To whom it may concern,
On Saturday the 5th of November, my club; Round Towers of London played Dunedin Connollys from Edinburgh in an All-Britain Gaelic Football Final in Leeds. I am sending this email to emphasise the lack of respect and dignity shown towards ladies Gaelic Football.
Due to the train strike that occurred that weekend, we travelled to Leeds on Friday evening via coach and stayed in the Clayton hotel. We were informed that there was limited changing facilities with only one changing room at the pitch so we decided to change into our gear at the hotel. When we arrived, the Dunedin team were in the changing room and we therefore put our boots on outside the dressing room due to limited space. We had no changing room to leave our bags in during the game and had little or no choice but to leave them on the side of the pitch getting wet from the rain. The pitch itself was an utter disgrace for an All Britain final and I really cannot emphasis that enough. It wasn't lined, we could not distinguish any areas of the pitch including the 'D' or the side line which was marked out with poles. There were no flags, the grass was not cut, there was multiple holes on the pitch and it was simply not fit for an All-Britain Final. There was no photographer, no umpires, all of the things that contribute to a huge final. Reaching an All-Britain Final is such a momentous and incredible achievement and this was completely taken away by the state of the conditions we were made play in. When our venue was determined, I would really like to know how they deemed this appropriate for a group of ladies to travel from both London and Edinburgh. It felt like we were playing first round of the league . . Not an All-Britain final!
After the game, there was 2 showers for approximately 60 ladies as we each had a large panel. My brother, who watched on Youtube described the pitch as a 'green in the middle of a housing estate'.
The whole set up was truly an insult to both us and to Dunedin Connollys. Both teams made tremendous efforts to get to Leeds which involved endless organising and fundraising and the way in which the event was treated was nothing short of appalling. I really hate to say this but I have no doubt in my mind that an All-Britain men's final would not be played there and they would be provided with decent changing facilities on top of all the extras given the significance of the event. It really is such a shame how the LGFA and the Britain LGFA thought that it was acceptable for us to play one of the biggest games of our sporting careers on this pitch.
I really do hope that something changes in Ladies football and in sport in general and we get the recognition and treatment we deserve.
This email is not a criticism of St Benedict's GAA club but rather the fact the Britain LGFA thought it was an appropriate venue for an All-Britain Final. I would like to thank St Benedict's GAA club for allowing us the use of the field on Saturday. I would also like to thank all of your friends and family for their support and especially to those who donated to the club and who travelled to Leeds to cheer us on.
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