John Kiely, the coach of Limerick's hurling team, has expressed his unwavering support for the ongoing protests by ladies' footballers and camogie players.
The players, backed by the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), want the three governing bodies, GAA, Camogie Association and LGFA to establish a player charter that addresses essential provisions such as medical support, gym access, nutrition, and expenses related to inter-county preparation.
Despite ongoing integration talks, Kiely believes that a "pathway" should be immediately created to address these concerns.
The financial responsibility of meeting the charter's provisions is expected to primarily fall on the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). Currently, GAA counties already invest approximately €33m annually in inter-county preparation at all levels.
The female players are currently taking part in their championships under the protest hashtag #unitedforequality. During the recent match between the Kilkenny and Cork camogie teams, there was some confusion regarding their involvement in the protest. While Cork returned to the dressing room in protest, Kilkenny remained on the pitch. This led to public questioning about whether Kilkenny was still part of the protest. It has since been clarified that each team has the freedom to choose their own method of protest, and there was no predetermined plan for teams to either go down the tunnel or stay on the pitch.
🗣"It wasn't a break from the protest"
🏑#OTBAM provides important clarification on the camogie protest yesterday with Kilkenny and Cork
🗣"Kilkenny unfortunately are unlucky in the fact that they've been tarred by a communication error" pic.twitter.com/sZ3Ny2QaJs— Off The Ball (@offtheball) July 10, 2023
Speaking at his team’s All-Ireland final media evening in the Gaelic Grounds, Kiely said the girls are “dead right to be looking for standards that I would consider to be the basic standards.
“Like having a doctor at training. What happens if somebody has a serious head collision and has a serious concussion? Who looks after that player? We’ve had those situations here in training where we’ve had serious collisions, we’ve had players seriously injured, and you need people there,” he said.
“We’re talking about players who are elite sportspersons, they’re not professionals, but they are elite within their own sport.
"They are the best of the best in their own sport. And where you have players who are operating at that level, they have to have medical support around it.
"If they’re going to be conditioned in a way that’s going to help prevent them from getting injured and being able to cope with the demands of the game that they’re trying to play at the highest possible level, well then they need to have access to a gym.
“Surely that’s a basic requirement that could be met without there being an inordinate cost involved.
‘They are dead right to be looking for standards’ – John Kiely backs camogie and ladies football protests#UnitedForEqualityhttps://t.co/2eZrG3GLKt
— GPA (@gaelicplayers) July 11, 2023
“The same with the meals. How can you expect an athlete to perform if they’re not nutritionally able to recover from the training they’re doing? Nine-five per cent of recovery is food and sleep ... 95 per cent.
“So we’re talking about medical, we’re talking about facilities, gyms, pitches, we’re talking about food, nutrition, and mileage or expenses. How can we possibly expect elite athletes to travel around the country for nothing?”
Kiely emphasised that the provisions for female players should not come at the expense of reducing resources allocated to male players. Instead, he suggested that the relevant organisations explore avenues to generate additional income in order to fulfill these demands.
“Why would you possibly say ‘we want to resource the boys and girls in the same way. That means now we’re going to have to resource the boys in a lesser way’.
“We’re already saying that this is the standard. Why would you drop your standards just so that you can broaden a lower standard? Everybody’s always trying to find more to do more.
'BASIC STANDARDS' Limerick manager John Kiely calls for the GAA to bring equality to female inter-county stars as protests continue#UnitedForEqualityhttps://t.co/4BfFq6RL2K pic.twitter.com/QyycHCmpX7
— GPA (@gaelicplayers) July 11, 2023
“I support clearly those basic standards. Getting there is going to take time. This can’t be just a light switch moment but I think commitments could be made. A pathway could be found. Agreement could be found, in principle, on what should be there and how to get there. Hopefully that’s where it will go to. It’s early doors in the situation.
Fair play to the girls, they’re bringing it to a head. They’re making their voice heard, which is really, really important.
There needs to be a clear demonstration of being heard as well. I wish them well with the road ahead because they are laying the foundations which other players have laid for the male players now in years gone by. It takes time.”
