Mayo View: GAA's treatment of its sports women leaves much to be desired

An embarrassing dispute over the wearing of skorts in camogie games may have turned the GAA into a bit of a laughing stock - but it merely reflects that old, conservative Ireland is far from dead and gone.

The disappointing fact the Munster final between Cork and Waterford was postponed due to a refusal by the Camogie Association to concede to the demands of players to be allowed to wear shorts further solidified this perception.

The GAA, like other major sporting organisations, has been male dominated for decades.

And while some progress has been made to embrace greater female participation, the truth is that equality and fairness in all matters remains a long way off what it should be, leaving sportswomen having to stand up for their entitlements in a way sportsmen rarely have to do.

In this case, they are asking for very little, just the option of playing camogie in shorts because the traditional skorts are not comfortable.

It's utterly inconceivable that such a big problem developed over such a small matter.

But it reveals a telling truth about major governing sporting bodies; they are out of touch with the grassroots to a point that warrants serious scrutiny by a government which consistently funds them.

It was encouraging, at least, to hear a former president of the GAA, Sean Kelly, coming out and rightly describing the continued ban on shorts as ‘nonsensical’ and 'archaic', adding that forcing players to play in skorts will create long-term damage to the sport.

It has left members of the public wondering why a decision could not been made to solve the problem once and for all ahead of last weekend’s Munster final rather that being kicked down the road to a special congress on May 22.

Let's hope this controversy serves as another landmark moment in giving Irish sportswomen the true respect and parity of esteem to which they are entitled in all codes.