Why We Created Bláthú: Helping Girls Know They Belong in Sport
By Margaret Walsh, Founder of Féirla, Physiotherapist, Women’s Health Specialist and Mum
When we began creating Bláthú, I knew I didn’t want it to simply be our adult collection made smaller.
As a physiotherapist, a women’s health specialist, someone who has spent more than 20 years around Gaelic Games, and most importantly, as a mother, I think a lot about the messages girls receive as they grow up.
Bláthú pronounced BLAW-hoo means blossoming, developing and coming into bloom.
We chose the name because that is exactly what these years should be about: girls growing in strength, confidence and belief in themselves.
The messages girls receive before anyone says them aloud
Girls don’t suddenly decide one day that sport is no longer for them. The messages often build quietly over time.
They notice who gets the main pitch.
They notice whose match takes priority.
They notice when there are no suitable changing facilities for them.
They notice when the boys’ or men’s teams receive better times, greater recognition and more support.
One incident might appear small, but together they can create a quiet, almost unconscious sense of mis-belonging the feeling that sport is somewhere girls are allowed to be, rather than somewhere they truly belong.
Research from Women in Sport, involving more than 2,000 parents of children aged 5–11, found that girls encounter limiting expectations and gender stereotypes from a very young age. The research concluded that girls need opportunities that are visible, accessible and places where they are genuinely welcomed and equally valued. Read the Women in Sport research.
We can also see this inequality within Irish sport. A peer-reviewed Irish study of 194 female athletes most of whom played Gaelic Games found that 57% expressed concerns about unequal access to pitches and facilities, while 84% had experienced or witnessed men’s teams being given priority. Read the Irish research.
Children see these differences. Whether we intend to or not, we are showing them whose sport matters most.
The drop-off is real
The 2022 Children’s Sport Participation and Physical Activity Study involved 8,881 young people across the island of Ireland. It found that 94% of primary-school girls participated in school sport at least once a week, but this fell to 65% among post-primary girls. In girls-only schools, participation dropped from 95% at primary level to 60% at post-primary level. Read the CSPPA 2022 report.
Sport Ireland also reports that just 7% of girls aged 14–15 meet recommended physical activity levels. Its research found that the most powerful barrier for inactive teenage girls was feeling that they were simply not good enough to join in. By 13–15, many had already labelled themselves “not sporty.” Read Sport Ireland’s Adolescent Girls Get Active research.
Those figures are not just statistics. They represent girls losing something that once gave them fun, friendships, confidence and a sense of belonging.
What we want Bláthú to say
We want Bláthú to be part of a wider movement that tells girls from the very beginning:
You deserve to be here.
You deserve the pitch.
You deserve to feel comfortable.
You deserve the same opportunities.
A clothing collection cannot create equal pitch access or change an entire sporting culture. But what we choose to design, name, teach and talk about can send a message.
Bláthú is designed for girls aged 6–13, with comfort, coverage and freedom to move through these important years. As they grow older, we want them to know that Féirla will continue to be there for them with different fits, different choices and period-proof options created around their changing bodies and individual needs.
We want menstrual cycles to be spoken about as a completely normal part of being female not something embarrassing, inconvenient or something girls should have to hide in order to participate.
Most of all, we want girls to grow up knowing that Féirla was created specifically with them in mind. Their bodies are not an afterthought. Their voices matter. Their choices matter. Their sport matters.
That is why we created Bláthú.
Not simply for girls who already feel sporty, but for every girl who deserves the opportunity to discover what sport could give her.
To grow. To belong. To blossom.
Bláthú
Growing Strong. Staying in the Game.
Margaret