a policy. In fact, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) has already ratified the World Rugby position which says you must be born female to play in the ladies’s division and they have never had a legal challenge,” said Sorcha.

According to Sorcha, there is no evidence that testosterone suppression works.

She added: “Once a male has gone through puberty, their bone structure is different, their skeletal structure is different, their muscles are different, their lungs are bigger, their heart is bigger, their hands are bigger, none of that is changed by testosterone suppression. The LGFA has not consulted anybody about fairness.

“We are opposed to any policy that includes males in female sports. It is particularly insulting. It is so poorly thought out, with no stakeholder list, no medical or scientific reference list. It is just appalling.”

Jackie Cahill, Communications and Commercial Manager, LGFA.

Derry News has contacted Helen O’Rourke (CEO, LGFA); Mícheál Naughton (President, LGFA); the Communications and Commercial Manager of the LGFA; the Ulster Administrator, LGFA; and the Ulster PRO, LGFA.

We asked the following questions:

Were any medical professionals consulted in the formulation of the Transgender policy?

What medical professionals were consulted in the formulation of the Transgender policy?

What are the areas of expertise of any medical professionals consulted in the formulation of the Transgender policy?

What, if any, scientific  research was used in the formulation of the Transgender policy? Can the LGFA provide a list of the relevant documentation?

Why has the LGFA not made this scientific / medical information publicly available, to date?

What legal professionals, if any, did the LGFA consult in the formation of the Transgender policy?

What insurance professionals, if any, did the LGFA consult in the formation of the Transgender policy?

Has AIG Insurance agreed to underwrite the full operation of the Transgender policy?

Who sat on the Consultation Panel? What were their individual expertises?

Who is going to sit on the Application Committee? What are their individual expertises?

Who is going to sit on the Risk Committee? What are their individual expertises?

What does the LGFA define as an "acceptable risk".

What measures, if any, will the LGFA implement in order to Safeguard changing facilities etc for LGFA players?

Reply from LGFA to Derry News enquiries.

What is the position of the LGFA in relation to a female who is transitioning to a male, in terms of testosterone ingestion? What is the prescribed amount of testosterone such a player would be able to ingest? How does the Transgender policy deal with this in terms of mitigating against 'doping'?

Derry News received a reply from the Ulster Administrator, LGFA saying: “Thank you for your email. Please refer any queries to National LGFA.”

We also received a response from Jackie Cahill, Commercial and Communications Manager. Mr Cahill said: “We won’t be commenting any further on this.”