Rowe sees huge positives for women in sport
Pictured at Croke Park is Dublin ladies footballer Carla Row at the announcement of a new three-year partnership with Comfort Keepers, Ireland’s leading homecare provider, which has been named Official Community Impact Partner of the GAA and GPA. Comfort Keepers will bring its ambassadors into homes and communities across the country this year, connecting Gaelic games supporters of all ages and abilities. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile.
By John Harrington
The 2025 TG4 LGFA All-Ireland Final between Dublin and Meath was a positive showcase for the increasingly high profile of women’s sport in Ireland.
Over 48,000 spectators attended the match and there was an average TV audience of 172,500 as Dublin stormed to a 2-16 to 0-10 victory.
For team captain Carla Rowe it was a sixth All-Ireland medal in 12 years.
In her maiden championship campaign of 2014, Dublin were beaten in the All-Ireland Final by Cork when 27,374 spectators paid through the gates, so she’s seen the sport’s profile grow considerably through the course of her career.
Women in Sport Week is a time to champion the progress already made, but Rowe thinks it’s important to keep the foot to the floor rather than enjoy the view too much.
“You have to keep pushing,” she says of the profile of women’s sport in Ireland.
“You have to keep striving for more. And that's the thing. It's obviously fantastic that there's so much going on and it is growing, but I think it is still something right now that we have to keep actively pushing in order to keep improving everything around us.”
Rowe is playing her part in more ways than one. Through her own playing career she’s an inspirational role-model for young footballers, and she’s also using her profession as teacher to share her love of the game.
Dublin supporters and members of the Raheny GAA Club with Carla Rowe after the 2023 Lidl Ladies National Football League Division 1 Round 5 match between Dublin and Mayo at DCU St Clare's in Dublin. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile.
There was no LGFA team in Balbriggan Community College until she started teaching there, and she’s gotten a great satisfaction from giving girls there the opportunity to play the game.
“Yeah, it’s been brilliant to give them the chance to play it because I see how important team sport is.
“I can nearly tell when a girl is involved in team sport because it has such a positive impact on them.
“Is important to just to be able to give them that experience and those learnings because a lot of what they learn on the pitch can be transferred into their life in terms of patience and communication and working together as a team.
“I suppose it just opens up your eyes as to how sport can have a real impact.
“Where I see it mainly is in the classroom where you might have one or two more challenging students who might struggle in school, but when you have them on the football pitch you build up that relationship and they then work harder in the classroom because they know you that little bit more, you're not just an authority that's up above them.
“They kind of see you as that teacher who brings them playing Gaelic and works with them on the pitch and I've seen how that has been helpful in the classroom.
"For me, sport was always a part of my life. When I went to secondary school, I wanted to be involved in every team but some girls aren't that way inclined.
“The things that are probably holding them back are probably self-confidence and different aspects like that where they just don't feel like they should be in the sport or that there's a place for them in sports.
"To be able to reassure and show girls that every girl, no matter what sport it is, there's a place for you somewhere, and that sport can be hugely beneficial, has really opened my eyes and been nice to see.”
For more information on Women in Sport Week, go HERE.