Each week we shine the spotlight on an inspiring woman in Ireland and this week we’re chatting to Emily Glen, co-founder of the Fair Game podcast.
Emily and Elaine Buckley set up the podcast in 2016, with the focus of it being on Irish women in sports.
Emily is now joined by co-host, Seana Cooke as they give a platform to women in sports and chat through some important topics facing sporting women.
1. What inspired you to create the Fair Game podcast?
It was a joint venture of Elaine Buckley and myself – tired of giving out about the lack of media coverage that Irish female athletes were getting, we decided to stop complaining and try make a positive change. We were both avid podcast listeners and there were no sports podcasts with an exclusive focus on Irish female athletes at the time, and the podcast model fit our limited resources – so Fair Game was born! Seana Cooke co-hosts it now and brings her own amazing perspective as a former Irish international to interviews.
2. Do you think the interest in women in sports has grown in recent years?
Definitely. Fair Game first launched in 2016 and at the time, it was really hard work to be a fan of women’s sports in Ireland. Governing bodies’ websites would go without updates for seasons – sometimes years! – media coverage was fairly non-existent and sponsors had yet to realise that women’s sports teams were the dream investment. Since then, there have been some big changes.
Media has really galvanised behind female athletes and the number of female sports journalists has grown too. Sponsors of Irish women’s teams & athletes have been game changing. And Irish sports fans have risen to the occasion, record breaking attendance figures show up for events like Ladies All Ireland Final in Croke Park and the recent Ireland women’s rugby team hosted a record crowd for a standalone women’s game in Energia Park for their game against France.
There’s Fionnuala McCormack (Britton) lining up with her @irishathletics teammates as they head off to compete in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships this Saturday morning. It’ll be streamed online, see @iaaforg for the deets ???????? pic.twitter.com/MbUN0kb2jg
— FAIR GAME Podcast (@FairGameCast) March 28, 2019
3. Do you think that Irish sporting women are celebrated enough?
Irish sports women are incredible, I’m not sure we’ll ever celebrate them enough. But seeing their achievements be celebrated is brilliant – watching Kellie Harrington’s civic reception as the Dubliner brought home a gold medal from the World Championships was incredible. And everyone remembers seeing the Irish Women’s Hockey Team belting out Christmas classics in the middle of August as they celebrated their semi-final finish in the FIH Hockey World Cup in 2018.
It’s only right that the achievements of our heroines are celebrated, but it shouldn’t just be their achievements we mark. Just 3% of sport’s print coverage, just 4% of sport’s online coverage and just 2% of TV sport coverage in Ireland is dedicated to women’s sport. There are so many brilliant stories that aren’t being told, yet.
4. What advice would you give to young girls who might be self conscious about playing a sport because of their gender?
If there’s one common thread that runs through the stories of Ireland’s most accomplished female athletes talk about their histories, it’s the joy they find in the practice of their sport. Sport will make you confident, so just take the first step. And find the sport that you find fun – maybe it’s trampolining, maybe it’s hockey, maybe it’s running.
5. What do you hope people will take from your podcast?
Our episodes are deep dives with Irish female athletes, talking about issues such as injury, nutrition, periods. No issue is off limits! We hope you learn something new, join the conversation on Twitter and maybe go show your support for the team or athlete too.
6. If you could have any guest on your podcast, who would it be and why?
Sonia O’Sullivan. She’s an icon.
7. Why do you think it’s important to give women in sport a platform to speak about their careers?
It’s not just the quantity of media about female athletes that matters; it’s the quality too. We need a media environment that reflects the full spectrum of women’s interests & produces content to feed those habits. The stories of our female athletes need to be told authentically for them to really showcase their brilliance.
8. Do you think that there is still a lot of sexism in sport?
Last week a journalist was grabbed and forcibly kissed by one of the bloodied boxers she was interviewing. A photo of a player in the Australian Women’s Football League was removed from the website of a national network after sexist and misogynistic comments were made on the photo. Those are just two examples from the last two weeks. Sexism in sport is still alive & well, but we’re winning the war against it.
9. What do you hope for the future of Irish women in sport?
There is so much action going on for Irish female athletes – not least as the 2020 Olympics is just around the corner! With so many athletes and fans alike taking on the 20×20 campaign pledge to #ShowYourStripes, there is just no end of amazing things going on for Irish women in sport. My hopes for the future? Fair Game for Irish Sportswomen.
You can check out Fair Game on Twitter, Instagram and listen to the podcast on various streaming platforms.
