Ring demands respect for women’s football
Players and officials of Mayo clubs with Michael Ring and sponsor Darren Forde from EPC at the official launch of the Mayo Women's Football League in Breaffy House Hotel last week. Pictures: Alison Laredo
Women's football in Mayo is growing and making its mark at the highest levels of the sport. And that growth just doesn't happen – it’s thanks to the commitment from all the volunteers involved across the clubs, League of Ireland director and former sports minister Michael Ring told a capacity crowd at the launch of the Mayo Women's League 2026 season in Breaffy House Hotel.
Speaking on a week where Westport United won the Connacht Under 18 Girls Cup and Saoirse Reynolds from the club scored two goals for Ireland in their Bob Docherty Cup win, Mr Ring also highlighted the number of Mayo players gracing the stage across the country in the League of Ireland.
The standards being set in Mayo are fantastic, he said, paying tribute to all the coaches and volunteers in clubs across the county for their hard work and commitment.
The Mayo Women's League enjoyed a very successful season last year, and this year numbers have risen even more with 17 women's teams signed up to compete, including new and returning clubs Ballinrobe Town, Ballyvary Blue Bombers, Castlebar Celtic and Snugboro United.
Continued growth in the game at all levels, however, puts pressure on a critical resource – referees, a point alluded to by Mayo Women's League chairperson Michael Collins.
The shortage of referees is a problem, he said, and he appealed to clubs to put forward young people to join the referees panel.
The chairperson also highlighted the good working relationship that exists between the women's and schoolboys/girls league in appointing referees for Friday evening senior fixtures.
The launch event was an opportunity for the football community to applaud the appointment of Tommy Rumley as president of the Mayo Women's League.
A firm favourite with everyone, Mr Ring commented on Tommy's commitment to women's football and said he was well deserving of the recognition.
In his address, Mr Ring also commented on the coverage in the media of soccer generally and women's sport.
There is, he said, great interest in soccer in the county but 'sometimes soccer thinks they're the second relations to any other sport in this county'.
“They're not. There's more people playing soccer in this county and country than any other sport,” he said.
And he appealed to the local media – radio and print, saying 'sometimes they are flighted towards one organisation over soccer'.
It's time to fight back a bit and he wanted to say to them, 'there should be the same coverage for women's sport as there is for men's sport or for any other sport, whether it's rugby, Gaelic or anything else'.
In addition to the league kicking off on April 10, Mayo will be in action in the Angela Hearst Inter-League Cup that weekend, secretary Joe King highlighted.
Another initiative coming soon from the league is a coaching programme led by coaching officer Oliver King, he said, which will be rolled out in the next month or so.
An important life-saving message was delivered to clubs at the launch of the Mayo Women's League's 2026 season.
Darren Forde of sponsors Eco-Powered Cabinets has appealed to clubs to check that the defibrillators at their grounds are in full working order as the new season kicks off around the county.
Speaking at the event in Breaffy House Hotel, he revealed a startling statistic from a recent survey of defibs in community settings: 8 out of 10 of the life-saving devices could not be used in the event of an emergency.
Issues varied from them being locked, having out of date or missing pads, or the devices being defective.
The machines need to be ready for use if an emergency arises, he said, appealing to clubs to check their defib today.
Information was also circulated about getting club defibs registered with the National AED Network, which provides the ambulance service with vital information so that in those critical moments after a cardiac arrest, they can be accessed quickly to help save lives. Clubs can register their AED at www.nationalambulanceservice.ie/aed.
Eco-Powered Cabinets are launching a new medical innovation on April 10, with Darren giving delegates from clubs an insight into what is a real game-changer. Full details will be revealed at the official launch but ahead of that, Darren made a presentation of a unit to the league.
This is the second year of the league's partnership with Eco-Powered Cabinets, who are sponsoring the three divisions in the Mayo Women's League along with the cup competitions, and their support is much appreciated by all in the league.
The draws have been made for the Mayo Women's Cup and three divisional cups - Rumley Cup, Mary Walsh Cup and Division 2 Cup. League of Ireland director Michael Ring was on hand for the draws, held at the Mayo Women's League 2026 launch.
First round games in the Mayo Cup will be played on May 15, with the divisional cup quarterfinals on May 29.
Swinford v Manulla, Conn Rangers v Straide & Foxford United.
Swinford or Manulla v Kilmore Conn Rangers or S&F United v Castlebar Town.
Killala v Kiltimagh-Knock United, Castlebar Celtic v Ballina Town.
Westport United v Killala or Kiltimagh-Knock United, Castlebar Celtic or Ballina Town v Ballinrobe Town.
Crossmolina v Glenhest Rovers.
Achill Rovers v Ballyvary Blue Bombers, Crossmolina or Glenhest Rovers v Snugboro United.
Straide & Foxford United v Glenhest Rovers, Swinford v Conn Rangers, Killala v Ballina Town, Crossmolina v Ballyvary Blue Bombers, Ballinrobe Town v Kilmore, Castlebar Town v Snugboro United, Castlebar Celtic v Kiltimagh-Knock United, Westport United v Manulla. (Achill – bye into Shield).
