Call for support as Birr to play host to ladies league finals double headers

Birr will play host to a Lidl Ladies National Football League final double header on Saturday as both Lidl Ireland and Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) are calling on the public to come out and support live sport.

Grant Heating St Brendan's Park Birr will play host to Carlow and Limerick competing for the Division 4 title at 2pm on Saturday, with Clare and Roscommon facing off for the Division 3 title from 4pm

The Division 3 and 4 finals double-header at St Brendan’s Park sees adult tickets priced €15, Students/OAPs €5, U18s €2 and under 12s go free.

Meanwhile in Croke Park on Sunday, the Division 1 and 2 finals are taking place.

The Croke Park finals double-header on Sunday throws in at 2pm with Kildare and Tyrone facing off in the Division 2 decider while the Division 1 final between Armagh and Kerry gets underway at 4pm.

Ahead of this weekend’s live action, Lidl Ireland and LGFA are calling on the public to ‘Get Behind the Fight’ and fill every seat at every game following stark findings from national research unveiled by Lidl Ireland which found that 59% of Irish people have never attended a live women’s sporting event despite 42% of people stating an interest in attending a female sporting event and three quarters (74%) thinking it is a shame that more people don’t attend.

A staggering 59% of Irish people said they would prefer to watch men’s sport on TV than attend a live female sporting event despite research also showing that the public perceive women’s sport to be of high quality and exciting (53%) and skillful (66%).

When looking at barriers to attending women’s games, almost three quarters (74%) said reasonable ticket pricing was an important driver influencing attendance and over a third (34%) thinking that ticket prices are too high.

With a single ticket for this weekend’s Lidl National Football League clashes giving access to two games at each venue, families can enjoy double the entertainment for less than half the price of a typical family day out to some of Dublin’s other iconic attractions.

Eimear O’Sullivan, Corporate Affairs Director Lidl Ireland & Northern Ireland said: “The Lidl National Football League season kicked off back in January with a compelling call to action to join the fight and support our female athletes by attending more fixtures. There has definitely been positive growth across the leagues and we will continue to build on this momentum. Our research revealed that the perceived cost of attending women’s sporting events can be a barrier, but the LGFA continues to offer great value to spectators across the leagues and, with two action-packed clashes for the price of one this weekend, we’re encouraging families to come out and support our female players and enjoy a top family day out.”

Mícheál Naughton, LGFA President, said: “We’re looking forward to four excellent games of football over the coming weekend, as we get set to crown our 2024 Lidl National League champions. Best wishes to the eight counties involved, who have performed extremely well to get this far.

“To launch the 2024 Lidl National Leagues, our competition sponsors and official retail partner urged fans of our sport to ‘Get Behind the Fight’ and boost attendances at our fixtures. I’m looking forward to seeing big crowds attending our Finals at the weekend, and I anticipate more and more people coming to watch our great games in the coming weeks and months.”