Camogie semi-final in Dublin nearly called off as players protest skort rule

The Dublin - Kilkenny Leinster Camogie senior semi-final was nearly called off on Saturday, May 3, after both teams staged a protest against the rule mandating that players wear skorts.

As per the Camogie Association's official playing rules, players must wear a "skirt / skort / divided skirt" during matches. 

If the rule is not complied with, a referee will first caution the player(s) for dissent. If the player(s) continue to not comply, the referee of the match can dismiss them from play.

On Saturday, both the Dublin and Kilkenny senior camogie teams coordinated to wear shorts for their match. They were cautinoed by referee Ray Kelly, and ultimately opted to switch into skorts in order to play.

Kilkenny won the match 4-11 to Dublin’s 2-12, which was staged at St Peregrine’s GAA club in Blanchardstown in Dublin.

"Career low for me today when 60+ players ready to play a championship game in shorts are told their match will be abandoned if every player doesn't change into skorts," Dublin captain Aisling Maher said on social media after the match.

"I love this game but I am sick of being forced to wear a skort that is uncomfortable and unfit for purpose.

"How are female players still having to push for permission to wear shorts while they compete at the highest level of their sport.

"In no other facet of my life does someone dictate that I have to wear something resembling a skirt because I am a girl.

"Why is it happening in my sport?"

Maher added that recent research from the Gaelic Player Association (GPA), the player representative body for inter-county Gaelic games of which she is a co-chair, showed that 83% of Camogie players want to have the option to wear shorts.

"And yet we are still being told before throw in that our game will be abandoned if every girl doesn’t change into a skort," Maher wrote.

"It’s 2025, society has changed and our game needs to catch up."

Indeed, skort protest came just two days after the GPA published the findings of its Annual Player Survey, which recorded responses from 650 inter-county camogie players. 

83% of players surveyed would prefer to wear shorts, or believe that players should have the option to choose, the GPA found. 70% reported discomfort while wearing shorts. 65% expressed concern about exposure in media content, affecting their mental state. 49% said they had experienced anxiety around period leaks. 

The official GPA position is that "players should have the choice to wear Skorts or Shorts on the basis of player welfare," and that "player welfare should be prioritised over established norms & traditions in decision making."

Players remain open to collaborative dialogue on this issue with the Camogie Association, GAA, Sport Ireland, and other sporting bodies, the GPA said.

However, at the annual Camogie Association Congress in April 2024, a motion on players being able to wear shorts failed to pass.

"Great Britain proposed the inclusion of shorts as part of the playing uniform within Rule 6," the Association said afterward.

"There was in-depth discussion at Congress on the topic, with many counties providing insightful feedback from surveys completed by their younger and senior players.

"The motion resulted in 45% of the delegates voting in favour and 55% against."

The Association added: "Motion 56 was proposed by Tipperary to replace the ‘skirt/skort/divided skirt’ entirely with ‘shorts’ as part of the playing uniform. The motion did not pass with a 64% vote against.

"The next time delegates can vote on the playing uniform will be at Congress in 2027."

Aoife Lanigan, Kilkenny press officer, told the Irish Times that the camogie players who protested the skort rule on Saturday "could face big fines and the players having their names written in a match report by the referee."

She said: "The players were making a point for all to see [within the Camogie Association].

"When all three associations combine, the question will surely be why do women have to continue wearing skorts?”

A spokesperson for the GPA further told the Irish Times: “The GPA fully supports players having the right to choose between shorts or skorts and our position on this will not change.

“It is unacceptable that female athletes are being compelled to wear gear that they believe compromises their performance and well-being. We stand firmly with any player or team who opts for shorts and commend the Dublin and Kilkenny players for asserting that right today.

“These athletes were put in an impossible position — wear what they believe is right or face the prospect of the game being abandoned. As always, players chose to compete.

“We now call on the Camogie Association to listen to players and respect their autonomy."