Cumann an Phiarsaigh/Patrick Pearse’s GAC in North Belfast is a club with rich tradition and history.
Founded in 1951, the club has gone through a number of ups and downs since then, having won an Antrim Senior Football Championship, gone through the tribulations of folding their senior football team, and experiencing a resurgence in recent years which has seen the senior men’s team lift the Antrim Junior Football Championship.
Over the last few years, Pearse’s has seen phenomenal growth in the female section of the club.
In December 2021, the club joined the Ladies Gaelic Football Association for the first time. This was prompted by the foundation of a Gaelic 4 Mothers & Others team which grew from humble beginnings into a thriving, fun and critical part of the club.
From this team, the club found coaches, committee members, fundraisers, supporters, and so much more. It really sparked to life the LGFA section with a bang and now ladies who joined as strangers are close friends.
Last year, as the G4MO team grew and competed in blitzes across Ireland from Dublin to Donegal, the girl’s underage section of the club began to flourish.
Action from Pearse's v St Paul's, Holywood 
Pearse’s now boast girls’ teams at U6, U8, U10, U12 and U14. Having competed in a blitz at Croke Park, half-time games in Antrim fixtures, away days and countless matches throughout the year, the young Pearse’s girls are the talk of the town.
A highlight of the past few months and a sign that the club was moving in the right direction was Aoibhea Stanton being selected for the U14 Antrim panel.
Aoibhea will lead the U14 girls’ team as captain into their league season in April, ably assisted by vice-captain Casey McTasney.
In the 72 years the club has been in existence there has never been a senior ladies team. Until now.
There was a quiet belief that ladies who were competing at G4MO were more than capable of playing at a higher level.
After a meeting in Cassidy’s Bar, it was agreed that the club were to pursue this quiet belief and form the first-ever senior ladies’ team in the club’s history.
Philip Parker got to work as ladies' manager with senior men’s player and Antrim 2022 All-Star nominee Cormac O’Neill taking up the role as assistant manager.
It is an amazing thing to see a team form where there was none before. Players such as Lola Donaghy, Lara Bannon, Ciara Stanton, Roisín Stanton, Kathy Stanton and Éimear Stanton followed family tradition by wearing the green and gold jersey of Pearse’s.
Maggie Moyes, Nicole Lowry, Lauren Doherty and Kelly-Jane O’Neill aim to show their partners that the talent is on the female side of those relationships.
Rhiannan McVeigh adds pace to the team as she becomes a role model for her younger sister and U14 player, Ellen.
Sinead McLarnon adds a depth of leadership and experience from playing high-level basketball and netball that can be seen immediately when you watch her on the football pitch.
Aisling McNeil and Courtney Swandell provide the foundations that the team has been built upon on and off the pitch.
Aoife Griffin and Chantelle Hutchinson who developed from G4MO players to key senior players will be sorely missed when they move to Spain for six months, but we hope to see them play in our colours again sooner rather than later.
While Cat Liggett, a former youth player, has joined again to expertly mind the sticks, while players like Aine Wisdom, Aisling Graham, Cherise Stilges, Ellene Rossi, Erin Agnew, Genevieve Morris, Laura Boyd, Laura Saunders, and Sarah Henry have joined to help turn a group of players into a real squad who will no doubt make everyone associated with the club proud to watch them develop this year.
On March 23, 2023, the senior ladies played their first-ever game and in it, they wore their new kit aptly sponsored by Cassidy’s Bar - the very place where the idea of forming the team was conceived.
Pearse’s hosted St Paul’s, Holywood a team who formed only a few years previous and lay the blueprint for the development of where Pearse’s want to go over the next couple of games.
A crowd of over 50 people turned up to get a glance at the ladies taking to the pitch for the first time. They were not disappointed.
Captain, Ciara Stanton, following in her daughter Aoibhea’s footsteps, and vice-captain Lauren Doherty led a team of novices onto the Cricky and they fought their hardest for the full game.
St Paul’s showed their experience with some great scores in the first half while the North Belfast side defended heroically.
In the second half the home side built momentum carving out multiple chances and drawing cheers from the crowd.
Sustained pressure led to the moment of the match after a precise ball into the forward line by Lauren Doherty was contested by Lola Donaghy before it broke to Nicole Lowry who got in front of her marker expertly to knock the ball into space before slotting a low right footed shot into the bottom corner to the elation of the supporters who came out to watch history.
Cumann an Phiarsaigh/Patrick Pearse’s GAC has always been a club that values family. The close-knit feel of the club, the feeling that anyone would do anything for everyone and the senior players being role models within the club for the younger generations coming through are things that will always be central to the club’s ethos.
For years, young male players have had role models to look up to. Now the young female members of the club do too. Well done, Ladies!
If you would like to get involved in ladies’ football in North Belfast, all levels and abilities are welcome at Pearse’s from U6 to U14, G4MO and Senior. Contact Phil Parker (07856949435) for further information.
