Irish camogie players win right to wear shorts after skorts backlash

Camogie Association votes to change ‘archaic’ dress rule that critics say had deterred girls from taking up the sport

Irish camogie players who objected to wearing skorts in the female-only sport have triumphed: they can now wear shorts. The sport’s ruling body on Thursday ended the obligation to wear skorts – a portmanteau of shorts and skirt – and said players could choose to wear shorts. A special congress of the Camogie Association voted in a landslide – 98% of 133 delegates – to change a dress rule that critics said was archaic and deterred girls and women from taking up Ireland’s female version of the Gaelic game of hurling. Brian Molloy, the association’s president, said: “We are pleased to announce that delegates have voted by an overwhelming majority in favour of giving players greater choice in their playing attire. “From midnight tonight each individual player will have the option to wear skorts or shorts – adding choice while maintaining the professionalism and uniformity of our team kits in both colour and design.” Traditionalists had favoured skorts – a hybrid garment comprising an overlapping fabric panel over compressor-type shorts – as feminine but many players said the garment was uncomfortable and affected their confidence on the pitch. Years of discontent flared into mutiny in recent weeks. On 3 May Dublin and Kilkenny players turned up at their provincial Leinster semi-final in shorts. They changed into skorts after the referee threatened to abandon the game but the protest galvanised solidarity and calls for change. Government ministers expressed support for the players, female lawmakers from the opposition party Sinn Féin wore shorts to parliament and the sport’s administrators faced being grilled by parliamentary committee. The Camogie Association, which in 2023 had upheld the ban on shorts, bowed to the pressure by holding the special congress on Thursday to vote on a motion to change the rule. Aisling Maher, the captain of Dublin’s camogie team, welcomed the decision. “It’s a victory for players who are presently playing inter-county, it’s a victory for young players coming up who now have a choice about what they wear,” she told RTE on Friday. “You have to see the positives in this. The beginning of the All-Ireland championship has never got as much attention or publicity. Hopefully some of that attention will stay with camogie in a more positive light.”