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, since May 2022 women Gaelic footballers have to wear shin pads. 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 2020, Dublin have been the dominant team.
The All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship is the premier inter-county competition in the game of ladies' Gaelic football in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association and are played during the summer months, with the All-Ireland Final being played at Croke Park. The qualifiers were introduced in 2008.
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 the 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.
Rachel Ruddy 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 and 2019. In 2017 she received her second All Star award. Ruddy has also played for the Dublin senior camogie team.
The 2011 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship Final featured Cork and Monaghan. This was the second of three All-Ireland Ladies' football finals between 2008 and 2013 that saw Cork play Monaghan. According to a report in the Irish Independent, "just two soft goals separated (Cork) from Monaghan". The first goal came after just 21 minutes when goalkeeper Linda Martin opted for a short kick-out which badly back-fired when Nollaig Cleary intercepted it and chipped her. That goal gave Cork a 1–3 to 0–4 half-time lead. Within 10 minutes of the restart, Monaghan scored three unanswered points, one from Ciara McAnespie and two from Niamh Kindlon. The turning point came when Cork's Orla Finn was rugby tackled by Monaghan's Isobel Kierans which resulted in a penalty. Rhona Ní Bhuachalla subsequently scored from the spot to give Cork a three-point lead. Points from Caoimhe Mohan, Laura McEnaney and Cathriona McConnell pulled it back to a point with just five minutes remaining. However Rena Buckley scored a late point for Cork to see them win by two points.
The 2007 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship Final featured Cork and Mayo. Cork completed a three in a row of All-Ireland titles. Valerie Mulcahy scored 2–1 as Cork won 2–11 to 2–6. Mulcahy scored her first goal from the penalty spot just before half time. The decision to award the penalty was described as "questionable" and was only confirmed after the referee, Eugene O'Hare, consulted with his umpires. The penalty gave Cork a 1–6 to 0–3 half time lead. Cork were leading by 12 points when Cora Staunton and Fiona McHale scored two goals in the final minute, making the final score look more respectable for Mayo.
The 2008 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship Final featured Cork and Monaghan. This was the first of three All-Ireland Ladies' football finals between 2008 and 2013 that saw Cork play Monaghan. They would also play each other in 2011. Cork won a fourth successive All-Ireland title. Valerie Mulcahy scored 3–2, including two penalties, as Cork defeated Monaghan by 14 points. Mulcahy provided the game's opening score, a penalty in the third minute, following Christina Reilly's foul on Mary O'Connor. Although Monaghan would get back to within a point of Cork on three separate occasions, they subsequently trailed all the way to the finish. At half-time, just three points separated the sides, with Cork leading by 1–8 to 0–8. The crucial goal for Cork came five minutes after half-time, when Mulcahy palmed home a disputed second goal to open up a 2–8 to 0–8 lead. Any faint hopes of a Monaghan revival ended when substitute Ciara O'Sullivan scored a goal with her first touch of the game. Five minutes from the end, Mulcahy completed her hat-trick of goals when she netted a second penalty. Aside from Mulcahy and O'Sullivan, other notable performers for Cork included Juliet Murphy in midfield who scored 0–3, substitute Rhona Buckley, who scored 0–2 and Briege Corkery who produced a fantastic diving block midway through the second half to prevent a Monaghan goal.
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.
The 2013 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship was the 40th edition of the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association's premier inter-county Ladies' Gaelic football tournament. It was known for sponsorship reasons as the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship. It was won by Cork, who defeated Monaghan in the final.
The 2014 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship Final featured Cork and Dublin. LGFA president Pat Quill criticised the decision to have Cork and Dublin club championship fixtures occurring on the same day as the game, describing it as "unfair on those people, boyfriends and whatever, not being in a position to come along to support the girls".
Valerie Mulcahy is an Irish footballer. As a ladies' Gaelic footballer, she played at senior level for Cork, winning ten All-Ireland titles and nine Ladies' National Football League titles between 2005 and 2015. She was also an All Star on six occasions. As a women's association football player, she represented Ireland at the 2003 Summer Universiade and played for Cork City in the Women's National League. In 2015, Mulcahy helped launch the Women's Gaelic Players' Association. In the same year, she also came out as gay.
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 county ladies' football team represents Mayo in amateur ladies' Gaelic football. The team competes in inter-county competitions such as the All-Ireland TG4 Senior Ladies Championship and the Lidl Ladies National Football League as a member of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association.
The 2017 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship Final featured Dublin and Mayo. Dublin also played Mayo in the 2017 men's All-Ireland final. This was only the second time that the two finals featured teams representing the same two counties; the first time was in 1982, when Kerry played Offaly in both the men's and ladies' finals.
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 sportswoman. 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.
The 2018 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship was the 45th edition of the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association's premier inter-county Ladies' Gaelic Football tournament. It was known for sponsorship reasons as the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship.
The 2018 All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship Final featured Dublin and Cork for the fourth time in five years. Cork were aiming to preserve their unbeaten record in All Ireland Finals, however Dublin defeated Cork for the first time. This was the first time Cork had lost an All Ireland Final. Dublin also won back-to-back All-Irelands for the first time. Dublin captain, Sinéad Aherne, was the game's top scorer with 1-7 while Carla Rowe scored a goal in each half. Cork's top scorer was Orla Finn who scored 0-8 from free kicks.
Sinéad Aherne is a senior Dublin ladies' footballer. In 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, she captained Dublin as they won the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football Championship. In 2010, when Dublin won their first All-Ireland title, she was both player of the match and the top scorer in the final with 2–7. She also captained Dublin when they won the 2018 Ladies' National Football League. In 2018 she was named the TG4 Senior Player's Player of the Year and received her seventh All Star award. She has also represented Ireland at international rules.
