Game Changers: Four players chat to Mikie O’Loughlin about breaking down sporting stereotypes at Ireland’s first explicitly GAA, LGFA and Camogie LGBTQ+ team, Na Gaeil Aeracha
Na Gaeil Aeracha , a club that was founded in 2020 following a tweet in lockdown, is in its fourth year of competitive sport in Dublin. The LGBTQ+ inclusive organisation began with an LGFA team in 2021 before adding a football side the following year. A hurling team was set up in 2023 and training for camogie began this year. Here, RSVP meets Dylan Boon, Amy Nugent, Sebai Marsh and Ciarán Lyng who have rediscovered their love for sport in the open and welcoming setting.
I played hurling back home in Clare alongside my brother until college and my dad coached us for a good few years. My experience was mainly positive. As teens, people are figuring themselves out and it mightn’t have been the most welcoming place. It wasn’t through malicious intent, but definitely through unconscious bias from people and a lack of education about the LGBTQ+ community. Words were thrown around that I wasn’t happy to hear and I had to stop playing. I wasn’t enjoying it anymore.
NGA hosts Irish language classes, and there was a nice welcoming atmosphere and a genuine love of Irish. I loved getting to experience it. We did quite well in the league and championship last year. We got to the semi-final, and while we lost, it was a huge achievement for all of us in our first year playing together. The other teams weren’t expecting much from us, but we were able to show our tenacity and teamwork. It made me very proud to be a club member.
It’s a great time for women in sport in Ireland and it’s nice to be part of that rising ride. We’re only getting started with our journey with NGA Camogie ourselves, we’re trying to get the team together and our name out there. That’s been the highlight of this for me, getting to know the girls and getting close to them. Half of the team have played camogie and other sports before and the other half are newbies, like me.
The first match we scored a goal in will always be the highlight for me. We were still wearing bibs with numbers taped on the back and Ciara McGuinness scored a goal. We celebrated it like we had won the championship. The other team were thrilled for us too because they knew it was a big first for us.
The LGFA brought in a new trans policy last year, which was great to see. Anytime we email the secretary of the Dublin County Board, she’s very responsive to our questions about gender and our non-binary players. They’re very open to having a team that isn’t a usual parish club in the county.
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