“I do see it as an either or in the next year or two as to whether players are playing GAA or AFLW and not both” - Aisling Sheridan on possible player drain in ladies’ football

One of my first jobs with Nemeton TV Productions was to work on the Laochra Gael programme about the ‘man in the cap’ - Peter McDermott, the renowned Meath footballer, match official and GAA administrator.

He won two All-Irelands representing his county but it is as a huge advocate for the International Rules series that he is also remembered.

He brought the men’s 1967 All-Ireland winning Meath team to Australia in 1968 and was manager and central to drawing up the rules for the International Compromise Series in 1984 when Australia visited Ireland for a three game test.

One of the consistent arguments against the playing of Australian Rules was the fear that there would be a mass exodus of male players leaving Ireland to ply their trade abroad.

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Since its humble beginnings, 40 years ago, this has not materialised, with only four players in that time winning the Premiership title - Tadhg Kennelly, Zach Tuohy, Mark O’Connor and Tyrone’s Conor McKenna earlier this year.

Players have gone and experimented with the game and the majority of them have come back. The genuine fear some officials and former players had has never been realised.

The same cannot be said for the women’s code.

Now in its ninth year, the success of Irish players heading to Australia has been immense.

Laura Corrigan Duryea was the first Irish player to play AFLW in the inaugural series in 2017, but since Cora Staunton became the first overseas player to be recruited in 2018, the floodgates have opened.

This year there are 33 Irish players playing in the AFLW and there are no signs of this abating.

“It was only when I saw Cora Staunton and then my housemate from DCU Sarah Rowe go out, that’s when I got exposure to the game.” said Cavan footballer Aishling Sheridan who joined Collingwood in 2020.

“I got the opportunity to go to Australia and once there, I realised I enjoyed the game and it was probably something that I wanted to challenge myself with.

“I like pushing myself, I suppose, out of that comfort zone. Playing Aussies Rules, you are in a professional environment and you are training like professional athletes.

“It gives you a whole other side that you probably never would have known growing up and playing GAA county football”

That chance to be a professional footballer is hard to say no to. The money female athletes are getting is nothing compared to where the men are at with their league still operating as a semi-professional outlet.

Last year a collective bargaining agreement was reached between the AFL and the players unions which will see the average pay increase of 29 per cent for female athletes to A$82,000 (€49,301) before the deal ends in 2027.

Currently there are 11 games in the season but the hope is that this will increase to 14 by 2027 as well as the game going fully professional by that date too.

Players will also be able to receive 12-month contracts and sign multi-year deals.

The ambitions are high for the sport in Australia, but there is a sense that the skill-set Irish players have here only adds to their value in Australia.

“Speaking to some Australian coaches, they are really amazed at how talented the Irish U16 and minor girls are, in comparison to maybe what they’re like in Australia,” Sheridan added.

“Probably, again, we’ve been playing the sport literally since we were under eight.”

“I think they’ll keep an eye on maybe the younger talent coming through to see when they are out of that minor stage, if they have an interest in going to Australia.”

The inevitable conclusion of more games in a professional AFLW puts a bigger spotlight on how many more Irish players will leave to play in Australia.

At the moment, some players are committing to both the GAA and AFLW, but if the game turns fully professional, teams and clubs will not be as understanding of players as they are now, in allowing them to play GAA when they are being paid to play in Australia.

Also, more games means an earlier pre-season and start to the competition and this will clash with those players lucky enough to have All-Ireland ambitions and influence their decision on whether they stay to play in an All-Ireland final or leave.

“I do see it as an either or in the next year or two as to whether players are playing GAA or AFLW and not both” says Aishling

“Everyone can speak for themselves but it’s such an amazing opportunity to be over in Australia and you’re really in the best environment possible. It just depends on where you are at in your life.

“I think there are girls over there who are very happy playing AFLW and AFLW only but then there are obviously other girls who maybe come out later in the year, who are enjoying playing with their county or see a chance of winning something with their county”

Sheridan took a break from her contract with Collingwood this year for personal reasons but intends to go back next year and is currently playing championship with her club Mullahoran.

They beat Donegal champions Dungloe in the Ulster Club Intermediate Championship quarter-final at the weekend.

“I’m technically on the inactive list. I was on a two-year contract and there is essentially a pause in my contract meaning that I am able to go back there next year for next season,” she said.

“The club was very understanding of my decision. We have a new coach called Sam Wright and he was in Ireland to meet my family and see what my lifestyle is like over here.

“I suppose that the five seasons of living six months here and six months there, it’s very hard to settle. And then just for personal reasons, I just needed this year at home and then have the opportunity to go back next year.

“Personally for me, I missed the GAA when I was over in Australia. I really did miss it and I think I’m really enjoying it at the moment at home.

“I’m probably the most confident now because I’ve got playing GAA under my belt, the one sport I played growing up”

The love of playing GAA may not be enough to keep the best ladies’ footballers in Ireland and this will be a huge loss to counties and fans if we do not see players such as Aishling Moloney of Tipperary, Aishling Sheridan of Cavan, Sinéad Goldrick from Dublin and Bláithín and Aimee Mackin of Armagh and many others in their senior county jersey in the future.

The GAA, LGFA and the Camógie Association are focussed on amalgamation by 2027 but for the LGFA, if the best players decide not to play here in Ireland and embark on a career in Australia, it will be a huge blow to the marketing of the game.

Fans go to see the best players play, the same reason that sponsors pay. It remains to be seen if professionalism in the AFLW becomes a reality, how many players will be happy to stay and what that means for the LGFA.

“It’s very difficult for the LGFA and I do feel for them but I don’t think there is anything they can do to keep players playing here.

“You can’t change the season to coincide with the AFLW season because we don’t know when the AFLW season is next year, whereas the LGFA have a clear outline on when county games will be and when the All-Ireland finals will be.

“There’s definitely going to be a lot of Australian teams poaching the GAA girls as each week in the league as it stands there is always an Irish player standing out.

“There are still, I suppose top LGFA players currently in Ireland that maybe have no ambition to go to Australia. So it’s just about finding the balance.

“Personally, I know myself, there are a lot of younger girls who maybe haven’t played senior football yet who have aspirations of going to Australia more so than playing senior county football.”

The fact that some players would prefer to play AFLW than intercounty football is concerning for the game.

The future is unknown as are the amount of players who would take up the offer of a full-time professional contract.

That fear of player drain that existed in the men’s code over 40 years ago hasn’t gone away.

It now lies firmly within the female code with a very real sense that it could become a reality.