Women's football offers way forward

With the emergence of a revolutionary rump of players from within its own ranks and the reconstruction of its flagship stadium, the GAA has had its fair share of defining moments over the past 12 months. And last Saturday there was another to add to the list with the staging of the All-Ireland women's football semi-final between Tyrone and Mayo as the support act to the Armagh and Kerry extended epic.

This was the country's biggest sporting organisation doing its growing up in public and the long overdue recognition of the women's game will reap rich dividends in the future.

It may be, though, that this was not exactly what the GAA mandarins had intended. In the original plan for last weekend, the women's semi-final was to be consigned to the relative obscurity of Saturday afternoon at Parnell Park. This would guarantee some Sunday newspaper coverage and the added bonus of some television exposure. After years of living on scraps women footballers have become used to making the most of whatever publicity and support they could get.

That scenario was transformed by the drawn Armagh v Kerry semi-final a fortnight ago. With that replay fixed for last Saturday because of the camogie final the following day, it was made abundantly clear by the television people that something would have to give. Simultaneous coverage of the men's game in Croke Park and the women's encounter just up the road was a logistical non-starter. The exigencies of the situation, therefore, boxed the GAA into a corner and it was agreed the women's semi-final could be transferred to Cork Park.

With the cameras already in place for the main event, live coverage of the first game was straight-forward. Almost seamlessly women's football had sidled into a place at the GAA top table.

None of this is before time. The game has been on an upward curve for much of the past decade and has swept away many of the cobwebs that traditionally lurk in the corners of the association. The initial and most persistent problem that had to be confronted was that of plain, old-fashioned male prejudice. As with most irrationally held prejudice, the only solution was to confront it head on.

Women's teams began to crop up almost apologetically at clubs up and down the country. At first they had little more than novelty value and were duly consigned to the worst of the training pitches and the most inhospitable throw-in times. But bit by bit the men would watch the odd training session, even make it to a match or two. The conversion process had begun.

There were benefits for everyone. For the younger girls and the women it was a chance to participate meaningfully in the life of their clubs for perhaps the first time. It was also an opportunity to feel like they really belonged. The clubs prospered too. Previously moribund operations were given an injection of youth and enthusiasm and as a direct result they became more lively, welcoming places.

Momentum built up quickly. The next stage was to take the game beyond the clubs and in Ulster in particular the third-level colleges played an important part. The strength of the GAA clubs at institutions like Queen's University and UUJ was well known. Alongside them there were now vibrant women's football teams. With the opportunity to train at a level of intensity impossible within the confines of their club, standards were raised dramatically and quickly.

The final piece in the jigsaw was the development of a vibrant inter-county game. Last Saturday's game was proof positive of the increasingly competitive nature of the senior championship with the old reliables now being joined by young guns like Tyrone fresh from the junior ranks. For many of those who got to Croke Park early enough what they saw will have been something of an eye-opener.

IN place of the myriad macho exchanges without which it seems no modern high-profile men's match is complete, there is a much greater concentration on the skills and nuances of the game. Because the levels of physical strength are lower and as a consequence the ball is not kicked just as far, a much greater premium is placed on the importance of accurate passing.

The virtues of this were there for all to see last Saturday and much of the intricate interplay was a reminder of what has been lost from the men's game in the headlong rush towards the development of muscle-bound production-line footballers. If women's football is the future, it also offers a chance to see what we have lost from the past.

Diane O'Hora, Eilis Gormley, Cora Staunton and Lisa McGirr paraded skills last Saturday that would restore the faith of even the most cynical and battle-hardened observer. Staunton, in particular, was outstanding and in the close control and power of her finishing served notice of a talent that many of her male counterparts can only dream about. When women's football is played like this it offers everyone within the GAA the opportunity to move confidently forward.

And the rude health of women's Gaelic football has ramifications far beyond the pleasure of watching the game played as it was originally intended. It is also an indication that the GAA itself is evolving and hauling itself into the modern world. For too long women have served as little more than adjuncts within the association and have been deprived of the chance to wield real power. Now, at long last, they are in a position of strength and one where they can contribute much to the future.

The GAA is at a point in its history when it seems to be hurtling blindly down a corporate tunnel of integrity-sapping sponsorship and player endorsements. On the other side the looming spectre of pay-for-play waits impatiently. Women's football and everything it brings with it suggest that it doesn't necessarily have to be like this. The choice is ours.