THE Ladies Gaelic Football Association honoured the 20 graduates from its inaugural ‘Learn to Lead’ Female Leadership programme at The Croke Park last Saturday evening (February 15th).
The LGFA Leadership Programme was devised to develop the next generation of female leaders within Ladies Gaelic Football – and the 20 participants embarked on a wonderful journey over the course of 12 months.
The course was delivered by experts in the fields of coaching, officiating, administration and PR/Media.
Over four days, and six evenings, the LGFA examined diverse leadership skills and focused on the skill-sets and techniques required to master each of the four strands – coaching, officiating, administration and PR/Media.
Five candidates were chosen to participate in each strand – and the list of 20 included leading coaches, officials, administrators and players, representing the four provinces.
The Programme commenced on Saturday, March 23, 2019, and concluded last Saturday with the Final Leadership Day at Croke Park, followed by graduation at The Croke Park, where the keynote speaker was Joan Kehoe, Global Head of Alternative Investment Services at JP Morgan.
Pedro Angulo, AIB’s Organisational Effectiveness Specialist and Head of Leadership Development, and Niamh McElwain, Manager and Leader Development at Google, delivered the Final day of course content, before the participants retired to the Hotel to reflect upon their achievements.
In 2018, the LGFA launched its Strategic Roadmap 2017-2022 and a key area is to ‘define a model to promote Female Leadership across the Association.’
The first step was to put a Female Leadership Workgroup in place and, there, the need for a Female Leadership Programme was identified, as part of the overall Female Leadership strategy.
Ladies Gaelic Football Association President Marie Hickey, who presented the participants with their commemorative medallions at the Graduation evening, commented: “We were delighted to honour our ‘Learn To Lead’ graduates on Saturday evening.
“Each and every one of them engaged passionately and whole-heartedly with the programme, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
“This was another significant development for our Association, with superb candidates in each of the four strands, and I’m sure that we will seeing and hearing from them long into the future.
“The journey for the graduates didn’t end on Saturday evening – it’s only just beginning.”
The full list of graduates, and the strands in which they participated, reads as follows:
| Name | Club | County | Strand |
| Sinead Reel | Silverbridge Harps | Armagh | Administration |
| Eileen Jones | Aodh Ruadh, Dungannon | Tyrone | Administration |
| Trina Murray | Moate | Westmeath | Administration |
| Liz Ahern | Carrigtwohill | Cork | Administration |
| Eimear O’Connor | Mountrath | Laois | Administration |
| Diane O’Hora | Clanna Gael Fontenoy | Dublin/Mayo | Coaching |
| Jennifer Higgins | Western Gaels | Roscommon | Coaching |
| Ailbhe Quinn | Latton Ladies GFC | Monaghan | Coaching |
| Olivia Butler | St Pat’s | Waterford | Coaching |
| Donna Hagan | Kildress Wolfe Tones | Tyrone | Coaching |
| Kelley Cunningham | Tullamore | Offaly | Officiating |
| Gráinne Sands | Glenn John Martins | Down | Officiating |
| Aisling Carey | Shandonagh Mullingar | Westmeath | Officiating |
| Mairead Dullea | Bantry Blues | Cork | Officiating |
| Sinead McHugh | Kilmacud Crokes | Donegal | Officiating |
| Nadine Doherty | Na Fianna (Dublin) | Donegal | PR/Media |
| Michelle Ryan | Ballymacarbry | Waterford | PR/Media |
| Niamh Dunne | Park Ratheniksa | Laois | PR/Media |
| Denise Masterson | Ballymun Kickhams | Dublin | PR/Media |
| Bríd Stack | Rockchapel | Cork | PR/Media |
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