Irish Examiner view: First of the few

The GAA approves its first trans applicant to play with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association

The LGFA has decided that inclusiveness is important.

It is no surprise that the GAA, which has as a core principle the slogan “where we all belong”, would approve its first trans applicant to play with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) since it established new policies eight weeks ago.

These stated that trans women would be eligible to play at all levels with certain conditions, including that they were not considered “an unacceptable risk”. Such judgements, said the LGFA, would only be made in “exceptional” circumstances. Trans women applying to play require validation that their total testosterone level in serum during the preceding 12 months is equal to or less than 10 nanomoles per litre.

This is a complicated area of sport, with varying policies between different governing bodies. The Irish Rugby Football Union has banned trans women from participating in contact rugby, arguing that peer-reviewed research shows physical differences between people whose sex was assigned as male and those assigned as female at birth. Last month, World Athletics excluded trans women who have gone through male puberty from female events.

Milestone decision

There is a difference between elite competition and participation in sport, and the LGFA has decided that inclusiveness is important. The club involved, Na Gaeil Aeracha, the first explicitly LGBTQ+ inclusive GAA club, welcomed the milestone decision to approve the application from an Italian trans woman who has played on the team since 2021.

“We want to make sure there is a space on the pitch for everyone regardless of their identity,” Na Gaeil Aeracha said. “Many of our players left sport at a young age after coming out and we hope to provide an open space for any player to learn and play our national sport.”