When all the reviews of the year are completed and the most-watched TV programmes of 2024 are announced, sport will feature prominently. But alongside the traditionally male-dominated set pieces, the phenomenal growth of women’s sport is now featuring highly, with memorable moments from the athletics track to the boxing ring and beyond.
If ever a year illustrated how the leading sportswomen in this country are carving out a new place for themselves and generations to come, the past twelve months have done so. Almost half of the Irish team of 133 that competed in the Paris Olympics was made up of women, a far cry from the two women who competed for Ireland when the country first participated in the 1924 games.
In the intervening 100 years, women’s sport has often been treated as on outlier. Occasionally, gifted sportswomen like Sonia O’Sullivan, Catherina McKiernan or Katie Taylor would emerge and camouflage the lack of investment, encouragement and media coverage of women’s sport. That relatively barren landscape has only really been addressed in the last 10 years.
The era of poorly-treated international women’s teams in rugby and soccer brought to the fore the glaring and deeply unfair treatment of women in sport. This prompted some brave individuals to take on some big associations and the fruits of those challenges are now bearing fruit.
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Individually, the country’s leading role models are as likely to be the winner of this year’s Irish Times Sportswoman of the Year award, Kellie Harrington, or other female competitors such as Rhasidat Adeleke or Rachael Blackmore as any high profile sportsman. Their achievements have come about because they have been provided with the right facilities, coaching and resources. In turn, they are the perfect “if you can see it, you can be it” role models for young girls.
Participation by women at all levels is finally being taken seriously by both governments and administrators. That said, there is still a road to travel in promoting and developing women’s sport.