Eoghan Cormican: 'I never felt entirely comfortable when dressing room craic went into a machismo direction. I withdrew, and waited for the moment to pass'

Irish Examiner

13-06-2025

I was fortunate enough to be in attendance at last week's Gaelic Players Association Pride brunch.
Two good friends, Mary White and Valerie Mulcahy, were heading from Cork and asked if I'd like to join them. I'd been aware of the event in previous years but work and life had always conspired to get in the way. Last Monday, the decks were cleared for the 7am train to Heuston.
Full disclosure from the throw-in: I attended the event not as a sportswriter, but as a gay man. And attending as such, it was never my intention to write about the day's happenings. This was not a day of chasing stories untold, this was a day of celebrating stories no longer untold.
But such were the day's happenings, and such was the courage and strength on display from the men in the room, I'd be letting myself down if I didn't use my platform to follow some bit in their lead.
The centrepiece of the event was a panel discussion featuring Armagh footballer Mark Shields and Tyrone club footballer Kevin Penrose, moderated by Tyrone half-forward Conor Meyler.
Conor's allyship of the LGBTQ+ community is well known. Kevin's story of coming out and self-acceptance is known to anyone who's been lucky enough to hear his chat with Thomas Niblock and Oisín McConville on the BBC's GAA Social podcast.
And then to Mark. Mark intrigued me simply because I and most others present did not know his story. We didn't know it because he'd never told his story in a public forum before. His body language and twitching atop the high stool he sat spoke of a man nervous in doing so.
Utterly understandable, mind. Wouldn't you be nervous if it was you bridging a 16-year gap to the last time a male inter-county player opened up about their sexuality.
When Donal Óg Cusack pioneered as he did all those years ago, I doubt anyone thought it would be 2025 before a second male inter-county player came after. Ireland and its relationship with the gay community has changed beyond recognition in the intervening 16 years.
So changed, in fact, that one argument has routinely been put forward in more recent times as to the lack of representation at inter-county level and why there isn't necessarily a need for these players to share their sexuality with a wider audience.
The argument goes that if an inter-county hurler or footballer is comfortable with his sexuality, and his teammates are aware, accepting, and supportive of his sexuality, why then is there a need to broadcast to the masses?
I sat in admiration and deep respect of Mark as shared his story last Monday, as he shared his struggles and the verbal abuse he was subjected to. I thought to myself, as I'm sure most others in the room did too, that Mark's story - his journey - needed to be heard far beyond the walls of the Blas Cafe.
His story, his struggles, and his now openness is why representation and visibility are imperative. It's why representation and visibility will remain imperative until gay men lining out on the highest steps of the GAA ladder becomes a social norm, as has been the case on the female side of the house for several years.
Mark, from atop his high stool, spoke of keeping his relationship hidden from team-mates for four years. He spoke of how language used in dressing-rooms in years past was hurtful. He spoke of disengaging and retreating into himself when the 'banter' flowed in the Armagh dressing-room. He spoke of the language and abuse directed at him on the field, of opponents remarking how they needed to be careful not to bend over in front of him.
'It was a daunting task coming out, about 10-12 years ago. The culture has changed within society, within the group in Armagh. The language used around the group is changing. There's people standing up for people, for myself in the group, whereas maybe that didn't happen that much before. I think the culture is changing within the GAA itself.'
Changing, yes, but space still for the dial to move further. From listening to Mark and speaking to others, it's clear that a sizeable portion of straight men aren't self-regulating their own language until they know there is a gay man further down the dressing-room bench.
It would be remiss of me here not to add in my own experience, albeit from a much, much lower step of the GAA ladder than Mark. Played club hurling up to my late 20s. Sat in a few different dressing-rooms along the way. Never felt entirely comfortable when the conversation and the craic went into a machismo direction. Withdrew, waited for the moment to pass.
AWARD WINNER: Eoghan Cormican being recognised by the Camogie Association for his coverage of the code. He is pictured alongside Una Dunne and then president of the Camogie Association, Kathleen Woods.
Conor Meyler was brilliant on this language piece at the Pride brunch. The requirement for greater self-awareness. The requirement to foster an inclusive environment not after but before a teammate opens up.
It was lost on nobody at the event that Conor, Kevin, and Mark were making these points to a room predominantly full of women, even though the invite went to all.
The same as Mark, my coming out took place several years ago. I have, though, never written about it until now. I guess I just wanted in some small way to add to the momentum of last Monday, to reinforce the point that while it is no longer any great revelation for a male inter-county player to share publicly their sexuality, sport and society still needs a Mark Shields.
By his actions and his words this week, Mark did both the GAA and LGBTQ+ communities a fine and invaluable service.
In this the business end of an inter-county season where his Armagh team are attempting to successfully defend Sam Maguire, he willingly assumed role model status in colours not just orange. In this Pride month, he sent a powerful reminder to any person struggling as he once did that you can happily and confidently exist as a member of both communities. One need never be kept hidden from the other.
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