What is the biggest difference between men and women in sports?

There are two main differences that exist between men and women in sport. First of all you have the media, the lack of coverage on national television or in the national newspapers is very disappointing. We played a National League games against Wexford on Saturday and there was no reports in the big papers. Secondly, you have the finance, men’s sides have huge financial backing behind and we have to fundraise everything that we get for ourselves, which is ok, but it is just a lot tougher and it doesn’t raise half as much.

Has it improved in any way since you started playing?

The Women’s Gaelic Players Association (WGPA) have been a huge help, now we can speak about our issues to people outside of the county, something that was unheard of two or three years. Fellow All-star, Máire McGrath and I are the ambassadors for Clare and it is great to have a network or union of people that we can talk to, players are finally able to stand up and speak out.

When did you first notice that men and women were not equal in sport?

My brother’s Alex and Caimin are big into hurling with our local club in Sixmilebridge, and on the county side and my cousin Seadna, is on the Clare Senior panel. The problems that they give out about are so different to the challenges we face. For us problems can be finding somewhere to train and meals, we won’t even talk about expenses and the bigger stuff.

Women have moved on in all walks of life, but not in sport, why?

That’s a good question, I suppose getting recognition and promotion is all very important and the Camogie Assocation are working very hard. Last year, there was huge coverage over the “coin flip incident”, (A situation where Clare and Dublin’s fate in the Senior Championship was about to be determined by heads or tails). This coverage needs to turn into attendance at matches though, when you ask anybody if they have been the latest Clare match, it is always assumed that they are talking about the men’s hurling or football sides. Irish TV have launched a new Camogie based show that is being fronted by Anna Geary for six weeks, this is first show of its kind and is a big step forward.

What has been your biggest challenge as a female sports star?

While our club in Sixmilebridge have been very good to us, there have been problems getting pitches, but it has been a lot better in the last couple of years. People always assume that the female game is inferior to their male counterparts and without even having seen a game, the public jump to conclusions, which is extremely frustrating. Young female players can name out the whole Clare hurling team, yet they don’t know Kate Kelly from Wexford, Limerick’s Niamh Mulcahy or our own Máire McGrath, some of the top players in the country.

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