Two Irish Daughters - Finding Role Models for Irish Girls

The 2022 LGFA intercounty season reaches its climax this Sunday in the Mecca of Croke with an intriguing mix of backdrops from potential tales of redemption, to hopes of the rising Phoenix. To say the LGFA has made dramatic strides under the stewardship of Helen O’Rourke would be an understatement. The association, structures and membership is unrecognisable from those initial days of formation in 1974. The vision, passion and commitment shown by those past and current leaders have blazed through the barriers created, the glass ceilings that were created and the general misogyny that was prevalent towards Ladies football at the time. Credit where credit is due and the continuing rise each year for attendance at LGFA games, highlights the quality of the product and spectacle on show. The days of ridicule and begrudgers has long gone, replaced with those keen to see their kith and kin enjoy a great sport. Onwards to Sunday and we have 3 sumptuous matches to look forward to. Fi...

There are a few Irish sports stars who have made the, sometimes awkward transition from elite player to TV personality, but the speed and ease with which Anna Geary has done so is particularly striking. The Famed Camogie legend retired from competitive sport at the still youthful age of 28 but with a huge determination to succeed at her new career. The opportunity was there for her and she grabbed it with both hands, unwavering in her desire to add another accomplishment to an ever increasing list of achievements. Of those said achievements - where do we even start? All Ireland titles in schools, club, county, province. Captain of Cork, European Camogie champion, Cork Rose of Tralee, University of Limerick graduate, 1st Class Hons Post Grad 2013 in PR & Communications, DipLoma in Business & Life Coaching, numerous individual awards and ambassadorships. It is fair to say what Anna puts her mind to she achieves. Post sports career, she turned her hand to the media s...

Some of us come into the world with everything made easy. We don't have to work at getting better at anything as money, garganutan biceps or high cheekbones will carry us to where we were pre-destined to be. A remarkable jounrey safe from the rapid waters of adversity and content in the knowledge that their world is built around them and those fit in to that world as it is. Some others though are born to fight back, not accept the system as it is and fully believe change is possible. Those others are epitomised by Sinead Burke. Born 1990 with a condition called achondroplasia, Sinead could have accepted the circumstances, kept her head down and bemoaned the lack of opportunites. Sinead scrumpled that note and threw it into the bin. A number of titles can be given to her but none really do her justice exclusively: Disability Activist, Podcaster, Artist, Fashionista, Author, Teacher, Activist. She is a woman of action, of these descriptions and much more. After deciding she c...

We all dreamt as children of flying to the Moon or being an Astronaut at some stage didn't we? For some it was a fleeting moment of interest, for others a lifelong itch to be scratched - for Dr Norah Casey it was the latter. From the moment she visited NASA's complex in Cleveland, Ohio as a child she was hooked and her life's trajectory moved towards that star. This was no facile, childish whim. This was the beginning of a quest to reach that celestial body which has transfixed and beguiled men and women for thousands of years. Norah is making it happen. 'The First Irish person in Space' has quite the ring to it and Norah is fully deserving of the title should she get there. This isn't something that she stumbled into. It has taken focus, determination, hard work, commitment and intelligence for Norah to get to where she is. A native of Ballina, Co Mayo she took a degree in Aeronautical Engineering in Limerick, followed by the International Space Univ...

What a glorious sight it was to see two teams battling in the ampitheatre of Croke Park Dublin in yesterdays conclusion to the Ladies Football Finals. The LGFA have to take enormous praise for the way they have transformed the Ladies game in the past 20 years. The spectacle of show was worthy of any showpiece, regardless of gender, and the atmosphere from the crowd as the game entered its final throes was simply exhilarating. The Women's game has had its detractors for a long time now. Whether this be the result of misogyny, begrudgers or those who hate change it is difficult to say but what i witnessed yesterday could not be viewed without the emotions being stirred nor the admiration for those who enter the crucible of battle on the hallowed turf of Croker. I had my daughter WITH ME for her first experience of the Stadium. I thought the jaunt would do her good to see the standards and levels of what Is needed to reach the pinnacle of Ladies Gaa Football. The Junior a...

  The anguished face of Ciara Mageean, following the tortuous final lap of the 1500m women's race in Toyko, touched our hearts. Having seen her Covid interrupted training schedules of 2020 and 2021, and the late tear sustained to her calf muscle, frustratingly the week prior to the race, we knew how much this would hurt her.  In truth it only served further notice of how bravely the 29 year old had battled to place in the race, in spite of the detrimental injury, and the guts it took to take the race to the favourites at the start knowing how few options were left if the strategy did not work out.  Typically, Ciara wasn't one to complain offering that she is not 'one for sharing troubles that arise'.   She takes ownership of her own problems and sets them right in her own assertive manner.   Ciara has worked hard to get to the top and she will stay there from her own work mantra. Ciara had hoped for a final spot and a PB in these Olympics. Hailing from...