LAST UPDATE | 3 May

CAMOGIE PLAYERS FROM the Kilkenny and Dublin senior teams were forced to change by match officials after the two teams arrived to the pitch wearing shorts rather than the mandated skorts this afternoon. 

The senior camogie teams played in the Leinster Senior Semi Final at St Peregrine’s GAA Club in Blanchardstown today. 

The move was in a coordinated protest against the “archaic” rule that camogie players must wear skorts – a skirt with a pair of shorts attached underneath – while playing.

The players were told to change by the referee, who said that otherwise the match would not be allowed to take place.

The Kilkenny team stood on the pitch while the national anthem played, while the Dublin team walked off. Eventually, all thirty players returned to the dressing room to change and emerged in the mandatory skorts to play the match.

Under the rules of the Camogie Association, players must wear a “skirt/skort/divided skirt” while playing matches. A referee can issue players with a yellow card for not wearing the correct uniform, and a red card if they continue not to comply.

Kilkenny Camogie’s PRO Aoife Lanigan said that many players have reported annoyance at the mandated skort-wearing during games, while others don’t mind the rule.

In 2027, the Camogie Association, LFGA, and the GAA are set to become one integrated body. 

“If we are going in 2027 to join the three of them together, are we still going to be wearing skorts, if we’re all part of the GAA?” Lanigan said.

She pointed out that the camogie uniform has come through a slow but steady transformation over the years. Previously, the uniform featured long skirts and pinafores. The skort is the final hangover in the modern rendition.

All Ireland Camogie semi final, Parnell Park, Kilkenny vs Cork 7/8/1999 - Cork's Sinead O'Callaghan tries to get away with the ball. Billy Stickland / INPHO Billy Stickland / INPHO / INPHO

The rules of the game cannot be changed until the congress in 2027.

In a position paper released by the Gaelic Players Association earlier this week on the matter, it reported that 83% of the 650 inter-county camogie players surveyed would prefer to wear shorts or believe that players should have the option to choose.

Of the players surveyed, 70% reported discomfort while wearing skorts, and 65% reported concerns about exposure in media content, affecting their mental state.

The GPA summarised that its position is that players should have the choice on whether they want to wear either a skort or shorts while playing.

Kilkenny won the match 4-11 to Dublin’s 2-12.