Wexford Camogie Board clarify stance on the skorts debate

Skorts are back in the headlines again for all the wrong reasons…

For Camogie players in Ireland, one part of their uniform is ‘skorts’. Skorts are a mixture of both shorts and skirts. For Camogie players all across Ireland, from club underage level at under 16 to Senior inter-county level, it is compulsory to wear this part of the playing kit as they are part of the Camogie Association’s own rules.

However, in recent years, many high-profile camogie players have came out against the idea of wearing the skort. They argue that they are uncomfortable to wear and that it effects their performance on the field of play. A recent study by the Gaelic Players Association found that 70% of inter-county camogie players find skorts uncomfortable and 83% of players at least want the right to choose between wearing skorts and shorts.

One former Wexford camogie player – and one of Wexford’s most successful Camogie players now turned pundit, Ursula Jacob, is just one the many high-profile critics.

“If you are a girl or woman who wants to play camogie you do not have a choice about what you wear when playing our national game. If you want to play you have to wear skorts. If you don’t want to wear a skort then you don’t play. Skorts that girls don’t feel comfortable to play in. Skorts that they don’t train in. Skorts that they don’t want to wear. It is clear from Saturday’s actions from both Kilkenny and Dublin senior camogie teams, that there is a disconnect between the players and Camogie Association hierarchy,” Jacob said.

For most inter-county Camogie players, they are not advocating for a complete overhaul whereby skorts are changed to shorts. Instead, most are advocating for the option to wear either a skort or a shorts.

Some in Wexford did not hold the same belief as Ursula Jacob though. During the previous Camogie Congress, held in 2024, Wexford were against the motion at Congress.

Great Britain Camogie brought a motion to allow Camogie players to wear either shorts or a skort. However, this motion was defeated – and by quite some margin. Another motion from Tipperary Camogie to replace the skort completely was also defeated at the same Congress. Neither motion can be put forward again until 2027, meaning that players must wear skorts until 2027 – and even then, it could be defeated once again.

We caught up with Wexford’s new Camogie Chairperson, Martina Donnellan, to hear the Wexford Camogie Board’s views – and to see if they have since changed.

“Before attending Congress, a number of players from U16,U18, Intermediate & Senior were asked their opinion on the wearing of Skorts. We were aware that it was going to be debated and we wanted to have the players opinions as they are the people wearing them, and any county board representatives who attend congress go with a mandate from their county board.”

“Upon speaking to the players from the different grades, as it is not only county players that wear the skort, it is the uniform of all camogie player club & county, the vast majority had no issue wearing the skort once it was off good quality and a comfortable fit, like any piece of clothing there are some which are more comfortable than others,” Martina Donnellan told Wexford Weekly.

Wexford’s new Executive Committee was announced in December 2024 for the 2025 season. Given this – and the fact that this issue remains in the news – perhaps their stance on the topic had since changed, given they voted against at the Congress in 2024.

“If the issue comes up for debate or a vote again, we will as we did before speak to players across the ages, club & county about this issue and we will as we always do put the players first,” Martina, Wexford’s Camogie Chairperson said.

There are multiple protests happening lately regarding the skorts issue. Both Dublin and Kilkenny held their own protest at their most recent Leinster Championship semi-final outing. Both sets of players wore shorts. Even though the referee told both sets of teams that the game would be called off if the players did not change, it was a successful campaign by both Kilkenny and Dublin to raise the issue once again. Another team to hold a protest of their own was the Laois Camogie team. Likewise, they were forced to change into the ‘uniform’ to play the game, placing the referee in an awkward position too.

Dublin player, Niamh Glennon, said that it’s an outdated rule and it needs to be changed to reflect contemporary times:

“Our game is developing so much in other areas, but in this respect, it’s not. In no other area in our lives are we told that we have to wear something that resembles a skirt,” she said.

For Wexford Camogie, this isn’t something that they can support. If it’s not in the rules, they cannot support it from a board level:

“Wexford Camogie will uphold the rules of the association and if these rules change, then they are the rules,” Martina said.

One Labour TD – Alan Kelly, has said he intends to invite the Camogie Association to the Oireachtas Committee to deal with the issue of skorts in camogie “once and for all”.

Meanwhile, the Camogie Association has stated that it has started to examine the design to see if a new style of skort is needed:

“The Camogie Association will continue to examine issues around the comfort and design of playing gear with testing of newly sourced skorts due to begin later in the month,” they told the Irish Independent.

One thing is for sure: this isn’t the end of this debate.

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