Public starting to get behind women's sports more according to new survey

A ‘Get Behind the Fight’ survey suggests attitudes to women in sport are improving with Cork’s LGFA and Camogie teams at the forefront of positive change within the Rebel county.

Having a role model is one of the most important influences in the life of any young sports enthusiast.

In Cork, we are fortunate. 

From January to July, our senior and underage inter-county LGFA and camogie teams are regularly in the newspapers alongside their male counterparts. 

As summer turns to autumn, club championships take over, giving young fans the chance to see their idols up close and decked out in local colours.

Over the past two years, Cork’s senior camogie team are a prime example of a group that has simultaneously raised its sport’s national profile and steadily increased its local audience.

Back-to-back All-Ireland senior championship titles inspired Cork schoolgirls to pick up a camóg and emulate their heroes throughout the county. Moments like Amy O’Connor’s sensational hat-trick in the 2023 All-Ireland final against Waterford, the four-goal blitz to beat Dublin in last year’s semi-finals and the collective effort to triumph over Galway in the 2024 decider.

Each year, I’ve witnessed an increasing number of young autograph hunters and selfie-seekers flocking to Cork camogie senior players immediately after their matches. 

The Cork players, through their patient after-match engagement, continue to make a lasting impact amongst their youngest supporter base.

The same is true of Cork LGFA’s seniors even though they have not enjoyed the same success as the county’s camogie setup. 

Yet, in previous years, the autograph hunters were out in force whenever the Cork LGFA footballers reached All-Ireland semi-finals or finals.

Against that backdrop, it was interesting to read Lidl Ireland and LGFA’s research on spotlighting the importance of developing and elevating Irish female sporting role models for the positive impact they can have on individuals, society and their sport.

Statistics published at the 2025 Lidl National League fixtures announcements revealed 1 in 4 people are more interested in women’s sport than they were 12 months ago.

As part of the ‘Get Behind the Fight’ campaign, research conducted by Red C last November also revealed the need for more high-profile female players in sport. 

42% of the Irish public said they would be more likely to attend a women’s sporting event in person if someone well-known was playing.

The survey highlighted that, as parents, men are more likely than women to believe that having a female sporting role model is important for their sons (54% men, 46% women) and daughters (61% men, 58% women) growing up. 

Female sporting role models were also deemed to promote equality (55%) and representation within their community (34%).

Those statistics hammer home the importance of increasing Cork’s camogie and LGFA on-line presence as well as maintaining their place amid crowded newspaper coverage during the summer months.

Whilst the Rebel county’s (camogie and LGFA) inter-county attendances are much lower when compared to their GAA and hurling equivalents, additional statistics emerging from the survey suggests attitudes are changing.

Sadly, the changing of those attitudes is slow and requires constant reminders, both in print and online, that women’s sports deserve equal billing at club and inter-county level.

Overall, the statistics are welcome developments even though the survey also revealed 24% of current LGFA inter-county players say gender issues and cultural or societal norms are the biggest barriers to becoming role models.

So, a lot done but much still to do when it comes changing attitudes to women in sport.