In a study commissioned by Sport Ireland, the quango was warned that allowing men to participate in women’s competitions could mark “the beginning of the end for female sport”.
According to Irish media, the study — based on research carried out in 2023 by Australian firm Carbmill Consulting — found unrest among coaches, athletes and sporting bodies about women’s safety, female participation, and fairness over ‘transgender inclusion’.
The Government-funded authority’s ‘Guidance for Transgender and Non-Binary Inclusion in Sport’ was published in 2024. While it acknowledged some of the concerns highlighted in the research, it left sporting bodies to set their own ‘eligibility’ criteria for involvement and competitions.
Funding fears
News outlets said many coaches told the consultancy firm that there would be a significant drop in the number of younger women playing sport if men were allowed to compete against them.
Afraid of losing funding, some national governing bodies indicated they would “only share their honest views on the topic if the consultation process could guarantee that their views would remain confidential”.
Women participating in boxing and martial arts were, the report said, “adamant” that allowing men “to compete against females in their sports was unsafe and possibly unlawful”.
Asked about the report’s findings, Sport Ireland responded: “The inclusion and eligibility of transgender and non-binary people within sport has become an important issue and is attracting increasing scrutiny at a societal level.”
‘Ludicrous’
Earlier this year, Carol Nolan TD called on national governing bodies to ensure that biological males are banned from female-only sports activities.
Nolan said that she believed the ‘tide is turning’ against those “who have dismissed and downplayed the concerns of women and girls when it comes to a level playing ground for sports and athletic competitions”.
“We must have the courage to point out the blatantly obvious; allowing full grown biological men to compete with young women or girls is nothing short of ludicrous.”
The Deputy argued that distinct categories should be created for “persons identifying as transgender or non-binary”, leaving female-only categories “to do what they have always done; cater for girls and women”.
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