Richard Hogan: A wonderful event in Cork with 4,000 girls — thanks to people like Katie Taylor

On the weekend the boxer bowed out, Richard Hogan attended a giant GAA blitz that showed how thousands of girls are following in her footsteps

Members of the girls' St Sylvester’s GAA team, from Malahide, in Passage West for a blitz at the weekend, attended by an incredible 259 teams. Sports are so important for a child’s development, says Richard Hogan

What a week it has been for Irish sport.

Boxer Katie Taylor filled Croke Park with 80,000 fans, and won her final bout by a unanimous decision over Flora Pili.

What an incredible career Katie has had. Rocky Balboa stuff. But Katie’s greatest fight was never the opponent in the ring, but how society views gender.

There had been talk a girl could never fill Croke Park for a boxing match.

After all, Mohammed Ali struggled to draw more than 18,000 in 1972, when he fought Alvin Lewis. Katie’s fight was sold out in 30 seconds.

Taylor has always broken records and torn down barriers that held girls back for centuries. She has redefined what is possible in women’s sport.

She has no ego or arrogance; she is just a humble girl shaking up the world.

I watched the fight on Saturday night surrounded by members of the girls’ St Sylvester’s 2014 GAA team in Cork City.

We were down to play in a blitz in Passage West. And to hold a disco, too. Fifty girls from the Malahide under-12s danced around the ballroom in the Radisson Blu Hotel.

The fight showed the girls what was possible in their lives. It reminded me of the Euro 88 and Italia 90 soccer tournaments, when the country seemed to be one, a shared consciousness, holding our breath, watching Ray Houghton’s looping header beat Peter Shilton.

Katie also brought us altogether once again, to watch her final act before retirement.

The next morning, we got up early and headed off to The Lidl Ladies’ Football Blitz in Passage West. The atmosphere was magical as all the teams — 259 no less — lined up with their banners, pom poms, whistles, face paint, and flags. The sleeting Cork rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of the girls.

Katie Taylor on her retirement at Croke Park. Picture: Inpho/Gary Carr

The parade was great fun. The Cullen Pipe Band and the Carrigaline Pipe Band led the girls onto the pitches. It was like an All-Ireland final. I could see the St Sylvester girls looking around at all of the supporters, who were encouraging them to have a great day.

People ask me how to build a resilient child. And my answer is always the same: It comes from being a part of their community, feeling valued, and having something to give.

That’s where true resilience comes from.

It is certainly not found in their phones. I didn’t see any girls at the blitz using a phone; they were too busy dancing and having fun with other people to be thinking about social media.

That’s why sport is so important for a child’s development. It gets them out into the air, and connects them with their peers. They learn how to be in a team, and how to manage disappointment when they don’t win, and how to enjoy it when they do.

I was mesmerised by the sheer organisation of the event. There were stewards everywhere, smiling and helping out. It was like a festival.

I met with Francis McEveney, who set up this event in 2008. Only eight teams played that year. Now, 259 play. “It can’t get any bigger,” he said.

A staggering 4,000 girls played football over the two days of the blitz, and 11,000 people visited the club that weekend to watch.

I was standing on the sidelines with all the other proud dads and moms, watching our daughters ferociously compete and have fun.

Francis kept telling me: “It’s not really about the football, it’s about the memories, about connecting with each other.” That’s a beautiful sentiment.

A moment like that doesn’t just happen. It takes a community to build an event that allows 4,000 girls to play football.

The seeds of that day were sown many years earlier by the busy people who gave of their time in the depths of winter, trudging up to cold pitches and turning up for the girls, so that they felt valued and important.

To get 259 teams to attend an event like that takes organisation: Meetings, planning, funding, drills that get taught in every session; words of encouragement; team talks.

They all build towards the girls believing they are worth the effort, and they have something important to offer the game and each other.

That’s the real magic of an event like that. That is resilience building.

The pre-match show would have given any Super Bowl Sunday a good run for its money. The Busking Bais were a highlight, young Cork rappers, telling the crowds that "if you’re not from Cork City, what a pity".

Dead right, boys.

They had DJ Shane on the decks getting the girls hopping, and a Rochestown drama group busting some serious moves.

The Midleton Ladies’ Football team won the prize for the most colourful in the parade; 4,000 girls met each other and played football together.

I couldn’t help but think of all the girls in years gone by who had no outlet. Where were those 4,000 girls in the 1980s?

But, thankfully, that has changed. Katie Taylor has shown every girl around the globe that anything is possible.