McAleese hails growth of Ladies Football at awards

PRESIDENT Mary McAleese acknowledged Ladies Football as the fastest growing sport in Ireland when she presented the awards at the inaugural O’Neills/TG4 Allstar awards at the Citywest Hotel in Dublin at the weekend.

Ms McAleese pointed to the attendance figure of 30,000 at the recent All-Ireland final between Mayo and Dublin as “clear, hard evidence” that the profile and popularity of Ladies Football had shifted into a new gear. “The best is yet to come,” she declared.

Champions Mayo had four of their players selected on the team, including team captain Helena Lohan. However, top exponent Cora Staunton was a notable absentee after having been sent off in a club game a week earlier.