Ladies Gaelic Football

www.ladiesgaelic.ie | SPRING 2019 | 27 20 X20 praise and she views the association as being a long term leader in doing things right and to a high standard, with history in their favour. She sees them at the forefront of women's sport in Ireland and comparing ladies gaelic football to other majority sports she makes an extremely interesting and valid point. 'Most sports have structures only built for men. Female sports are pushing in 200 years later with space never designed for women. The LGFA have been at the forefront because they have only ever focused on females'. She compliments the LGFA on the various initiatives they have running. Learn to Lead being one, along with Gaelic4Girls, Teens, Mothers and Others. She views sharing between female sports as being of huge importance in order to grow codes across the board. 'We can still be competitive as individual sports while sharing. The LGFA have initiatives that can be used across all sports, why reinvent the wheel?' The LGFA is an innovative and inclusive association. It has consistently moved with the times, and through the Learn to Lead programme they have shown their intent on continuing to work in that manner to grow leaders and ensure sustainability. As a proud and long standing member, I feel I can speak on behalf of everyone involved in ladies gaelic football by welcoming Nora Stapleton's appointment as the Women in Sport Lead. The LGFA delivers a phenomenal product in partnership with TG4 and Lidl. Change in some areas is inevitable and generally welcome. She is almost poetic in her view on change itself, giving a simple yet insightful comment, which everyone can possibly effectuate in life. 'Change can take time and how you instigate it with different groups is important.' Add Stapleton's collaborative nature, experience and passion for ladies gaelic football and the future looks extremely bright. from coaches, managers, players, staff and directors from all over the country to pull the plan together. The growth of women's rugby was now on the road to recovery following a disappointing World Cup in 2017 following the highs of previous seasons. This was not her most notable achievement however. By the time she left her role in March 2019 she had managed to change the mindset at the top tier of the IRFU hierarchy. In 2013 women's rugby had not been near the agenda of the most important meetings in headquarters, it had rarely been discussed and Stapleton herself admitted to feeling reticent at the beginning, to the point of embarrassment about even bringing it up. By 2019, it wasn't only on the agenda, it would have equal weight to every other code discussed. 'I would go into meetings and nobody talked about women's rugby….. that had changed massively by the time I left.' Above: Nora Stapleton is introduced to the crowd alongside members of the Ireland Women's rugby team at half-time in the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football Senior Championship Final 2014 "I WOULD GO INTO MEETINGS AND NOBODY TALKED ABOUT WOMEN'S RUGBY….. THAT HAD CHANGED MASSIVELY BY THE TIME I LEFT." She left the IRFU on a happy note, no regrets, plenty learned, experience gained and a slight difficulty with moving on. Not once in six years had she gone to work feeling anything but satisfaction, something not many people can say about their job. However, as the years progressed she felt a sense that if she were to progress further in her career, the time would eventually come, whereby she would have to leave the organisation. She did so in March of this year, proud of her legacy and excited about her new challenge. What is of notable importance in relation to both roles, is that Stapleton grew success and hit targets. She became highly regarded not only as a coach but also as a strategic planner. So, when the position with Sport Ireland came along she was ready, and more importantly, the perfect candidate. She wanted the role, mainly because she felt she had the potential to be the best person for the job. 'I knew,that if I saw someone else in the job I would've been kicking myself…hopefully it will turn out to be my dream job….at present it is about making things clearer to see what direction I can go.' GAA fans, administrators, coaches and players are excited by her appointment. With her experience, there's a sense that she is in a position to work collaboratively with the LGFA and further enhance the Association and its current upward trajectory. The LGFA comes in for high

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