GAA players are being encouraged to wear rainbow-coloured GAA gloves as part of a new campaign by the National Union of Students-Union of Students in Ireland (NUS-USI) to promote LGBT rights.
The gloves, which will sport a rainbow flag, are to be manufactured by gaelic football glove manufacturer Murphy’s. All proceeds from the sales will be split between mental health charity Aware Northern Ireland and the Rainbow Project, which is the largest support and advocacy group for the LGBT community in Northern Ireland.
The scheme comes as the campaign for marriage equality in Northern Ireland gathers pace, with students leading calls for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in the state.
The latest scheme from NUS-USI aims to tackle depression and anxiety among LGBT athletes. Members of the LGBT community are more likely to suffer from depression and mental health issues and the hyper-competitive nature of sports can often create an environment where verbal sledging is commonplace.
The recent “Out in Sport” NUS-USI student survey found that 20.5 per cent of LGBT students who participate in sports who are not out are worried that their sexual orientation might result in verbal or physical abuse. The survey also found that only 36.6 per cent of students surveyed agreed that college equality policies on sport were visible at their institution.
Aiming to utilise the unique presence and enormous profile of the GAA, “Share the gLove” hopes to create a forum for discussion of mental health. The scheme also offers an opportunity for all GAA players, from club players to the elite stars of the inter-county scene, to show their solidarity with the LGBT community.
Speaking at the launch of the scheme, Ruairí Mooney, one of the founders of the campaign and the Vice-President of St Mary’s Students’ Union Belfast, spoke about the goals of the campaign: “This initiative will help everyone to feel accepted and welcome into the GAA community.” Openly gay and lesbian players in the GAA are in a tiny minority. Former Cork goalkeeper and all star Donal Óg Cusack, who came out in his autobiography Come What May in 2009, is one of the few top-level players to have discussed his experiences.
A member of the Eoghan Rua club in Coleraine, Mooney is keenly aware of the platform that the GAA can provide. “The Share the gLove campaign will aim to use the high profile platform that GAA sports provides to show solidarity and support for LGBT+ players and fans. Share the gLove provides an open goal for people to show their support for the LGBT+ community as well as the mental health charity, Aware NI.”
Conor Loughran, LGBT officer for NUS-USI, who was also speaking at the launch, discussed his excitement over the plan: “Share the gLove is a very innovative and positive initiative which we hope will capture the imagination of the Gaelic sports world and wider society too. We want to see as many people wearing the gloves and promoting Share the gLove as possible on social media and elsewhere, so that it can have the biggest impact possible.”
