Female inter-county GAA players have escalated their ongoing protests in their pursuit of equal treatment by announcing they will refuse to participate in media events organised by the LGFA or Camogie Association ahead of the closing stages of the All-Ireland championships this year.
In a statement, the GPA said "inter-county female players have decided not to take part in media events organised by the LGFA or Camogie Association in advance of games in the closing stages of the All-Ireland championships."
This decision was collectively made during a call involving squad representatives and captains as part of the #UnitedForEquality protest.
The ladies footballers and camogie players, supported by the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), are calling for the GAA, Camogie Association, and LGFA to collaborate and establish a charter that ensures basic medical, gym, nutrition, and expense arrangements for their inter-county preparation, even during ongoing integration talks.
(Image: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)Several protests have already taken place, including during last weekend's Camogie matches.
This follows the claim made by Tom Parsons, Chief Executive of the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), that the GAA prevented the four All-Ireland hurling semi-final mens teams from displaying a #UnitedForEquality banner in front of their team photographs last weekend. The squads of Galway, Limerick, Kilkenny, and Clare were supposed to showcase the banner at Croke Park, but the move was blocked.
Parsons informed members in a circular that the GAA had hindered the hurlers' show of support for their camogie and ladies football counterparts.
"At this point, it's important to express gratitude to Henry Shefflin, Brian Lohan, Derek Lyng, and John Kiely. All four managers had agreed to demonstrate solidarity with their squads before the All-Ireland hurling semi-finals last weekend," Parsons said.
"A #The UnitedForEquality banner was intended to be displayed as part of the pre-game team photos. Following calls from GAA leadership to county boards, an intervention was made to prevent this simple act of solidarity. The GAA leadership evidently fears your collective voice in support of your female colleagues.
"As they obstructed this straightforward action that would have caused little to no disruption to the build-up of the games, we have received significant feedback expressing anger."
