'GAA can lead gender equality campaign' - Meyler

Conor Meyler helped Tyrone win the 2021 All-Ireland Football title

Conor Meyler's own GAA career may be on hold because of injury, but during his lengthy time out he is passionately throwing himself into something he hopes will help bring long-lasting and positive change to the sport he loves.

The 2021 Tyrone All-Ireland winner is currently undertaking a PhD in sport, leadership and gender which is particularly aimed at examining the lack of genuine equality for women in Gaelic Games and indeed wider sport on this island.

During a 2024 which included two knee operations plus an Achilles injury, Meyler's research took him down to Australia and New Zealand last year as he visited Australian Rules and rugby franchises to see how they are approaching gender equality in their sports.

And with Saturday's International Women's Day looming, the Omagh St Enda's club-man talked about some of his research findings at Monday's launch of Sport NI's 'Be Seen, Be Heard, Belong' campaign aimed at supporting women and girls to find their place in sport.

"When Sport NI launched this, it was definitely something I was keen to be involved with," Meyler told BBC Sport NI.

"I suppose the first thing I wanted to find out was whether there was an action plan, more follow-up with it and seeing that and knowing that this is hopefully going to have a lasting impact for women and girls in sport, definitely made me want to get involved."

Official Gaelic Games integration is scheduled to happen in 2027 with the amalgamation of the Gaelic Athletic Association, Ladies Gaelic Football Association and the Camogie Association.

Meyler says it is vitally important it becomes a reality on the ground and not just at the top table.

"I still struggle to stand over and say that we've got the best organisation in the world, when the opportunity provided to young girls and women is very different than boys and men," says the Omagh man who turned 30 last September.

"That's the vision, that every club is a one-club and every county is a one-county and at national level we're integrated. Then on a wider scale, what we do in sport has a knock on impact on society and how we treat women in sport.

"Our largest sporting organisation is still run by men and boys for men and boys, then there's a kind of ripple effect into society.

"The opportunities we give to women in sport has a knock on effect to society and that's just a healthier place to be and a healthier culture that we hopefully start to create here in Ireland."

Meyler says he was "naive and ignorant to the inequality that exists in sport for a long time"

But Meyler admits it is not an easy task almost trying to over-turn history.

"If we go back and this is part of the research for me now, sport was created by men for men.

"All the values, systems, behaviours and beliefs were for men and it was a way for men to sort of show their masculinity and male dominance, strength, power...things we associate with men. Women's sporting organisations came a lot later."

In the case of ladies GAA, the Camogie Association was founded in 1904 - 20 years after the GAA's foundation in Thurles - with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association not arriving until 1974.

"It's a case of can we change sport to suit rather that just add women to men's sport and stir and hope for the best," adds the Tyrone footballer.

"It has to be that we change sport, make it more inclusive, create the opportunities and facilities for the 50% of the population and also fund it because at the minute those opportunities still aren't there."

'Women must be in leadership roles'

Meyler admits young boys are also opting out of sport but he insists not at level of girls because of the particular lack of opportunities for young females.

"I was very naive and ignorant to the inequality that existed for a long time until I started the PhD and got my eyes opened to some of the barriers that existed.

"Being a sports person, you're very narrow minded and selfish at times and growing up in a house and an environment and a club where women were given opportunities, you weren't directly seeing any imbalance.

"It probably wasn't until I began the research that I realised that and then there was probably a moral sense of justice that I could do something here that had a wider impact and not just for me."

Meyler is convinced the GAA can play a particularly transformational role in helping the island of Ireland foster genuine gender equality.

"We could be a leader in pushing women's sport and promoting gender equality. For me it's just giving those opportunities.

"It's actually getting women around the table and into leadership positions where they can impact change.

"That's the thing for me. Can we get the right people? The right people create the right structures and systems and the right structures and systems will create the right long-lasting cultural impact and men are very important in driving that."

Meyler believes that Tyrone can contend for this year's All-Ireland title under new manager Malachy O'Rourke

As regards his own recovery from injury, Meyler admits that being forced out of the entire 2024 campaign was "mentally really tough" but believes he is going to get back into the Omagh and Tyrone jerseys.

"From a young age, the dream was always to play for Tyrone and while you've managed to do that and play for as long as possible, I still feel like I've a lot to offer if I can get the body right.

"At the minute, it's just a case of accepting whatever comes. I'm doing as much as I can, doing the right things.

"I've a lot of really good people around me which is good. Part of a really good set-up and some of my best friends are up there as well so I want to stick it out as long as I can and throw everything at it and hopefully get back on the pitch this season."

While he may not be involved this year, Meyler believes Tyrone can again contend for All-Ireland honours after a comparatively lean three seasons since their Sam Maguire triumph in 2021.

"I think from a Tyrone perspective, there's excitement because we know we've got such good quality [players].

"We have the new management and the backroom team that are certainly going to spark something as well.

"And as a county, we're very fortunate to have the resources and the facilities that we have as well so we've a lot of things going for us. It's just a case of getting it all to gel now."