Cork ladies GAA club backing calls to fund dedicated playing pitches 

Glanmire Ladies Football Club have not been able to access a pitch to train on so far this year, with the club supporting calls for funding to be made available for capital projects for women’s sports where the organisation does not currently own a playing pitch.

Winning the All-Ireland intermediate title in 2024 at Croke Park, Glanmire Ladies Football Club has hundreds of members and is in one of the biggest areas of Cork city.

Founded in February 2000, the club has grown from having just two teams, to now having more than 500 members and over 17 teams.

Brian Lotty, president of Glanmire Ladies Football Club, told The Echo he hopes funding can be made available for a pitch fully dedicated for ladies football activities, to accommodate the growth of the club and the population in the area.

Supportive

Acknowledging that the men’s Glanmire GAA club have been supportive to them regarding facilities, he added that there needs to be an adequate facility to specifically serve the playing membership of Glanmire ladies football in 2026.

“In terms of Glanmire Ladies, we are certainly looking for pitches of our own,” Mr Lotty said, “so that we can have some independence when we have matches and when we need pitches to train on — so that we can have control of access really. Like every other ladies football club, we are dependent on every boys GAA club.

“The big thing for us really is promoting out there that we need a pitch of our own.

“If you don’t provide facilities, then you are only creating more problems down the line. What are these kids going to do in their spare time?”