The University Observer spoke with five UCD students about their experience of Women’s Football within UCD GAA. The students speak of their frustrations with UCD GAA and the impact it has had on their student experience.
The University Observer spoke with five UCD students about their experience of Women’s Football within UCD GAA. This group includes three current players across the 2nd and 3rd teams, and two first year students who attended three weeks of trials, but were unsuccessful. The students speak of their frustrations with UCD GAA and the impact it has had on their student experience.
Women’s Trials
The five students explained the sign-up process for UCD Women’s Gaelic Football Club to The University Observer; they said that all students who wish to attend trials must fill out a google form at the beginning of the year, providing details of their club, and the highest level they've played at.
However, the three students currently on UCD Women’s Gaelic Football teams claimed that any player who stated they had played at a high level for a county team on the google form gets immediately placed onto the 2nd team, and did not have to attend trials. This was the case for two of the students who spoke to The University Observer under the condition of anonymity, as they are both current prominent players on the 2nd team. Neither of them attended trials, and they explain: “anyone who had put in that they'd played county to a high level, they were added into the second team group chat, [...] and told you don't have to go to trials, so girls would be added in who the coaches had never seen play.”
They assert that judging players based on if they have played county isn’t a fair method of forming a team, with highly skilled players missing out on a chance to play Gaelic Football in UCD: “[It] obviously doesn't really make a lot of sense when you think [of] some counties, where a Division 4 team is very different to trying to make county for a Division 1 team.”
As the two players currently on the 2nd team did not have to attend trials, The University Observer spoke to two first year students, Aoife and Sinéad, who did attend. They described the coaches as disorganised and disinterested. They say around 60 girls attended the first week of trials, and were split into four teams to play two separate matches. Sinéad claims the players were not given any numbered bibs or anything to identify them by, and the student coaches overlooking her match, who play for the men’s team, were not paying attention: “there was no notes being taken [...] the lads would just hang around the middle and kick the ball between themselves, they weren't even watching our match”.
After three weeks of trials, they say numbers had dwindled to around 30 students, which Aoife and Sinéad assert was due to the trials “not being well run”. They said “at that third trial there was only one of the older coaches, and then the two lads, and the two lads were doing feck all”.
At the end of the final trials, they say remaining players were told it was the “end-of-the-road”, and that coaches would be in contact. Aoife and Sinéad say they were never contacted; the two students currently on the 2nd team claimed that their training had already begun while trials were still ongoing, and further claimed they were not aware of many players added to the 2nd or 3rd team as a result of the trials.
There's space. Especially since the 3rd team falling out of the championship for low numbers, and there were 60 girls at trials [...] That's what really, really annoyed me.
In a statement to The University Observer, UCD GAA denied these claims: “The assertion that players were added to teams without attending trials is completely incorrect. All selections were conducted by coaches. This year marked the most successful season for the Ladies Section in five years, a testament to the dedication and professionalism of our coaching teams. Claims of disorganisation are not reflective of the results, attendance, or feedback received by the Club throughout the season.”
Although they didn’t make it onto the 1st or 2nd team at trials, 1st year students Aoife and Sinéad say they, along with the rest of the players at trials, were not informed by the club about the existence of the women’s 3rd team, a social Ladies Gaelic Football team which consistently struggled for numbers throughout the year. For them, the frustration came when they heard from someone on the 3rd team that they had pulled out of the Championship due to a lack of numbers to form a team for a match.
“I hope it changes”, says Sinéad. “There's space. Especially since the 3rd team falling out of the championship for low numbers, and there were 60 girls at trials [...] That's what really, really annoyed me.”
1st year student Aoife adds “even when the third team was falling apart, they probably couldn't have contacted anyone, because they had no record of anyone that went to the trials and then left, you know?” She says “Because there is people who would play. I can name so many people who would play.”
On the 3rd team withdrawing from the championship, UCD GAA stated: “The Ladies’ 3rd Team was not withdrawn by the Club. The team was removed from the competition by the National Governing Body (NGB) due to failure to fulfil a fixture. This decision was outside of UCD GAA’s control. The late cancellation of the bus for this fixture incurred a significant cost of €900, which the Club absorbed.”
2024 Freshers’ Blitz
Two players who participated in the Freshers Blitz claimed there was a lack of communication and poor organisation in the lead up to the blitz: “They sent the poll in maybe a week or two before the freshers' blitz, asking who of the first years could play. [...] And then we didn't hear anything about it, so we just kind of assumed, oh, well, we're not going, maybe they picked someone else, maybe it's not going ahead. And then after 11pm, the night before, we got a text saying ‘bus is leaving at 12pm tomorrow, see you all there’”. The University Observer can confirm it has seen this message.
She continued, “So a lot of people then couldn't end up going. We were supposed to have two teams, but then we ended up only having [enough for] one team.” She says students require “more notice” in order to make themselves available, especially if students have contact heavy courses with labs.
The players further claimed that the Freshers blitz was being run by the same student coaches from the men’s team who had overseen trials. They both expressed frustration at the lack of attention to coaching the team from the student coaches, claiming that between matches at the blitz “they would just kind of go off by themselves and kick a ball around between themselves and just kind of ignore us, or not really plan anything.”
Women’s 2nd Team
The two 2nd team players have only positive things to say about their training sessions and the level of coaching they received on the team, noting they were of a high standard and the team was successful throughout the year. However, they again described a lack of organisation when it came to matches.
They claim the team for Championship matches would generally be picked “late the night before”. They describe how for certain away games in Cork, the team left UCD at midday and didn’t return until around 1am, meaning players often had to “change plans” or reorganise academic responsibilities, which isn’t an issue, but “if you'd planned that and then you found out at 9pm the night before, oh, well, I'm actually not picked for that... You know, kind of a kick in the teeth.”
it was the Cork physio that had to come on for our players because one of the girls on our team got really badly hit in the eye. So she was given an ice pack and we didn't have anything
The two 2nd team players also claimed that for away matches, the UCD team often did not bring a physio or a medical bag. One of the players claimed that at one Cork match, a player sustained an injury to their hand, and asked for an ice pack; they were allegedly told that “no one had brought it.”
The other player claimed that at a second Cork match, “it was the Cork physio that had to come on for our players because one of the girls on our team got really badly hit in the eye. So she was given an ice pack and we didn't have anything.”
In their statement to The University Observer, UCD GAA denied these claims: “All UCD GAA teams are provided with medical bags, and physiotherapy services are prioritised for flagship teams; this applies equally across genders. Reduced physio rates are offered to all UCD GAA members.”
All-Ireland Championship Semi-Finals and Finals
The two players also spoke of the team’s experience at the All-Ireland Championship semi-finals and finals, which took place on 14 and 15 March in Queens University Belfast (QUB), with both the 1st and 2nd women’s teams attending.
The two players on the 2nd team say the teams were provided one night in a hotel, but had to cover their own costs for breakfasts and dinner. They say QUB provided lunches on both days after the semi-finals and finals. One of the players said “even watching our friends on the boys' teams, watching what all they're getting compared to us, and even compared to our first team, it just seemed so unfair the entire year.”
The two players also claimed that the 2nd team’s management wrongly submitted the team sheet for that All-Ireland semi-finals in QUB, accidentally submitting it in alphabetical order rather than by position.
UCD GAA denied the claims of disproportionate spending between the men’s and women’s teams: “All university sports funding is distributed equally and sustainably, based on the level of student participation across codes. Greater demand for men's Gaelic football naturally results in more fixtures and associated costs. UCD GAA’s four flagship teams in Ladies Football, Camogie, Hurling, and Men’s Football all receive equal levels of access to facilities, physiotherapy, and support.”
The two players also claimed that the 2nd team’s management wrongly submitted the team sheet for that All-Ireland semi-finals in QUB, accidentally submitting it in alphabetical order rather than by position. Ultimately, this resulted in the team’s captain being listed as a substitute. The player said, “our captain, [she] couldn't be listed on the programme as our captain. She was down as vice-captain because your captain can't be listed as a sub. So [another player] was down as captain.”
The players say this left the team, and their captain, “very annoyed”, and resulted in confusion for the players, for commentators, and for everyone watching: “the final was live-streamed and then you just see people in completely random jerseys. I think our full-backline lined out as 15, 24, 20. Our half-backline was like 10, 12... our midfields were 2 and 4. It was very confusing for us, probably for the opposition, for anyone watching.”
She continued to describe issues with the kit for the same match, “a lot of the jerseys, as well, were camogie jerseys instead of LGFA jerseys. And then one of the cornerbacks was lined out in [an incorrect number], and it was last year's jersey, so it was a different shade of blue with a different design.”
She also claims that one of the players’ parents had to wash the jerseys for both the 1st and 2nd team: “I think their plan was for us to just wear the same jerseys again the next day. Or wash them in our rooms.”
In their statement to The University Observer, UCD GAA said “The claim regarding the kit mix-up arose from a number of jerseys not being returned by players. While unfortunate, it was an isolated incident. The 2nd team captain was informed at the time and acknowledged that the matter was a collective responsibility of the players.”
Inconsistent Experiences With Women’s Football 3rd Team
Final Year Law with Politics student Aoife also discussed her experience of women’s football in UCD with the University Observer. She echoes the sentiments of the other girls we spoke to when discussing trials she attended in her first year of college, back in 2021. “I went to trials, and the standard was insane. But they never organised us or knew who was who or anything. I think I saw them talk to max two or three girls afterwards, that had been running through everyone, and I assume that they got told to go on to teams.”
It was in January of 2022 that Aoife was informed that there would be a social women’s football team, “but without anyone formal in charge, it was student-led.” Méabh Hickey, now graduated from UCD, bore the brunt of the responsibility for the team that year. Aoife says there was “massive appetite” for the social team, who were told that they would be able to enter a team into the championship, “as long as we bore the costs of buses and fundraised.”
After raising enough money to enter, Aoife recalls their first game against Maynooth. “We turned up, and Maynooth had a physio and someone videoing it, three managers and selectors, and it was Maynooth's second team, and we had a bag of balls and girls with one notebook between us as subs on the sideline.” The UCD women’s social team won that game against Maynooth, but lost out to DCU in the semi-finals.
In the 2022/23 academic year, the team was player led once more, with Aoife Verling acting as coach. “They did a really great job, and that was a good year”, receiving some funding from the club to travel to matches for the first time, and making it to the semi-final of the championship.
Standards of Coaching Called Into Question
Following their championship run, the girls were appointed different coaches for the following 2023/24 academic year, and the social team became officially known as the women’s 3rd team. “They were second-year boys in charge,” Aoife explained, “and they kind of treated it like a joke, from my perspective anyway, they just flirted with the girls.”
Aoife recalls how in one of the matches that year, she had been substituted into the forwards, although she is a back. She remembers asking the boys coaching, “Can I track back anyway?” to which she claims they responded, “Why would you be bothered doing that? Don’t be bothered running.”
She described the seriousness of the coaching for the women’s 3rd team as “a complete piss-take.”
Aoife then went on Erasmus to Barcelona during the second semester of that year, where she found more enjoyment playing women’s football. “You know it's wrong when you have a better experience playing Gaelic football in Barcelona than you do in UCD.”
Trials and Freshers’ Experience
Now in her final year at UCD, Aoife spoke about the trials held this year for the women’s football teams, and echoed the sentiments of the other players the University Observer have spoken with. “There’s trials held every year, but you’re not given any numbers, so they have no way of tracking who’s playing well or not. The boys [coaches] for our team weren’t at them, they weren’t watching or anything.”
Echoing what first year students Aoife and Sinéad told the UO, the final year Law with Politics student tells us “I know a lot of first years missed out on any opportunity of football”. She told the University Observer that she knows of girls who play for strong club teams with county experience who weren’t selected for team panels, and referenced the Google Forms process again.
“I’ve filled out that Google form four years in a row, it's very random, like who gets into it. It’s a bit crazy that you can put down that you played for Dublin or something, and you just get added into the group.”
She argued that the women in first year who she knew had played for strong clubs and who had county experience had “no access to football” this year.
She continued, saying that this year she received a text in the previous year’s 3rd team group chat which simply read, “Training on Tuesday”, sent in by the same boys who had been coaching the previous year. Aoife says that this training was not publicised outside of the group chat, and that it was the exact same group as the year before. There was no means for freshers to get involved with the 3rd team, except through word of mouth and getting into the WhatsApp group, according to Aoife.
Disorganisation and Unprofessional Conduct
“Our first training, they had no balls for ages and they wanted us to play five-a-side soccer. Some of the older girls on the team had to stand up and be like, ‘no, we're here to play football’” Aoife said. The training sessions were “very low-key” she said, with the girls “having to push the boys to train us, or at least let us do more intense games.”
She highlighted another training session where the pitch had been set up for a five-a-side game, at which she claimed the coaches “didn’t want to move the goals” and proposed playing a soccer match instead. “A lot of trainings followed that similar pattern, where there was very little actual training.”
Aoife then claimed that players on the team felt “uncomfortable” around the student coaches. “There’d be a lot of flirting or flirtatious behaviour with the girls, especially the younger ones, which is obviously very strange.”
Then it makes you feel like women’s football isn’t being taken seriously, because you’re being coached in that manner
She continued, saying that often training would be cancelled, but the coaches would encourage nights out in the team Whatsapp group instead. The University Observer can confirm it has seen messages of this type. Messages of an unserious nature were sent into the group around matters such as trials, training postponements and team fielding. Messages created using Chat GPT were also used by coaches in the group chat.
Aoife added, “Sometimes it felt like they just wanted drinking buddies, as opposed to coaching for a sport.”
“Then it makes you feel like women’s football isn’t being taken seriously, because you’re being coached in that manner,” she continued.
Speaking about the withdrawal of the third team from the Championship, Aoife voiced her frustration, highlighting a lack of organisation, “There’s 90 players in the group chat, and they couldn’t get 15 players to field a team. Obviously people are uncomfortable around the coaches, but there’s also no first years, and a low number of second years on the team, and they're the demographic that can afford to spend their whole day going to Derry and back.”
In a statement to The University Observer, UCD GAA said: “Allegations of unprofessional or inappropriate conduct in WhatsApp groups were never reported to the Club. We take all reports of misconduct seriously and encourage any member with concerns to bring them forward through official club or university channels for appropriate investigation.”
Impact on Student Experience
Reflecting on her experience of women’s football in UCD, Aoife describes it as the “most disappointing part” of her UCD experience. She remembers not having access to football in first year was “really hard”, especially because her Dad was very sick. She recalls that when the social football team was established she immediately felt more like herself, “so not having that as an outlet was really difficult.”
For Aoife, having access to football is extremely important, as she recalls her dad was passionate about it. “The reason I haven’t quit football even at home yet is probably because of that,” she says. She highlights the social importance of having access to sport, which she argues was limited to her, as well as the importance from a physical fitness and skill perspective; “I only improved again when I was playing with Barcelona Gaels on Erasmus.”
Two years ago, UCD were relegated from the O’Connor Cup, the senior ladies gaelic football college cup. For Aoife, the fact that UCD hasn’t returned to the O’Connor Cup is “really embarrassing” considering UCD is the largest university in Ireland, “It’s the equivalent of UCD men not being in the Sigerson.” Considering the calibre of talent in UCD, Aoife feels that the fact UCD’s top women’s gaelic football team aren’t competing for the O’Connor Cup “is just a bit farcical [...] you wouldn’t see it in a different sport.”
She expresses her disappointment in the structures of women’s football in UCD, “College Football should be the crème de la crème, it’s meant to be all the best county players. So why are all the best county players that go to UCD not playing for the O’Connor Cup?”
In their statement to The University Observer, UCD GAA stated: “The UCD Ladies Football team was not eligible for the O'Connor Cup this year as the team had been relegated to the second tier previously. The team competed in the competition for which they were eligible.”
UCD GAA Statement
UCD GAA Club Executive Gerard Brennan addressed these claims in a statement to The University Observer, which have been included throughout this article.
He described the claims as “inaccurate” and “misleading”, and states that the allegations were not brought to the attention of Club Executive Officers “by any member of the Ladies Section.”
He continued “All written communication from the Ladies Section of the Club to date has been overwhelmingly appreciative, including direct correspondence expressing thanks for the support and funding provided.”
Mr Brennan stated “I spoke to the student captains of all 3 ladies football teams, Saoirse Lally (1st Team), Saoirse Murphy (2nd Team) and Caoimhe Lynch (3rd). I went through the claims [outlined]. They were shocked to hear these claims were being made and they are in line with my responses”.
He further stated that “Claims of disorganisation are not reflective of the results, attendance, or feedback received by the Club throughout the season.”
He continued, “I strongly reject the suggestion that UCD GAA treats any of our members unequally based on gender. We remain committed to supporting all players - male and female - across every level of the club, and we are incredibly proud of the achievements of our Ladies Section this year.
I welcome constructive dialogue, but also expect accuracy, balance, and due diligence when reporting on student sport. UCD GAA Club will continue to champion inclusivity, fairness, and respect - both on and off the pitch.”
“It makes UCD look sexist” - Students’ Overall Experience with UCD GAA
Speaking on her experience with the club this year, one of the 2nd team players stated “I think it's just all very disorganised. I enjoy the people doing it, and when I was going to the training, I was enjoying the training, but it was just very frustrating,” adding that it's “Embarrassing”.
The other player on the 2nd team shared the sentiment: “Overall, I had a positive experience with them. But I was fortunate enough to get that because I had played county in the past.”
It's disappointing for a college that takes pride in its sport to have to deal with this.
She goes on to describe the general running of the women’s club as “unacceptable”, and references the 3rd team pulling out of their championship due to a lack of numbers; “It was bad enough there only being three women's teams for six men's teams, and now it's two. It makes it look even worse than it is.” She adds, “it makes UCD look sexist.”
Sinéad, a 1st year student who attended trials, but was never informed by the club of the 3rd team’s existence, even as it struggled for numbers, said it’s “Really poor. It's disappointing for a college that takes pride in its sport to have to deal with this.” She says, “I'm not looking to be on the first team. I just want to keep my football up, make friends, play a couple of matches. I enjoy playing football.”
Reflecting on Four Years with UCD GAA
Final Year Law with Politics Student Aoife will be sitting her final exams soon, leaving UCD after finishing her degree. When asked what she hopes to see change in the future she says, “Just equal division of men and women’s football resources. I don’t think it’s fair [...] There’s so many people who want to play football.”
“It’s completely understandable that not everyone gets to,” she adds, “I don’t think, if UCD football was properly administered, I’d be making any of those three teams. But the option isn’t available.”
She closes by saying, “It shouldn’t be that hard just to split it evenly. It’s about recognising that sports for women is as important as sports for men [...] When it’s blown up on a bigger scale, like a university football club in the biggest university in the country, you really see it and you just want it to change.”