ANTRIM ladies captain Aine Tubridy believes that the LGFA is a convenient scapegoat after the controversy at the weekend where Cork and Galway’s All-Ireland semi-final was subject to a venue change at the eleventh hour.

The venue had already been changed earlier in the week from the LIT Gaelic Grounds as the Limerick hurlers needed it for training purposes, and then it was moved to Parnell Park before the pitch was deemed unplayable and it was hastily switched to Croke Park.

It meant that the game wasn’t able to be broadcast live on TV, and the Galway footballers only had seven minutes of warm-up time before the game got underway.

Seanad leader Regina Doherty condemend both the GAA and LGFA over their handling of the match, but Antrim star Aine Tubridy says that the GAA are deserving of most of the flak.

“I feel like it’s mainly the GAA’s fault. The girls had hardly any time to warm-up and it seems the only reason the match wasn’t pushed back a little was to accommodate the Mayo-Tipperary game.”

Wherever the fault lies, there’s no doubt it’s attracted a lot of negative publicity to the ladies’ game, which is a disappointment considering there’s been more live coverage than ever this year to help make up for the crowd restrictions. Tubridy accepts it’s a set-back, and she hopes that talk of a merger between the GAA, LGFA and the Camogie Association will come to pass.

“We’ve been put on a platform like never before between live streams and television, but it seems like once we take one step forward, we take 100 steps backwards. This whole incident shows there isn’t equality with the men’s game.

“I think it would further the cause of equality if we all worked together as one. During the lockdown the GAA cancelled all club games then we were waiting on the LFGA so it can get confusing in terms of whether we can do something or not. We’re really following each other’s lead anyway so it’d make sense if we were under one umbrella.”

The GPA and Women’s GPA (WGPA) are set discuss taking the necessary steps to allow for the formal coming together of the two associations at a special meeting this weekend, and that’s something that Tubridy would also support.

“There has been a lot of talk about them merging together and it makes sense as there’s a massive difference between what us and the boys get. Gemma Begley is pushing towards us getting petrol expenses like the lads do. There are girls from Donegal travelling all sorts of distances for training and not getting anything for it. It’d make a massive difference and from speaking to male players, they can’t believe the difference that exists.”

In a recent interview with Gaelic Life, manager Dee McConville said they says the powers-that-be in Antrim used the lockdown earlier in the year fruitfully as they sent out questionnaires to find out why some of the top players in the county seemed disinterested in donning the Saffron jersey (“I’ve been working very closely with the executive in the last few years and during the lockdown we did a lot of work trying to figure out why some of the top players aren’t lining out for the county. We addressed a lot of the concerns and we’re starting to get more buy-in and building more trust. It won’t happen overnight but we’re heading in the right direction.”)

Tubridy didn’t take much convincing and says that things have improved in the county but that there’s still some way to go: “There was a good buzz around the county this year. There’s been more of a professional tint to things. Our sponsors North Property were down taking videos at some of our sessions. We’re improving but I wouldn’t say things are perfect either, the fellas have better access to the pitches.”

By Niall Gartland