Ladies' Gaelic football is a women's team sport. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a round ball towards goals at each end of a grass pitch. The sport is mainly played in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, where the two main competitions are the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship and the Ladies' National Football League. Both competitions feature teams representing the traditional Gaelic games counties. The 2017 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship Final was the best attended women's sports final of 2017. The 2019 final, after the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, was the second largest attendance at any women's sporting final during 2019. Historically Cork and Kerry have been the sport's most successful counties. Waterford, Monaghan and Mayo have also experienced spells of success. In more recent years, 2017 to 2019, Dublin have been the dominant team.
The Ladies' Gaelic Football All Stars Awards have been hosted annually by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association since 1980. The All Stars are sponsored by TG4. O'Neills have also helped sponsor the awards. All Stars are awarded to the best Ladies' Gaelic football players in each of the fifteen playing positions, effectively forming an All Star team. Between 1980 and 2002 the All Stars played an annual exhibition game against the winners of the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship. Since 2004 the LGFA have organised bi-annual overseas exhibition games featuring two All Star selections. Since 2011 the LGFA has also organised three Player's Player of the Year awards, one each for the Senior, Intermediate and Junior All-Ireland Championships. These awards are announced and presented at the same ceremony as the All Stars. Mary J. Curran of Kerry and Cora Staunton of Mayo hold the all-time record for winning the most All Stars.
The Ladies' Gaelic Football Association is the main governing body for ladies' Gaelic football. It organises competitions such as the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship and the Ladies' National Football League.
The Ireland women's international rules football team was organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association and represented both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the 2006 Ladies' International Rules Series against Australia. As of 2019, this is the only series the team has played. Ireland won the series, winning the first test at Breffni Park by 134–15 and the second test at Parnell Park by 39–18.
Dublin City University Gaelic Athletic Association Club is the GAA club at Dublin City University. The club fields teams in men's Gaelic football, hurling, ladies' Gaelic football and camogie. It also organises Gaelic handball. The club mainly competes in intervarsity competitions such as the Sigerson Cup, the Fitzgibbon Cup, the O'Connor Cup and the Ashbourne Cup. DCU has also entered competitions organised by the Leinster GAA, including the O'Byrne Cup, the Kehoe Cup and Walsh Cup. In 2016 St. Patrick's College, Drumcondra merged with Dublin City University. As a result some DCU GAA teams, especially reserve teams, compete as DCU St Patrick's or DCU Dóchas Éireann.
Rena Buckley is an Irish sportswoman who played at senior level for both the Cork county ladies' football team and the Cork county camogie team. She has also represented Munster in the Gael Linn Cup and Ireland at international rules. Between 2005 and 2017 she won 18 All-Ireland winners medals, making her one of most decorated sportspeople in Gaelic games. In 2012 she captained Cork when they won the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship and in 2017 she captained Cork when they won the All-Ireland Senior Camogie Championship. She was the first player to captain Cork to both All-Ireland senior championships. She was also named as an All Star on eleven occasions. In 2015 Buckley and her team mate and fellow dual player, Briege Corkery, were named joint winners of the 2015 The Irish Times/ Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year Award.
Clíodhna O'Connor is a former senior Dublin ladies' footballer. She was a member of the Dublin team that won the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship in 2010. She also played for Dublin in the 2003, 2004, 2009 and 2014 finals. She captained Dublin during the 2011 season. In 2004 and 2009 she was selected as an All Star and in 2010 she was included in the LGFA/TG4 Team of the Decade. She also played for the Ireland women's international rules football team. Since retiring as a player, O'Connor has coached Ladies' Gaelic football and hurling. She was a member of the coaching team at Cuala when they won the 2017 and 2018 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship Finals. In 2019 she became a member of the Dublin senior hurling team coaching staff.
The Cork county ladies' football team represents Cork GAA in ladies' Gaelic football. The team competes in inter-county competitions such as the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship, the Munster Senior Ladies' Football Championship and the Ladies' National Football League.
Nora Stapleton is a former Ireland women's rugby union international. Stapleton represented Ireland at the 2010, 2014 and 2017 Women's Rugby World Cups. She was also a member of the Ireland teams that won the 2013 and 2015 Women's Six Nations Championships. Stapleton was a member of the first Ireland teams to defeat both England and New Zealand. Stapleton has also played two other football codes at a senior level. As a women's association football player, she played for UCD in FAI Women's Cup finals and UEFA Women's Cup campaigns. She has also played senior ladies' Gaelic football for Donegal.
The Dublin county ladies' football team represents Dublin GAA in ladies' Gaelic football. The team competes in inter-county competitions such as the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship, the Leinster Senior Ladies' Football Championship and the Ladies' National Football League.
The Mayo Women's Football League is a women's association football league featuring teams from County Mayo. It is the sister league of the Mayo Association Football League. It has previously been known as the Mayo Ladies League. The league is a summer league, beginning in March and ending in September. In 2015 the league was sponsored by Artec Facilities Management, a company based in Belmullet. Teams from the league also compete for the Mayo Cup, the Mary Walsh Cup and the Mayo Shield. They also enter the Connaught Cup and the WFAI Intermediate Cup. The league's representative team won the 2006 FAI Women's Cup and then represented the Republic of Ireland in the 2007–08 UEFA Women's Cup.
Lindsay Peat is an Ireland women's rugby union international. Peat represented Ireland at the 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup. Peat is an all-round sportswomen. In addition to representing Ireland at women's rugby union, she has also played for the Republic of Ireland women's national association football team at U-18 level, captained the Ireland women's national basketball team and played senior Ladies' Gaelic football for Dublin. Between 2009 and 2014 she played in three All-Ireland finals. She was a member of the Dublin team that won the All-Ireland title in 2010 and she scored two goals in the 2014 final.
Dr. Noëlle Healy is a senior Dublin ladies' footballer. She was a member of the Dublin teams that won the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship in 2010, 2017, 2018 and 2019, but lost to Cork on several occasions. She captained Dublin in the 2016 final and was named Player of the Match following the 2017 final. In 2017 she was also named the TG4 Senior Player's Player of the Year. She was the first Dublin player to win the award. She was also a member of the Dublin team that won the 2018 Ladies' National Football League and in the same year collected her fourth All Star award.
Caroline O'Hanlon is a Northern Ireland netball international and an Armagh ladies' Gaelic footballer. She has also represented Ireland at international rules. She was a member of the Northern Ireland teams at the 2003, 2011 and 2019 Netball World Cups and at the 2014 and 2018 Commonwealth Games. She was also a member of the Northern Ireland teams that were silver medallists at the 2012 and 2017 European Netball Championships. She captained Northern Ireland at both the 2018 Commonwealth Games and at the 2019 Netball World Cup. She carried the flag of Northern Ireland during the 2018 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. She has played in the Netball Superleague for Team Northumbria, UWS Sirens and Manchester Thunder. She was a member of the Manchester Thunder team that won the 2019 Netball Superleague. As a Ladies' Gaelic footballer she played for Armagh in the 2006 All-Ireland final. She has also been an All Star on three occasions and was named as the 2014 TG4 Senior Player's Player of the Year. In 2010 she was named Northern Ireland Sportswoman of the Year.
Sarah Rowe is a dual code sportswoman and a former Republic of Ireland women's association football international. In addition to association football, Rowe has also played two other football codes at a senior level. She has played ladies' Gaelic football for Mayo and women's Australian rules football for Collingwood in the AFLW. At club level, Rowe has played association football for Castlebar Celtic, Raheny United and Shelbourne Ladies in the Women's National League. Rowe was a member of the Republic of Ireland U19 team that won their group at the 2014 UEFA Women's Under-19 Championship and qualified for the semi-finals. In 2016 she was also a member of the Shelbourne Ladies team that won a Women's National League/FAI Women's Cup double.
Niamh McEvoy is a former senior Dublin ladies' footballer. She was a member of the Dublin team that won the 2010 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship Final. She was one of two players named Niamh McEvoy who played for Dublin in the 2010 final. The player sharing her name, Niamh McEvoy of St. Sylvester's, replaced her when she came on as a second-half substitute. She had previously played for Dublin in the 2003, 2004 and 2009 All-Ireland finals. McEvoy also captained the Dublin team.
Lyndsey Davey is a senior Dublin ladies' footballer. She was a member of the Dublin teams that won the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship in 2010, 2017, 2018 and 2019. She captained Dublin in 2015. She was also a member of the Dublin team that won the 2018 Ladies' National Football League. In 2019 she received her fifth All Star award. She won her first All Star in 2005 at the age of 15.
The 2006 Ladies' International Rules Series was the first and, as of 2019, the only ladies' International rules football series played between Ireland and Australia. The series was played at the same time as the men's 2006 International Rules Series. Ireland won the series, winning the first test at Breffni Park by 134–15 and the second test at Parnell Park by 39–18. The series was broadcast live by TG4 and Setanta Sports.
The 2019 HEC O'Connor Cup was won by University of Limerick who defeated UCD by 2–16 to 1–10 in the final. Six teams were invited to take part in the competition. Queen's University and UCC reached the semi-finals while DCU defeated NUI Galway by 3–18 to 0–6 to win the Michael O'Connor Shield.
Neamh Woods is a Northern Ireland netball international and a Tyrone Ladies' Gaelic footballer. She was a member of the Northern Ireland teams at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2019 Netball World Cup. As a Ladies' Gaelic footballer she played for Tyrone in the 2010 All-Ireland final. She captained Tyrone when they won the 2018 All-Ireland Intermediate Ladies' Football Championship. She was an All Star in 2008 and 2018 and was the 2018 TG4 Intermediate Player's Player of the Year.
2019 HEC O'Connor Cup