Marie Matthews

Marie Matthews talks about her involvement with the GAA in Longford, and with her own club Ballymachugh. She talks about playing in her youth when Cavan were prominent on the national stage and other teams would come to play them and would be hosted by different families in the community. Marie helped establish a Mullineachta club and encountered many difficulties - from not knowing exactly what to do, to struggling to find enough people to take part, to being denied access to local pitches. She also had to fight her corner in order to get grants which would cover expenses. There was a lot of administrative work to be done and that meant travelling long distances to attend provincial and national council meetings. As she goes about her efforts Marie is constantly reminded of the disparity between how the men's and ladies games are treated, but still she commits herself because she is passionate about the GAA. She also offers her opinions on the prospect of professionalism, which she feels goes against the grain of everything that the Association stands for.