Ready, Set, GOAL! Over 1,000 Ladies Set for Portmarnock Blitz

The 4th Annual Gaelic 4 Mothers & Others blitz will take place at Naomh Mearnóg GAA club in Portmarnock this Saturday, bringing together women from all over the country to take part in a day of football and fun.

Games will commence at 12.30 and are preceded by the spectacle of hundreds of participants taking part in a mass warm-up. The Gaelic 4 Mothers & Others programme has been running throughout the country since 2008 with over 180 clubs taking part, a number that has grown by an average of 22 new teams per year.

A day out for GAA loving mothers, but 'others' are welcome too - they might even get a job!

This year’s blitz will see 74 teams taking part with 21 different counties being represented. Games are non-competitive with the emphasis being placed on participation and enjoyment. Players must be over the age of 18 with the average age of participants being 40, many of those taking part will have recently returned to the game or will have taken it up recently. 

For the love of the game... 74 teams are expected to take part this weekend

National Development Manager for the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, Paula Prunty, said: ‘This initiative is really thriving for the Association and the reason for its success can certainly be attributed to how it allows women of all ages and abilities to play our National sport, for example we will have women over 40 years of age playing on Saturday who have never played football before taking up this initiative. Anyone that would like to take part next year literally just needs a football and a place to play, it really is that simple!’ 

Everyone's a winner - When the matches are over, the social activities kick in!

An exhibitor’s village will also be present on the day, including diverse exhibitors from GagaBaby to O’Neill’s to organisations such as Concern and Mental Health Ireland. After the football has ended there is a sing-song, music and entertainment at the Naomh Mearnóg club to round off a great day’s entertainment.

Any women that would be interested in taking part in next season’s Gaelic 4 Mothers & Others programme can get all the information they need at www.ladiesgaelic.ie