Cork's first LGBTQ+ GAA club giving people a sense of belonging

The most pleasing aspect of forming Na Laochra Aeracha GAA club is clear to Dean Kinsella. It’s watching people who never had sport in their lives discover its joys.

“You see these young people coming in and they are terrified because they don't know what to expect,” says the club’s vice chairperson.

“Gradually, you see them open up more, get to know a bit of their background, their stories and why they never played sport or why they played sport and then dropped out.

“All the stories are quite similar. It's generally a feeling of not being made welcome in previous years. You're looking at all these masculine lads, it can be very intimidating for a young gay child to try and put yourself into that dynamic.

“We have a drag queen on our team, and sometimes she does show up in drag to football, which is absolutely hilarious. She has a really interesting story. Krystal Queer is her name. She’s always been interested in sports. I says she because she's drag queen.

“But when he was younger, Seán is his name, he would have been quite effeminate. It was impossible for him to put himself into that situation amongst the lads.

“This club makes them feel welcome.”

Na Laochra Aeracha, Cork’s first LGBTQ+ inclusive GAA club, was founded by Kinsella and Aaron Kelly, their chairperson and head coach, in October 2023. 16 people turned up on the first evening they got together to kick around. Numbers grew in the weeks which followed. After Christmas, they put a name on the club – it means gay warriors - had a crest designed and held their first official training session.

A year on, they’ve hit a landmark moment. At the Cork GAA County Committee meeting last week, the green flag was waved on their application to form a club.

“We got the fixtures there and it was fantastic to see our name listed with the other clubs,” says club PRO Peter Roberts. In their first competitive game, probably in September, the club will play Glanmire in the Seandun Junior C Football Championship. That will be their main focus for this year as they aim to build for league involvement in 2026. Organising blitzes with Na Gaeil Aeracha and Aeracha Uladh – the LGBTQ+ inclusive clubs in Dublin and Belfast, respectively – is an aspiration.

Na Laochra Aeracha GAA club.

Growing up in 90s Cork, Roberts avoided all sports. As a gay man, he felt there wasn’t a place for him. Time, friendship and Ireland being more tolerant than it was 30 years ago has opened up that place.

“There are so many different levels [in the club],” he says. “You can come along having never picked up a football before, with no idea of the rules.

“We have the experienced players, and we also have social players as well, like myself. I will not be playing in the championship but I do enjoy the training from the social aspect. I'm basically getting myself fit and healthy, learning new skills, and meeting a great bunch of people.”

Kinsella has been surprised by the warmth of the GAA community’s embrace. Glenville have been “super welcoming”, like Rochestown. Both have provided challenge games, and post-match tea and sandwiches.

“When you're going into the GAA, you kind of have certain opinions about it, being very masculine and stuff like that. 'It's a men's competition for men', and you might think that they think, 'oh God, who's this inclusive LGBT club trying to play a match with us?’

“You doubt yourself and might form opinions. To be honest, they were all false based on the relationships we've formed.

“You would be a bit apprehensive going to play a challenge match against a club that's been going for years, playing against players that have been playing football for 15 years. They're all in their mid-twenties, fit as fiddles.”

Na Laochra Aeracha, Cork’s first LGBTQ+ inclusive GAA club, was founded by Kinsella and Aaron Kelly, their chairperson and head coach, in October 2023.

In their first ever challenge game against Rochestown, Na Laochra Aeracha surprised their opposition, maybe surprised themselves, losing on a respectable scoreline Kinsella recalls as 0-15 to 0-8.

The club now has 50 – 60 members, mostly men. Increasing female participation is an aim. Last week, they held training sessions for hurling and camogie. Numbers for the latter were encouraging.

Initially, the club attracted those from the city’s gay community but it has since become a magnet for those from rural Cork seeking a social and sporting outlet.

“Half the club has never played Gaelic football in their lives,” says Kinsella.

“We have a training regime in place now for new starters to get them up to speed with the very, very basics, but keeping it fun as well. You know, we don't want to scare them off.”

From the beginning, they sought to make the club free of charge, wishing to keep barriers to participation down. They got funding from Cork Sports Partnership, Sporting Pride Ireland and Cork County Council along the way but money is a worry. Kinsella estimates it will cost €10,000 to run the club this year. They train at the Glen Sports Centre but a place to call their own would make life easier.

“Because we're so new, we just don't have any facilities, which is a limiting factor in terms of funding, reaching out for grants; a lot of the grants out there won't even look at you if you don't have actual grounds,” he says.

“It kind of limits our pot that we can apply for. We don't have facilities because we don't have money and we can't apply for money if we don't have facilities. It's a bit of a chicken-and-the-egg situation.

“Some of the clubs have offered to share with us, but that gets a bit awkward in terms of balancing between when they want to use it and we want to.”

Last year, they received sponsorship from a gay bar in Cork which they used purchase jerseys. Vibe is on the front but that bar no longer exists.

“The sponsorship issue is a bit of a concern for us at the moment because we invested in that relationship last year and it's kind of all fallen apart now,” says Kinsella.

“A lot of our members are students. They don't have a lot of money and we don't want to be deterring people from joining just because they can't afford to give us €5 a week. We need to try and get funding from somewhere.”

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