Aileen Gilroy's plea for a ticket to Sunday's All-Ireland final between Dublin and Mayo struck a chord with GAA fans across the country.
Here was Mayo's vice-captain, who came within a hair's breadth versus Dublin of reaching the promised land herself, only for that dream to be undone by a sensational Sinéad Aherne free at the buzzer. Just two weeks later, Aileen has no means of watching her male inter-county counterparts attempt to go one better on Sunday afternoon.
And she's not the only one, according to iconic Mayo footballer Cora Staunton. Speaking on a special edition of Balls.ie's GAA podcast The Hard Shoulder, the nine-time All Star revealed that she had 'sourced' a ticket for Sunday via connections in the GAA, but that a number of the Mayo ladies panel which reached this year's All-Ireland semi-final are currently without them:
There's definitely no procedure in ways where 30 members of our panel get tickets. I suppose I became lucky enough that I'm well known, and I probably have a few more contacts within the GAA than most people would have, so I have sourced tickets that way - but that's sourcing tickets through people that I know, who are heavily involved in the GAA, that have looked after me.
But with the rest of the panel, you're hoping that your men's club - because we're separate clubs, obviously - you'd be hoping that you can put your name down with your men's club. But most of the time they don't give you a ticket.
Staunton, herself a four-time All-Ireland winner since making her Senior debut for Mayo in 1995 (yes, at the age of 13), elaborated on the current ticketing system in Mayo, whereby members of the inter-county ladies panel are left to chance their arms with the men's clubs while simultaneously chasing down their own avenues.
It strikes as remarkable that these players, who just last month put their bodies on the line in county colours, have to jump through the same hoops as the average GAA punter (or senator), but Staunton explains that it's par for the course.
It's girls sourcing favours from people that they might know or that they've met through the GAA, but the likes of Aileen - and I know there's a lot of other girls - have been looking to get tickets and, again, it might be a thing that they'll get one on Saturday or Sunday morning.
The men's club don't have to give us tickets. I can put my name down on the list for Ballintubber, but that doesn't mean I'll get a ticket. In 2012 I got a ticket off them, and in 2013 I didn't. So that's the nature of the game.
That's not to say the issue sits well with the legendary Mayo forward, however. Staunton is a firm believer in GAA players being acknowledged - and indeed respected - for their efforts throughout the season, not least when taking to one field with their county while trying to balance a full-time job in the other.
The concept of 'expenses' is an alien one in ladies GAA; it effectively costs women money to play their chosen sport. Having blazed a trail for her craft for over two decades, Staunton finds it difficult to comprehend how, as things stand three days before the final, some of her teammates simply don't possess a means of attending Sunday's game - particularly when their countymen are involved in Croker:
What I think is that, whoever the two men's teams that are competing - so Mayo and Dublin are obviously competing for this All-Ireland - that each member of the Mayo Senior women's team and the Dublin Senior women's team should at least get the option to buy one, if not two, tickets.
We're after putting in nine-and-a-half months of really intense training for Mayo - three or four times, five times a week. And not to even have the option to buy a ticket... And [we're] putting so much more back into the GAA, so much of our free time that people don't see - with your club and everything.
And different things that you go right throughout the county to help with, and may I say, most of the time free of charge; that you don't even have the option to buy a ticket, and girls like that have to go on a social media campaign to find a ticket - I find it kind of sad, in this day and age.
Earlier today, Senator Michelle Mulherin labelled the GAA's policy regarding ticket allocation "clear discrimination...in relation to members of the Oireachtas". She was speaking after GAA Director General Paraic Duffy refused her request for tickets via a letter which found its way to the Irish Independent.
Staunton has no issue with politicians requesting tickets, but suggests those who partake in GAA and proudly represent the sport be prioritised, rather than face battles with public figures, sponsors and corporations in the race to Croker:
You're hearing this morning on the radio that senators are giving out that they don't receive a ticket. Well, yeah, I'm not saying they're not entitled to it - but we're the roots and branches of the GAA. We're the ones out on the pitch every day. I'm the one taking underage girls for training, or going to medal presentations for boys and girls. And maybe to not be acknowledged with a simple ticket for an All-Ireland final, or being asked 'would you like to buy one'... Yeah, it's quite disheartening.
Our full interview with Cora Staunton will feature on next week's Hard Shoulder podcast, where we preview the Ladies All-Ireland final between Cork and Dublin. Tune in to hear Cora chat about making her Senior inter-county debut aged 13, scoring 9-12 in a club game last year, and - crucially - her inter-county future after an incredible 22-year career.
