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GAA

23rd Sep 2020

“How are we going to get on par with the men if something so simple can’t be solved?”

Conan Doherty

16 dual players. One club.

Two codes. Two finals. Two days.

That’s what Cahir are being asked to do this weekend ahead of two championship finals in Tipperary, one in the camogie and one in the football.

The town is coloured in green, the bunting is flying but the players are asking how it has come to this. Again.

The football final is always played on the final weekend of September but, now, the camogie final is scheduled 26 hours before it. The players approached the county board to ask them to put the game back a week or two weeks – because it’s possible with no provincial games to worry about – but nothing changed.

So Aishling Moloney and her team mates refused to just roll over.

“We sent in a players’ letter into the county board. They didn’t really acknowledge our players’ letter,” `Moloney told SportsJOE.

“We obviously emphasised player welfare issues with them but, obviously, it wasn’t overly a concern to them that we have to play a match on a Saturday and turn around and play a match 26 hours later on a Sunday.

“So we said to them, if they weren’t going to accommodate us, we’d have no other choice but to go to the media.

“So here we are, the week of a county final. We should be enjoying it, the buzz around Cahir. There’s flags up but no-one can enjoy it because here we are worried if we’re going to have to go out and play two matches.

“One on a Saturday and one on a Sunday.”

Just as the 20×20 campaign kicks off which is spreading the idea of #ThinkItAskIt, encouraging women in sport to speak up when they think something isn’t right or isn’t fair, the female athletes in Tipperary are forced into an unnecessary situation.

“We talk about equality and fairness in women’s sport but when things like this happen, you just have to question it.

“How are we going to get on par with the men if something so simple can’t be solved like this?

“Some people might say, ‘women’s sport are always cribbin’ and going on about things’ but when things like this happen, you’re not going to stand back and allow it to happen.

“You have to say something about it and voice your opinion in some way.

“Common sense is such an overused word I think in GAA circles, everyone always says it, common sense must prevail. But I actually think some people need to look up the definition of it at this stage.”

 

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