For Dublin footballer Lindsay Peat, the 2010 All-Ireland football final was a day of mixed emotions.
In her third year with the panel, Peat did not carry quite the same baggage many of her teammates did from years of near misses and failed attempts to win the Brendan Martin Cup.
Peat had been brought into the panel in the late 2000s, after struggling with her motivation as a basketball player off the back of mental health struggles during her time in college. Her time with the Dublin team would prove to be a blessing, and she was part of the team that won the Dubs' first ever Ladies' All-Ireland football title in 2010.
A legend in three codes (she would go on to play in a Rugby World Cup for Ireland, and won a basketball National Cup in the same year as that All-Ireland triumph), Peat is the subject of this week's Laochra Gael episode on TG4.
15 January 2024; Former Dublin ladies footballer Lindsay Peat attends the launch of TG4's award-winning Laochra Gael series at the Light House Cinema in Dublin as the Gaelic sport biography series returns for another season. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
The 2010 All-Ireland final was of course a central part of the programme, though Peat revealed it was not an entirely positive day in her career.
In the documentary which aired on Thursday night, Peat revealed that she was subjected to a homophobic slur during the football final, at a time when the Dublin star had not publically spoken about her sexuality.
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Lindsay Peat was targeted by homophobic slur during maiden Dublin All-Ireland win
Lindsay Peat revealed that a member of the opposing Tyrone team that day had used a homophobic slur towards her mid-game, saying that a line was firmly crossed.
However, she chose to use the shocking incident to motivate her further, and her and the Dublin team ran out victorious that day in Croke Park:
"There's a lot of mouthing that goes on in sport," Peat said in this week's episode of Laochra Gael, "people will try and annoy you and say stuff and vice versa, but there's a line that you cross. I was called a dirty d*ke.
"I was very disappointed and hurt that that line was crossed.
"But I remember going to Tommy Brown, who was our assistant coach, and I was like, 'I want the ball. I want the ball now. I want to really make her life hell in a footballing sense.'"
The shocking incident of homophobia on the pitch was made all the worse for Peat, as she had not publicly come out at the time.
6 August 2011; Lindsay Peat, Dublin. TG4 Ladies Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 2 Qualifier, Dublin v Galway, St Brendan's Park, Birr, Co. Offaly. Picture credit: Matt Browne / SPORTSFILE
She decided off the back of that 2010 final, however, to reveal her sexuality to her friends and family at her 30th birthday party just a month later. Though she was somewhat taken aback by the lack of surprised reactions in the room, she still found the moment to be hugely cathartic:
"I hate being disingenuous or lying. I can't lie. I was carrying this lie around me was the way I felt with it.
"I had a surprise 30th [a month after the All-Ireland] and it was fancy dress. At the end of the night I got up with the mic and thanked everyone. I said, 'I want to give a big thank you to my girlfriend for organising the party.' That's basically when I officially came out to anyone who didn't know.
"I was probably expecting this big, dramatic gasp...people just went on about their night! Whether they knew or whatever else - but it wasn't about everyone else. It was about me.
"I felt brave in that moment to be able to finally say, 'this is me. I am who I am.' It was a huge weight off my shoulders. I remember lying - pretty intoxicated, after a great night! - and having such relief that it wasn't as daunting as I'd built it up in my head."
Lindsay Peat would go on to play in another All-Ireland final with Dublin in 2014, though her two goals could not see the side over the line, as Cork came from ten points back to break Dub hearts in Peat's final game in blue.
Speaking to Balls.ie ahead of the launch of the Laochra Gael documentary this week, Peat shared her hope that the world of Gaelic football today would not see the same homophobic abuse thrown around by players:
I would hope not. As I said it’s a line that’s crossed and I would have no doubt that that was just something that just came out to poke the bear.
As I said it’s the only time thankfully that I’ve had that, so I suppose that’s a question for the greater community who are still involved now. But I think now with our understanding of people, their sexuality and just an all-round etiquette that you should have, especially as a top-class athlete as a role model.
It’s not always to be perfect, I’m not sitting here whiter than white, I’m human and I’ve made many mistakes and I’ll make many more. Human nature is human nature but it's about educating and making sure as much as we can if there are incidents that need to be taken further that they are.
But yeah, I think education is the part and having the tough conversations, and I have seen the evolution of that over the years and that’s a positive for me.
As I said, we sit in a world where not only this, there’s greater political issues happening outside and I think the fabulous thing about sport for me is an understanding of the variety of humans, human nature and how they decide to live their life, and that’s fascinating for me…
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