It’s time to tackle intolerable burdens on women in sport

Encouraging women to support their sporting sisters is crucial to creating a more level playing field for women’s sports in Ireland, writes Eamonn Ryan

Memories of attending games 60 to 70 years ago, allied to the recent perusal of old photographs of crowds at games in Croke Park, Dalymount Park, The Mardyke etc, leaves one in no doubt that any involvement in sport up to quite recently was almost the sole preserve of the male of the species.

Thankfully, this situation has changed utterly but, because of the relatively recent arrival of females on the sporting scene, much remains to be done to ensure a ‘level playing field’ for girls and women. Proper structures need to be put in place, so that whatever facilities are available locally or nationally can be accessed and used by females. After all, women in the community have facilitated and supported much of the voluntary work and fundraising involved in providing such sporting infrastructure down through the years.