Éire Óg's Mothers and Others looking forward to 2025

Éire Óg Carlow's Gaelic4Mothers&Others (G4M&Os) team, has had a remarkable year in 2024 showcasing their commitment to fostering community and inclusivity through Ladies Gaelic Football.

Team player Rosemary O’Hara has said the side is “going from strength to strength. We were set up around 2021 after a group of parents of players in the club thought it would be a good idea. We started off with over 40 players but now we’ve a core group of 20 to 24 players, but we are always on the lookout for more.” The team has participated in various events which included hosting Bennekerry/Tinryland, Donard, Old Leighlin to name a few and creating a vibrant atmosphere of camaraderie and fun.

“It’s brilliant, you meet people you wouldn’t have met only for football. We have a really wide range of age groups playing. We have had people from their mid 20’s to those in their 60’s”, according to O’Hara.

O’Hara went onto state that “it’s all about fun. You are getting fit without realising it. I wouldn’t like running at all but love it when there’s a football involved”.

Additionally, Éire Óg’s G4M&O team represented the club at the 2024 Sports Direct Gaelic4Mothers&Others National Festival Day (September) in Dublin, playing a variety of teams from around the country in a celebration of energy and positivity for women’s football. The team was also selected to represent Éire Óg in the Global Gaelic Games Social Festival in Killarney in October.

The Gaelic4Mothers&Others initiative, sponsored by Sports Direct, is an innovative way to introduce mothers and other women to playing Ladies Gaelic Football. Mothers often drop their kids to training and call back to collect them, but the Ladies Gaelic Football Association wants to change that.

The Gaelic4Mothers&Others initiative sees women playing Ladies Gaelic Football in a fun, non-competitive and social environment. Gaelic4Mothers&Others provides an opportunity for women to get their recommended weekly exercise in a fun way while meeting other mothers in the area.

The initiative has proved hugely popular with women of all ages and has taken off in all 32 counties.

O’Hara is hopeful of her club side taking part in other G4M&Os competitions around the world, in the near future.

“There are other tournaments in New York and in Barcelona. We have submitted an application to go to the tournament in Barcelona and will hopefully do the same for New York. It would be brilliant to take part in these.” The side has also taken part in strength and conditioning sessions in recent times according to O’Hara.

“During the winter we also got in a strength and conditioning coach, who would’ve worked with us. It was enjoyable, and it was something different.” 

 The experienced player stated the side are always looking for players and anyone over the age of 35 can join the squad. O’Hara was keen to stress that those who want to join don’t have to be a mother to join the side. If you are interested in joining the side, you can contact Rosemary on 087-6454314 for more details.