Final document 4

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An examination of Irish Footballers Views on the Gender Pay Gap in the
League of Ireland
Title Page
Calum Ennis
C00218253
CW868
Barry O’Driscoll
C00215072
CW868
Dr Fiona Burke BA PhD
Faculty of Business & Humanities
Department of Sport, Media, and Marketing
Bachelor of Arts (Hons) ManagementPractice 2020

ii
An examination of Irish Footballers Views on the Gender Pay Gap in the
League of Ireland
Declaration
Calum Ennis
C00218253
CW868
Barry O’Driscoll
C00215072
CW868
Word Count:
Dr Fiona Burke BA PhD
Submitted in partial fulfilment of requirements for the Bachelor of Arts (Hons)
Management Practice, Instituteof Technology, Carlow.

iii
Table of Contents
Contents
Title Page......................................................................................................................................i
Declaration..................................................................................................................................ii
Table of Contents........................................................................................................................iii
Acknowledgements...................................................................................................................... v
Abstract......................................................................................................................................vi
Chapter 1 Introduction................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 Context and Research Rationale.......................................................................................... 1
1.2 Research Question.............................................................................................................. 1
1.3 Research Objectives............................................................................................................ 1
1.4 Overview of remaining chapters.......................................................................................... 2
Chapter 2 Literature Review.........................................................................................................3
2.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3
2.2 Gender pay gap in foreign countries.................................................................................... 3
2.3 Gender pay gap in sports ....................................................................................................4
2.4 Gender pay gap in the workplace........................................................................................ 5
2.5 Key Issues........................................................................................................................... 6
2.6 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................... 7
Chapter 3 Research Methodology.................................................................................................8
3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 8
3.2 Research Question.............................................................................................................. 8
3.3 Research Objectives............................................................................................................ 8
3.4 Research Approach............................................................................................................. 8
3.5 Secondary Research............................................................................................................ 8
3.6 Primary Research................................................................................................................ 9
3.7Ethical Considerations....................................................................................................... 10
3.8 Limitations ....................................................................................................................... 10
Chapter 4 Findings & Discussion................................................................................................. 11
4.1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 11
4.2 Sample Profile.................................................................................................................. 11
4.3 Findings............................................................................................................................ 11
4.4 Discussion Introduction .................................................................................................... 14

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Chapter 5 Conclusion................................................................................................................. 17
Chapter 6 Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 19
Bibliography.............................................................................................................................. 20
Appendix 1 ................................................................................................................................ 23
Interview Questions............................................................................................................... 23
Appendix 2 – Interview Transcripts............................................................................................. 24
Transcribed Interview with Chloe Moloney............................................................................. 24
Transcribed Interview with Megan Smyth Lynch ..................................................................... 26
Transcribed Interview with Lauryn O’Callaghan....................................................................... 28
Transcribed Interview with Jamie McGrath............................................................................. 30
Transcribed Interview with Shane Barnes ............................................................................... 34
Transcribed Interview with Sean Hurley.................................................................................. 36
Appendix 3 ................................................................................................................................ 38
Information Sheet - Interview................................................................................................. 38
Appendix 4 ................................................................................................................................ 39
Consent Forms....................................................................................................................... 39

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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank the six interviewees who agreed to share their time, knowledge and
experiences with us to allow us to better answer our research question and objectives.
We wouldalsolike to say a huge thanks to our supervisor,FionaBurke,forher continuedassistance
and fantastic guidance throughout the academic year.
A small mention to our family and friends who have supported us throughout this research.

vi
Abstract
The aim of thisresearchis to examine IrishFootballersviewsonthe gender pay gap in the league of
Ireland. The rationale behind this research is to, with greater knowledge from League of Ireland
players that will be interviewed, examine the gender pay gap in the League of Ireland, the reasons
behind such a pay gap, the impacts it has on female players and ideas or solutions to close this pay
gap in the League of Ireland.
As the topic of equal pay in sports has only come to the front-foot of societyin the last decade and
due to itsniche topic, there wasnot much research inrelationto the topic to find.In contrast, there
isagreatdeal of discussioninthe all-roundtopicof thegenderpaygapitself,specificallyinthe general
workplace, which is relevant although not very specific to the topic of the Thesis.
The projectbeganbytryingto explore andunderstandthe keyreasonsforthe genderpaygapinIrish
professionalsoccer,specificallythe League of Ireland.The hope istodevelopafirmunderstandingof
this before using primary research.
Consideringthe previousresearch,throughsecondaryandprimaryresearch,thisnextobjective isto
be focuseduponan examinationof the viewsandattitudesof IrishFootballersonthe pay gap in the
League of Ireland.These maybe positive ornegative andthe researchoutcomesof our interviewees
will be critical to this.
The final objectiveinthisresearchisto, havingconsideredthe previousresearchconducted,identify
and propose some potential viableideasandrecommendationstowardsbridgingthisgenderpaygap
in the League of Ireland.

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Chapter 1 Introduction
Thisresearchis to investigatethe genderpaygapinthe League of Ireland.Itwill be carriedout byan
examinationof the current and past literature onthis topic and the sectorreview of the Irish soccer
industry. It will explore themes such as the gender pay gap in foreign countries, gender pay gap in
sports,genderpay gap in the workplace,importance of equal paybetweengendersinthe League of
Ireland and some solutions to close the gender pay gap in the League of Ireland. Interviews with
players at various levels in this industry will be conducted to provide an in-depth analysis of their
experiences. Once the work is done, the issues identified will be highlighted and recommendations
will be made on how to progress these issues.
1.1 Context and ResearchRationale
This research will be conducted due to the extensive pay gap between male and women footballers
in the League of Ireland. The reasons for this research are to try and understand the views and
attitudes that current League of Ireland players have towards this topic and. why and to the extent
whichwomenandmenare paiddifferentlyinsuchanareaof sport.There isa lotof researchonboth
genderswages(amount) andfiguresthateachgenderbringinfortheirrespective leaguesandteams
that may support our research. There is academic research regarding wages of male and female
professional athletes that may help support this research. There is also a lot of promotion towards
getting more women to play sports, to in turn even up the ratio of male and female people playing
sport.Thisisreflecteduponthroughthe 20x20movementwhichisamovementthatistryingtodrive
towards a 20% increase in media coverage, participation and attendance in all women's sports.
1.2 ResearchQuestion
What explainsthe genderpaygapinthe case of professional soccerinthe footballLeague of Ireland?
1.3 ResearchObjectives
The objectives of this study are to:
1. To explore and understand the reasons for the gender pay gap in Irish professional soccer.
2. To examine the views and attitudes of Irish footballers on this pay gap.
3. To make recommendationsinordertobridge thispaygap in the Football League of Ireland.
While itmay not be possible tofindconclusive answerstothese questions,the aimisto move closer
tounderstandingthecore elementsthataffectthe paygap,theconsequencesof theiractions,suggest
some approaches and identify areas for future research.

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1.4 Overview of remaining chapters
In order to do this, secondary and primary research will be blended. Secondary research will consist
of (more practical) businessreportsand(more theoretical)academicresearchinordertoimprovethe
expertise as researchers and provide a basis to address the objectives and questions. Several key
issueswillbe listeduponcompletionof secondaryresearch;theseare areasthatthe researchersthink
are actuallyunder-researched. Uponcompletionof the secondaryresearch, some keyissues will be
identified,these are areaswhichtheresearchersfeltare under-researchedatpresent.Forthe primary
researchsix interviewswithLeague of Irelandplayers willbe conducted.Three maleandthree female
players were interviewed in order to get the best insights into the pay gap at the elite level of Irish
football. The interviews provided the researchers with more specific, practical experience based
information.The entire secondaryandprimaryresearchprocesswill be explainedingreaterdetailin
the methodologysection.Factorswhich limitedthe collectionof primarydata will be outlinedinthe
limitationschapter.Havingconductedthe research,the researcherswill thensynthesize the findings
as well as identifying areas which had not been researched sufficiently to comment with some
certainty.These findingswillbe summarizedintoconclusionsinordertofindanswerstothe research
question and objectives. To conclude the research, recommendations will be provided in areas that
the researchers feel require further research in future in relation to the pay gap.

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Chapter 2 Literature Review
2.1 Introduction
Many recent studies have acknowledged the fact that there is an obvious gender pay gap in the
workplace,althoughthere isa massive lackof literature onthe genderpay gap in soccer,specifically
within the League of Ireland. Therefore, this study has a very important space to fill in modern
literature. The gender pay gap within the League of Ireland is an essential topic to discuss in the
modern day of sports and soccer which is greatly misunderstood and underminedby the average
sportsfan. The mainaspectsregardingthe pay gap thatwill be discussedinclude foreignexamplesof
the pay gap in general like Gender Pay Gap with reference to journal articles like “Productivity Gap
and Discrimination in Canadian Clothing Manufacturing in 1870” (McDevitt, Irwin, Inwood, 2009)
sportingexamplesof the genderpaygapwithreferencetojournalarticleslike “'Equal play,equal pay':
moral groundsfor equal payinfootball” (Archer&Prange ,2019) andgeneral workplace examplesof
the paygap withreference tojournal articleslike “Pay,Gender,andPensions:HighTime toRetire the
GenderPayGap” (Nanu,2019). The criteriausedforthisliteraturereviewinclude primarilyaplethora
of journal articles,withexceptiontooneofficial clubwebsite.Theorganizational patternof thisreview
is as follows; the review will include an introduction, a main body, which will be dissected into 3
primarytopicsfollowedbyaconcise conclusion.Thesetopicstobe discussedinthe mainbodyare,as
statedpreviously2:1foreignexamplesof the paygap,2:2 sportingpay gap examplesand2:3 general
workplace examples.
2.2 Gender pay gap in foreigncountries
“It is a well-established fact that, hour for hour men tend to average higher earnings than women”,
thisshowsthat (Gosse & Ganesh, 2004) have the feelingthatmendoinfact earn more than women
in every day jobs. The pay gap is evident all over the world and has been seen and recorded in the
United States down through the years. According to (Pham, Fitzpatrick, Wagner, 2018) women
working in agriculture and domestic services received 29% of their male counterpart’swages,in the
earlydaysof living. (Pham,etal.,2018) alsostatesthat by1832 44% of men’swageswere earnedby
women and their earnings rose to as much as 50% of men in 1850. The disparity stayed at 60%
between 1950 and 1980 post war era, which was a key time within the country. (McDevitt , et al.,
2009) similarly talks about women’s earnings in Canadian clothing factories and how they were
earninglessthanmenin 1870. This isanothergreat example of the gapthat existsandhas existedin
an international country. “Womenare paidconsiderablylessthanmenandthe income gapbetween

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menandwomenistypicallymuchgreaterthanthe productivitygap”, (McDevitt,etal.,2009) portrays
the biggap inearningsinCanadathroughthe manufacturingcensusof Canadaof 1870-1871. The key
resultinthe censusisthatwomen’saverageannual wageswere62% lowerthanthose of men. (Smith
, 2010) agreesthat the genderpay gap capturesthe enduringgenderedinequalitiesthatexistonthe
labour market. While equal pay legislation has existed for more than thirty years, the difference
between male and female earnings has remained remarkably resilient and is present across all
member states irrespective of the overall level of female employment,welfare models or their own
national equality legislation background. Methodology recently examined the scale of the pay gap,
finding that women earn about 18 percent less per hour on average than men in the EU. (Gosse &
Ganesh,2004) conveysthatinNewZealandqualificationsandgenderwerefoundtohave thegreatest
effect on earnings, with acquiring academic credentials and being male in comparison to higher
salaries; although (Belgorodskiy, Crump, Griffiths, Peter, Richardson, 2012) says that there is an
argumentinNewZealandthatwomenspendmore time investinginfamilyandchildcare,andlesson
education and training, which may be why they have a low position on the labour market.
2.3 Gender pay gap in sports
In one exceptional article found online, Sunderland AFC bosses state that they are doing their very
besttoclose the gapbetweenwhatthe clubpaysitsmaleandfemaleemployees.Accordingto (Anon.,
2019) “all organizations that employ more than 250 employees are required to report annually on
their gender pay gap regarding the differences in the average earnings of men and women over a
standard time period regardless of their role or seniority”. Although this study states that the
Sunderland AFC workforce consists of higher-salaried males than females. The new figures show a
meangenderpaygapin hourlypayof 71.3% and a medianof 13.3%. The meangenderbonuspaygap
is 92.1%, while the medianis85.6%. The proportionof menreceivingbonusesis6.8%,while 5.6% of
women do so (Anon., 2019). There is an extremely obvious gender pay gap within soccer nowadays
and this is illustrated in a great article on salaries of World Cup soccer athletes, using the US men’s
and women’s soccer teams as examples. Throughout history men have generally been paid more.
Although,aswomenwere increasinglydoingmen’sworksotospeakanddoingitwell,thisdifferential
ledto the issue of pay equity.Accordingto (Garris & Wilkes, 2017) Over the years,there have been
manymajor debatesaboutthe pay gap andthe fact that womenare paidfar lessthanmento do the
same job. In many cases withinprofessional sportsandsoccer in particularit has beenan extremely
importantand underlyingissue.A noticeably interestingstatisticthat (Garris & Wilkes, 2017) states
is that, In March 2016, five membersof the victoriousU.S. Women'sNational Team filedcomplaints
with the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, alleging that the U.S. Federation of
Football isengagedingender-basedwage discrimination.Thiswasthe first case inwhichprofessional

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athletes officially questioned their governing body, the US Federation of Football, on gender-based
pay differences. This issue provided a unique opportunity to legally argue discrimination under the
1963 Equal Pay Act. The gender gap paid by FIFA for teams participating in the Men’s and Women’s
World Cup is clearly biased toward the male’s teams. Despite FIFA’s motto play fair, the world
governingsoccerbodyhasbeenaccusedof thistype of genderpaydiscriminationforalongtime.The
US Female National Team won the World Cup in 2015 and received $2 million. Germany was the
winnerof the Male National WorldCupin2014 andreceived$35 million. Thisisdue tothe amountof
revenue andincomethatthe men'sgame bringscomparedtothe women'sgame,more people watch
the men's game compared to the women's game, and advertising and match-day attendances are a
keyindicationof howmuchmoneycomesinandhow manypeoplewatch (Garris&Wilkes,2017). An
interesting article investigating three different ways of arguing that national football associations
shouldpaythe same amounttotheirmen'sandwomen'ssoccerteams.Firstof all,thestudyconsiders
an argumentinfavourof the principleof equalpayforequal work (Archer&Prange ,2019) Itsuggests
that nomatterthe gender,employeesshouldbe paidthe equallyforthe same work (Archer&Prange
, 2019) suggestthat this"labourrights"claimgivesmanynational footballassociationsagoodreason
to pay the same amountto their men'sand women'steams,but that these are the exceptionrather
thanthe norm.Secondly,theyconsideranalternativecase thatreferstothe 'expressivepower'topay
women's soccer teams the same as men's. The studysuggests that this claim can be extendedmore
generallythanthe first argumentand give a good reasonto pay fairlyfor many football associations
for their men's and women's teams. This argument, however, struggles to demonstrate that
associations have a moral obligationto pay the same for their men and women's teams.Finally,the
study addresses the “historical injustice claim”. They suggest that This argument offers rational
grounds for thinking that many companies not only have moral grounds for paying equally to their
men's and women's teams, but also a moral obligation and a political mandate.
2.4 Gender pay gap in the workplace
Genderpay gap has beenin questionfordecadesnow withinthe workplace and onlyrecentlyhas it
beenbroughtto the attentionof the public.In1963, Congresstookitsfirst stepstowardsaddressing
the genderpaygapbyenactingthe Equal PayActof 1963.Accordingto (Sbrocchi,2019) “EPA prohibits
employersfromdiscriminatingonthebasisofsexbypayingwagestoemployeesinsuchestablishment
at a rate lessthan the rate at whichhe pays wagesto employeesof the opposite sex forequal work
onjobs”.The EPA wasdesignedtocorrectand remove compensationsystemsforworkerswhichwere
foundedonthe ideathat womenshouldbe paidlessthan men.Fifty-five yearslater,the genderpay
gap appearstobe a significantprobleminnationalemployer-employeerelations. Accordingtothe US
todayCensusBureau,womenworkingfull-time intheUnitedStatesare paid$0.80foreachdollarpaid

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by men,and the pay gap for womenof colour is wider.“To illustrate,blackwomentake home $0.61
for every dollar that white men are paid” (Sbrocchi, 2019). Despite the passage of the Equal Pay Act
the nearly20% gap remainsand (Timpson, 2019) agrees“The purpose of the EPA was to bridge the
pay gap among men and women working similar jobs at the same workplace”. (Guest, 2018) talks
about the fact that it is certainlytrue that the average pay for womeninthe labour force is lessthan
for men. He shows thatin Australiathe average femaleweeklyearningsinNovember 2017 was $960
and for menwas$1428, 33% lessfor women.Interestingly he statesthatwhenthey have adaptedto
this by taking full-time workers, excluding overtime, which is the preferred measure, the WGEA
(Workplace GenderEqualityAgency), shall adoptthe gendergapis 15.3%. (Mumford & Smith, 2007)
similarlywritesaboutthe gap inearningsin the workplace inBritain,and usingdata fromthe British
Workplace Employee RelationsSurvey1998 (WERS98), whichisa nationallyrepresentative surveyof
workplaces with 10 or more employees containing a vast amount of information. He goes onto say
thatwouldexpectsegregationtohaveanegativeeffectonthe femalewageif itleadstoovercrowding
and therebylowermarginal productivity.The gapthat (Mumford& Smith,2007) showsin thisarticle
is that on average,female hourlyearningsare 26.5 log wage points(lwp) below male average hourly
earnings,whichis proof of aconsistentgapinworkplace earningsinBritain.Furthermore (Catagnetti,
Rosti,Topfer,2018) voicesthat“the GenderPayGap(GPG) issignificantlyhigheramongovereducated
workersthan among well educatedworkers because of the uncontrollable characteristicsof women
driving female employment into over education also dragging female wages down more than the
uncontrollable characteristics of men dragging male wages down”.
2.5 Key Issues
Throughoutthe primaryand secondaryresearch manykey issuesemergedthataffectwomeninthe
League of Ireland and in the Irish sports industry. It is evident that that the key issues in the Irish
industry include the importance of equal pay between genders in the League of Ireland.
The literature andfindingsshowcased thatitisalso extremelyobvious thatthe Irishsportsindustryis
not equal and is in fact highly male dominant when it comes to subject of pay.
One key issue that emerged and that was consistent across both the literature and industry reviews
included the importance of less talk and more action is needed to make distinct progress within the
industry. This is a highly relevant topic surrounded by many discussions and proposals such as the
introduction of gender quotas and the recent 20X20 initiative campaign. However, few of these
proposals have progressed and even fewer are being properly introduced, which leaves no actual
changes to the position of women in the Irish sports industry and getting to the top.

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Another key issue that emerged is that from our study of the literature and industry reviews is that
there is a huge lack in sport specific promotion campaigns. Although, there are many previous and
ongoing campaigns that aim to promote the equality between gendersin sport, there is no sport
specificcampaignscurrentlyrunninginIreland.Thisisadifficultsubjectasitisobviousthatthe broad
campaigns aid in the promotion of all women’s sports. Although, on the other hand if there were
campaignsaimedspecificallytowardsbridgingthe paygap inwomen’ssoccer,itwouldbe extremely
more beneficial to closing the pay gap in soccer sooner as it would be the primary focus and goal of
the campaign.
2.6 Conclusion
Aftera large extentof time readingand examiningavast array of articles, itis clear to see that there
isa problemineachsectordiscussed.These sectorsincludegeographically,inthe sportingworldand
inthe general businessworld.Regardingthe sportingworld,the absolutefocuswas women’ssoccer.
In each article there was a distinctand coherentsimilaritybetweenall three,thatsimilaritywasthat
each of themarguedin the promotionandequalityof women’spayto men’s. Fortunately,there are
a lotof general articlesregardingthe topic of genderpaygap. Although, itwas extremely difficultto
findspecificandrelevantarticlesdedicatedtothe paygapin soccer,and evenmore specifically there
are none regardingthe League of Ireland. Therefore,thisprovesthe relevance of the studycurrently
being conducted. Geographically,there were no studieson the gender pay gap specificallylinkedto
Ireland. Most of the relevantarticleswere based in the United States and Canada. Finally, regarding
the gender pay gap in the general business world, this is where a large chunk of our research came.
These studies were very relevant to the primary topic of this Thesis. Although, on the other hand it
wouldhave beenmore helpful tothe study if there were more articlesrelevanttothe soccer world.
There is an obvious substantial gapinthe literature inthe overarchingtheme of “The pay gap in the
League of Ireland”.

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Chapter 3 Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction
Thischapter outlinedthe methodsusedtoanswerthe researchquestionaswell asthe specificgoals
posed. A multi-facetted methodology was pursued to extract the most important and detailed
information from the research using primary and secondary research methods. An exploratory
approachwastakenforthe interview.Thischapteralso setsoutthe ethicalfactorsaffectingall parties
in the research study, followed by the appendices with the supporting documentation.
3.2 ResearchQuestion
What explainsthe gender pay gap in the case of professional soccer and the League of Ireland. This
researchwill comprehensivelycoverthe thoughtsandopinionsof Leagueof Irelandplayerswhilealso
covering the reasons why and possible solutions to this gender pay gap in the League of Ireland.
3.3 ResearchObjectives
The objectives of this study are to:
1. To explore and understand the reasons for the gender pay gap in Irish professional soccer.
2. To examine the views and attitudes of Irish footballers on this pay gap.
3. To make recommendationsinordertobridge thispaygap in the Football League of Ireland.
3.4 ResearchApproach
The projectutilized exploratorystudies.The researchinvolvedbothprimaryresearchand secondary
study.The twoformsof studyemployedincluded qualitative researchelements. Exploratoryresearch,
as the name implies, intendsmerely to explore the research questions and does not intend to offer
final andconclusive solutionstoexistingproblems.Thistype of researchisusuallyconductedtostudy
a problem that has not been clearly defined yet (Saunders, Lewis, Thornhill, 2012).
Exploratoryresearchbeganwithsecondary researchthatfirstexaminedthe paygapinthe workforce
and in sport.The final stage of the studywasto collate the conceptsforreadingand the recognition.
To finalise the researchsix interviewswere conducted withrelevantpeoplefromdifferentLeague of
Ireland clubs with differing backgrounds. Each interview was structured with the questions
underpinned by the knowledge that was developed through the secondary research.
3.5 Secondary Research
“Secondary research is the use of data or information, which has been collected by another source”
(Bhat, 2019). The secondary research method primarily used in this study was desk research. Desk

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researchinvolvessearchingforandexamininginformationthatalreadyexistsbyutilisingvarioustools
suchas the internet,reportsandacademicjournals.The informationgatheredwasprimarilycollected
from the following online sources, Institute of Technology Carlow library and Google Scholar.
Beginning with academic research, the researchers looked up general literature gender pay gap
articles, before narrowing it down to gender pay gap in the workplace, gender pay gap in sports,
genderpaygapinforeigncountriesandthe historyof the genderpaygap.Once the researcherswere
aware of the mainthemesandpatternsof the research,the searcheswere made muchmore specific
and detailed.The searcheswere made veryexactinordertogetthe relevantinformationtobase the
studyon. The literature wassourcedfromdifferentcountries,sports,businessesandbackgroundsto
reflect an overall understanding of how men and women were in the past and the modern day are
treated and viewed in terms of their wages. This research formed the groundwork for the primary
research conducted.
3.6 Primary Research
“Primary research can be defined as data generated from an original source, such as your own
experiments, surveys, interviews or focus groups” (Bhat, 2019). The primary research provided the
researchers with the qualitative data required for the study. The primary research performed
consistedof six structuredinterviews thatwere conductedwithplayersfromLeague of Irelandclubs,
where there was a set of questions in a standard order. Such interviews were crucial to the
investigation and provided rich, specific, detailed informationto the researchers. Contact was made
with the potential interviewees by using connections that were made through college and football.
Each playerwascontactedindividuallyandgave themadescriptionof the researchprojectandtelling
them what was involved and if they would like to volunteer. The researchers then proceeded to
arrange a time and place to meet. All interviews were carried out face to face with a phone to take
record.One researcherwouldaskthe questionandthe otherwouldtake notes.The researcherswere
conducting interviewswith six people, three malesand three females as it was very difficult to find
relevant footballers playing at the standard of League of Ireland with sufficient time to answer the
questions. The secondary research gave a strong theoretical foundation and through the primary
research, the researchers could assess the concepts and themes in a more practical way. Each
interviewwashelpful and providedmorespecificinformationandgreaterinsightintothepaygapthat
exists within top level football in Ireland

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3.7Ethical Considerations
“The consideration of ethics in research, and in general business for that matter, was of growing
importance.Itwas therefore,critical thatyouunderstandthe basicsof ethical researchand how this
might affect your research project” (Polonsky & Waller , 2005). These include honesty, respect for
otherpeople andconfidentiality(Anon.,2019).The researchers compliedwiththe ITCarlow Ethicsin
ResearchPolicy forourresearchproject.Forthe primaryresearch, informedconsentwassoughtfrom
all participants.Consentformswere available forplayerstosignatinterviewsexplainingthe purpose
of the interview and the intended use of research. All ethical documents are attached.
3.8 Limitations
When analyzing the research project certain limitations were apparent. One limitation was the
number of interviews that was available for the interviewers to arrange as part of the primary
research.Atthe beginningof theyeartheresearchersplannedtoarrange eight interviewswithplayers
from different clubs around Irelandas the researchers wantedto get a broad spectrum on the topic
of genderpaygapinthe League of Ireland. The playerswere contactedviatextmessage andalthough
the eight interviews were not conducted as originally planned, and the amount of primary research
that can be obtainedwhile takingpartinanyprojectisoftenaffecteddue toanumberof factorssuch
as time limitsor lack of financial assistance. Ultimately, this didnot cause limitationsin the quantity
and quality of primary research obtained.
Additionally,notall of the playersthatwere interviewedwerefrombigclubsinthe League of Ireland.
One of the male playersthatwere metcurrentlyplaysforasmall clubintermsof the elite level inthe
country, Cabinteely FC who are in the League of Ireland First Division.Another male player that was
interviewediscurrentlynotplayingforaclub butpreviouslyplayedforCabinteelyFCandWexfordFC,
both First Division clubs. Therefore, the results and answers may vary between the interviewees as
they are all not playing right at the top of the game in their respective sides.
Throughout the secondary research there was limited literature focusing directlyon the gender pay
gap insoccer.Thiswasn’tahuge problemasmostof the literature gatheredwasbasedongenderpay
gap withinthe workplace,withinsportsingeneral andalso indifferentcountriesandthisreallygave
the researchers a good basis to go off and gain vital information needed for the research.
Many of the articles andreportsregardingthe genderpaygapwithinthe workplace andinsportswere
published many years ago, which may have caused a problem regarding up to date informationfor
the research, but it did not prove a huge problem to the research.

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Chapter 4 Findings & Discussion
4.1 Introduction
After collecting and analysing the secondary data on the city, the decision was made not to
concentrate onanyspecificteamorclubsize duringinterviews.asthiswouldallow the researchersto
gaina greaterunderstandingonabroaderspectrumof the topicof the genderpaygap inthe League
of Ireland.
4.2 Sample Profile
Six players who are either currently playing in the League of Irelandor have played in it in the past
were met with. The researchers had different players from different clubs around the country of
various sizes in order to get different perspectives interms of how theyhave been treated and paid
currently and in the past. Three of the players we met with were females, and all currently play for
the same team, Peamount United. Peamount United are one of the top teams in the Women’s
National League having wonthe league lastyear.The otherthree playerswe metwere all males,but
do not play for the same team or play in the same league. The fourth player we met with currently
playsforSt.Mirren inScotlandinthe ScottishPremierLeague.He recentlymovedtothe Scottishclub
in January from League of Ireland premier side Dundalk FC. Dundalk FC are the best team in the
countryhavingwonthe premierleaguefive timesinthe past six years.The fifthplayercurrentlyplays
for CabinteelyFCinthe firstdivisioninthe League of Ireland.The sixthand final playerthatwas met
is a retiredplayerwhoplayedinthe League of IrelandfirstdivisionforWexfordFCandCabinteelyFC
as well as playing in the League of Ireland premier division for Bray Wanderers. Each interviewee
presented their own individual experience and thoughts on the topic.
4.3 Findings
It became obviousfrom the beginning that the players interviewedwere all adamant that there is a
paygap withinthe Leagueof Ireland,primarilydueto the factthattheyall answeredstraightoutwhat
their thoughts were on the wages and gap in them in the country, indicating that they were quite
bothered by it.
In terms of layout, the researchers wanted to get an idea as to what each players background in
football was,thusour firstquestionbeing“how longhave youplayedfootball?”.Withthe responses
mostly being similar, as they all have played from a very young age, with some “ever since I can
remember”. The interviews were eased into with the second question being “what made you start
playingfootball?”.Some of the responseswere similarwitha fatherfigure beingat the fore front of
influencingtheintervieweestobeginplayingfootball andenjoyingthe watchingthe game,“myfather,
he has a biginfluence onme playingfootball”thisconveysthatitcomesfrom generationswithinthe

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family. In the third questionby asking “what motivates you as a player?” each interviewee gives an
insightintotheirinnerdrive anddeterminationwithinthe game.The responseswere excellent,some
suchas “I have sacrificedalotsince ayoungage soIamhungryto be the bestIcan be”andthisshows
that the interviewee has a great appetite for the game and doesn’t want to have any regrets. In the
nextquestionsthe intervieweesgive anunderstandingintowhichclubstheyhave playedforin their
career and at what level, which is vital to the research as we find out whether the clubs they have
played for have been a professional club with funds. The next two questions posed are, “what are
some of your biggest achievements withinfootball?” and what do you hope to achieve from your
footballing career?”, both questionsgive key piecesof informationon whether each player has won
big trophies professionally with money involved and whether they wish to further themselves as
playersinthe game and potentiallywinmore trophiesandwhethertheyare drivenby money.Most
of the answerswere similarintermsof the playerswantingtogetcapsforthe international teamand
playfor theircountrywhichshowsthattheyare notsolelydrivenbymonetaryrewards“if Icouldget
a senior cap for my country, it would be special”.
The backgroundinformationoneachintervieweesfootballinghistoryprovidedthe researcherswitha
lead on question whereby the interview would take its course of action. In terms of the gender pay
gap in the League of Ireland there was a consistent answer from each interviewee in which they all
firmlystatedthatthere wasa huge gapin the paybetweenmale andfemale playersinthe respective
leagues.The interviewerposedthe question“doyouthinkthere isa genderpaygap in the League of
Ireland?”and got very similarresponsesfromeachinterviewee asstatedabove.One female replied
“yeah there isa huge gap, like none of us get paidat all”,thisclearlyconveysthat no female players
in the Women’sNational League getpaidto playfootball.Thisisa playerwho currentlyplaysforthe
best women’s team in Ireland in Peamount United which shows the gap between the men and
women’sgame ishuge.Incomparisonto one of the male intervieweeswhoplayedforthe bestteam
inthe men’spremierLeague of IrelandinDundalkFCforthe pastthree seasons,the gapishuge ashe
toldthe interviewerthathe had beenreceivingasubstantial amountof wageseachweekforplaying
football professionally. He gave a great insight into the gap in pay in Irish football not onlybetween
menandwomenbutbetweenthetopteamsinthe premierleagueandthe lesser teamsinthe premier
andfirstdivision.“Takinggenderaside,the paygapinthe league of Irelanditselfisverydrastic.Teams
at the top of the league are full time and pay full-time wages, whereas,teams at the bottom of the
league pay part-time wages. The difference from team to team is massive and luckily enough I was
fortunate toplayforthe bestteaminthe countryand earna goodwage”,thisportraysthathe seesa
gap betweenthe biggerclubsinIrelandandthe smallerclubssotospeakinthe league.He goesonto
speakfurtheraboutthe questioninhand,intermsof the genderpaygap,stating“fromagenderpoint

13
of view,Ithinkthe pay gap ismassive.Fromgoing to universityandspeakingtosome of the girls on
the scholarshipteam,the difference isnightandday.I wouldnearlygoas far to say that manyof the
players that play at a high level don’t even get money”.
In termsof the intervieweesoverallthoughtsonthe paygapinthe league of Irelandincomparisonto
other leagues and countries such as England, there was the same recurring finding that it is a huge
problem. One interviewee goes onto speak about the FAI and how they, as an organisation can do
muchmore tobalance outthe pay that male andfemale footballersgetinthe country.“Ibelievethat
contracts shouldbe standardisedandshouldbe fundedbythe FAI”.The same interviewee continues
to highlightthe factthat some League of Irelandfootballersinthe premierandfirstdivisionshave to
workpart time jobsas well asplayfootball tomake endsmeet,“If the pay gap wasreducedfromthe
topof the league tothe bottomthe league,Ibelievethe leaguewouldbe morecompetitive asplayers
wouldnothave to work part time andcould solelyfocusontheirfootball”,thisisthe case for female
andmale playerswithinthegame inIrelandshowingthatthere isevidentlyapaygapbetweenplayers
of the top teams in the league as well as a clear gender pay gap.
Another issue that was brought up was the gender pay gap affecting the interviewees which saw
differentreplies.Obviously,the girlswere the onesaffected,andthereweremanyshockingsituations
thattheytoldinthe interviewsregardinghow the genderpaygaphasaffectedthem.The mainglaring
way that the girls were affected by this Pay Gap is that they must all commute to trainings and
matches, which is learned from this quote” probably with transport mostly as its commuting from
Carlow to Peamount up to three times a week and that’s really affected me”. The girls that were
interviewed all live in Carlow and play for Peamount in Dublin, whichis an hour long drive. The girls
are not even paid for their travelling expenses which makes it extremely difficult as it can be very
expensive travellingtotrainingandmatches 3 timesa weekand couldinturn become unsustainable
in the long term.
In terms of solutions or ideas to close the pay gap the players that were interviewed had many
intriguingsolutionsandideastowardsclosingthe GenderPayGapwithinthe League of Ireland.There
were 5primaryplausibleideassuggestedbythe players.Twofrommaleplayersandthree fromfemale
players. The most impressive ideas proposed by the male players were to “increase the amount of
women coaches and increase the number of high quality coaches in the women’sgame to improve
the standard”and“contracts shouldbe standardisedforbothmenandwomen”.The mostimpressive
ideasproposedbythewomenplayerswere to“focusonthe eightteamsthatare there atthe moment
justhelpthemandinthe future tryandexpandmaybe whenit’sall inagoodway”,to“more publicity

14
towardsitand getpeople talkingaboutitmore andhavingthe rightpersoninthe associationlookfor
it” and all of the women mentioned more focus and promotion on the 20x20 scheme.
4.4 DiscussionIntroduction
Followingthe researchfindings,this review willbe focusedonthreemainthemeswhichhave recurred
inboth primaryand secondaryresearch.Importance of equal paybetweengendersinthe LOI, 20x20
Campaignin Irelandand solutionstoclose the genderpay gap in the League of Irelandare the main
themesthatwill be discussedinfull.Theseare some of the keysubjectswhichthissectionfocusesin
order to answer the research question which is: What explains the gender pay gap in the case of
professional soccer and the League of Ireland. This question can be further segmented when
considering the project's research objectives.
Importance of equal pay between genders in the League of Ireland
From the secondary research it was apparent that there was a common theme, which was the
importance of equal paybetweengendersinthe League of Ireland.The theme of equal paybetween
genderswithinany workplace andbusinesshasbeenanissue thathas beenbroughtto the fore over
manyyears,mainlybywomen. (Treiman&Hartmann,1981) state thatthe slogan“equal payforequal
value” has replaced “equal pay for equal work”, and this is clearly embodiedin the Equal Pay Act of
1963. (Fisher,1942) has similarviewsandsaysthat“the principle of equalpayforequal value gained
some recognition during World War I, after pressure was applied by labor groups and women's
organizations”.One of theintervieweesagreeswiththe feelingof equalpayforequalvalueandstates
“on a genderfocus,Ibelieve the same shouldhappen,withmore women’steamsbecomingfull time.
It wouldbe great to see,and theyshouldbe paidat the same rates as menin this country.”He goes
ontostate clearlythatwomenshouldhavethe samecontractualagreementsasmenif theyare playing
at the same level as one another in their respective sides, “like I said I believe contracts should be
standardizedforbothmen and womenbut thistakesbacking fromthe organization”. Anotherclear
example of the importance of equal pay between genders in the league of Ireland comes from the
running topic of travel. Travel was discussed throughout all of our female interviews, as all of the
female athletes that we interviewed had to commute to their training matches. All of them are
travelling from Carlow to Dublin 3 days a week. As they are not paid, it is very difficult to sustain
travellingfinancially.If itwasthe same situation,butinthe aspectof male teams,theywouldall be at
leastcompensatedfortheirtravel andinmostcasespaidontop of that. Ontop of the previousfacts,
long days of unpaid travel takes its toll on the athlete’s bodies. In the journal article “Travel fatigue
and sleep/wakebehavioursof professional soccerplayersduringinternationalcompetition” (Lastella,
Roche,Sargent,2019) statesthatthe sleepingbehavioursof professionalsoccerplayersare disrupted

15
whentheyare requiredtotravel andplaymultiplematcheswithinashortperiodof time.Thisisinthe
case of paidprofessional athletes,suchasmeninthe Leagueof Ireland.It’shardtoimaginehow much
more difficult it is for a female athlete training and playing the same amount as men while also
“puttinginthe same amountworkethicasmendo”,statedbyone of our interviewees,andnotbeing
paidat all forit. Althoughequal paywill notmagicallyfix the fatigueof players,itwouldfacilitate the
womento affordthe more comfortable travel methodssuchas luxurybussesor flightsandfacilitate
them to be able to receive the same state of the art recovery methods that the men receive.
20x20 Campaign in Ireland
A commontheme thatarose inthe interviewsconducted,wasthe discussionof the topicof the 20x20
Campaignin Ireland.ThisCampaignstrivestoshiftIreland’scultural perceptionof women’ssportby
2020 witha20% increase inmediacoverageof womeninsport,a20% increase infemaleparticipation
at all levelsinsport,anda20%increase inattendanceinwomen’sgamesandevents,hencethe name.
A great example fromthe interviewsregardingthistheme came from one of our female athletes,as
theysaid“the 20x20 thingthattheydone thisyearactuallyhelpedalotbecause there ismore people
goingwatchinggamesandthat’s whatwe need,yousee the crowdsgoingto men’sgamesandthat’s
where most of the money comes from”. Throughout all our interviews the female athletes all
mentioned the 20x20 campaign and in consensus, they all wholeheartedly agreed that it was an
absolutelypositive movementforwomen’ssports.Inthe journal article “Anexamination of women's
sport sponsorship: a case study of female Australian Rules football”. In this article (Morgan, 2019)
discusses increase in commercialism and professionalism of women's sport, although there is a lack
of research concentrating on the marketing in women’s sport. This article addresses this gap, and
examinestheincentivesof sponsorsinvolvedinthe women'sAustralianRulesfootball nationalleague.
Although it focuses on the women’s Australian Rules National League, it is an extremely relevant
article to relate to this theme. Both topics focus on the promotion of media coverage in the female
sportingworldand are both tryingto findreasonsand solutionstothe problem.The article suggests
that “The relationship between women, the global sport economy and sport fandom is shifting.
Women are now more visible as fans, broadcasters, celebrity athletes and media personalities”
(Morgan, 2019), which is a great factor that promotes proves the relevance and importance of the
20x20 Campaign, which must be further promoted in Ireland.
Solutions to close the gender pay gap in the League of Ireland
The main outcome from the interviews was the fact that there has to be a solution or a process to
close the pay gap within the League of Ireland. This is alsothe case whenit comes to the pay gap in
general asthe rightof womento equal payfor workof equal value,aswell asequal treatmentinpay

16
and employment opportunities. “Closing the gender pay gap helps to create a more equal society.
Equality is a centerpiece of effective democratic governance” (Cornish , 2013).
The interviewees referred to publicity and advertising the women’s game more to make it more
noticeable.One interviewee stated“maybe more publicitytowardsitandget people talkingaboutit
more and havingthe rightpersoninthe associationlookforitbecause Idon’tthinkanyone reallyhas
done that yet”. Thisconveysthe fact that there is a gap ingeneral betweenthe men’sgame andthe
women’sgame withone intervieweesharingasmall solutionthat,inhereyeswouldbridgethe gapa
small bit and help in a small step towards equality.
Some also alluded to the fact that women should have the same contractual agreements as men if
theyare playingatthe samelevelasone anotherintheirrespectivesides,“like IsaidIbelievecontracts
shouldbe standardizedforbothmen and womenbutthis takesbackingfrom the organization”.This
clearly shows the feelings of one interviewee stating that a solution he sees fit would be to ensure
women get the same contractual agreements as men for the equal levels.

17
Chapter 5 Conclusion
This sectionconcludes the studiesandattemptstosummarize the keyresultsof both secondaryand
primary research to best answer the research question and goals.
Conclusion one: Importance of equal pay between genders in the League of Ireland
There was a common opinion throughout on equal pay in the League of Ireland and how
important it is. There were a number of characteristics which were more prominent than
others. For travel was discussed throughout all of our female interviews, as all of the female
athletes that we interviewed had to commute to their training matches. All of them are
travelling from Carlow to Dublin 3 days a week. As they are not paid, it is very difficult to
sustaintravelling financially.Ifit was the same situation, but in the aspect of male teams, they
would all be at least compensated for their travel and in most cases paid on top of that. On
top of the previous facts, long days of unpaid travel takes its toll on the athlete’s bodies.
Although equal pay will not magically fix the fatigue of players, it would facilitate the women
to afford the more comfortable travel methods such as luxury busses or flights and facilitate
them to be able to receive the same state of the art recovery methods that the men receive.
Conclusion two: 20x20 campaign in Ireland
It became clear that there was one evident topic of discussion when it came to solutions to
try and bridge the gap. The topic of the 20x20 CampaigninIreland. Thiscampaignaimsto shiftthe
cultural perception of women's sport by Ireland by 2020 with a 20% increase in women's media
coverage insport,a 20% increase inwomen's participationatall levelsinsportanda 20% increase in
women's games and events. hence the name. Throughout all our interviews, mainly with the
female athletes, they all mentioned the 20x20 campaign and in consensus, they all
wholeheartedly agreed that it was an absolutely positive movement for women’s sports. The
topics focus on the promotion of media coverage in the female sporting world and are both
trying to find reasons and solutions to the problem.
Conclusion three: Solutions to close the gender pay gap in the League of Ireland
The main outcome from the interviews was the fact that there has to be a solution or a
process to close the pay gap within the League of Ireland. The main solution that was brought
forward was the fact that women should have the same contractual agreements as men if
they are playing at the same level as one another in their respective sides. The interviewees

18
alsoreferred to publicity and advertising the women’s game more to make it more noticeable
as a big resolution to close the gap within the game.
Conclusion four: Explanation for the gender pay gap in the case of professional soccer and the
League of Ireland
Throughout this study, the reasons for the gender pay gap in the case of professional soccer in the
League of Ireland became even more obvious. The most substantial evidence came through the
interviewsof the playerswhowitnesseditfirst-hand.The mostapparentreasonthatwashighlighted
in almost all the interviews was the difference between the attendance at male vs female matches.
Most of the revenue in the League of Irelandcomes throughtickets. It is obvious that at the time of
thisstudyitisclearthatthere are muchmore people attendingmalematchesthanwomen’smatches.
Thisisthe case forall soccer leaguesunfortunately,andthe League of Irelandisnodifferent.Inresult
of the huge difference inattendance andticketsales,the womenathletescan onlybe paidso much
compared to the male athletes. Concluding that if the female matches were able to bring the same
attendance as male matches they would be being paid much more equally,which in time may be
possible with the right restructuring and promotion to the women’s game.

19
Chapter 6 Recommendations
Throughout the study, there were three primary recommendations that were discovered. After
completing the research, the three recommendations are as follows.
More research published on the gender pay gap in professional soccer.
One recommendationsuggestedisformoreresearchtobe published onthe genderpaygapinsoccer.
During the research and through the conclusions it was apparent that there was a distinct lack in
publicationsaboutthe genderpaygapinsoccer.Althoughthere are manypublicationsonthe gender
paygap ingeneral,throughthishighlyapparentlackof researchonthe genderpaygapinprofessional
soccer, we would recommend for people to perform more research and publications specificallyon
the topic of the gender pay gap in professional soccer.
More campaigns like the 20x20 campaign should be promoted.
Anotherrecommendationsuggestedisformore campaignssimilarto the 20x20 campaignshouldbe
promoted. As evidenced by the overwhelming success from the 20x20 Campaign has had so far in
Ireland towards women’s sport and women’s soccer, it is clear to see that much more campaigns
similar to the 20x20 campaign should be established and run to further promote women’s sport. A
campaign akin to the 20x20 campaign specifically targeted towards promoting women’s soccer in
Ireland could be extremely beneficial to the sport.
Promotion of ideas to close the gender pay gap in the league of Ireland.
The thirdand final recommendationsuggestedispromotionof new ideastoclose the genderpaygap
in the League of Ireland.Throughoutthe researchforthisthesisthere were manyideaspresentedto
close the genderpaygapinthe League ofIreland.Throughprimaryresearch,the interviewsconducted
suggested many ideas to close the gender pay gap in the League of Ireland. Some of these ideas
includedgettingthe rightrepresentationforthe women’steams,standardizedcontractsformenand
women and promoting more women’s coaches. If any of these ideas were further promoted and
supported, it could make a huge positive change in the world of Irish women’s football.

20
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Appendix 1
Interview Questions
1. How long have you played football?
2. What made you start playing football?
3. What motivates you as a player?
4. What clubs in which leagues have you played for?
5. What club do you currently play for?
6. What are some of your biggest achievements within football?
7. What do you hope to achieve from your footballing career?
8. Do you think there is a gender pay gap in the League of Ireland?
9. If so, why?
10. What are your overall thoughts on the pay gap in the League of Ireland?
11. Do you have any solutions or ideas to close the pay gap?
12. How has the gender pay gap affected you?

24
Appendix 2 – Interview Transcripts
TranscribedInterview withChloe Moloney
Date of interview:Wednesday15th
January 2020
Location of interview:IT Carlow classroom
Interviewer (Barry): How long have you played football?
Interviewee (Chloe): I started playing football when I was 12. I started with the Gaynor cup team.
Interviewer: What made you start playing football?
Interviewee:IstartedplayingfootballwhenIwasinfirstyearinsecondaryschool Iwasplayingafutsal
tournament and then I got a trial for the Gaynor cup team there was scouts there watching.
Interviewer: What motivates you as a player?
Interviewee:Isuppose well,beingfitandstuff,it’sgoodtobe fitandhealthy,andobviouslywinning.
Interviewer: What clubs in which leagues have you played for?
Interviewee:Iplayedina Clare league forConnollyCelticuntil Iwas 16 and then I signedforGalway
United in the women’s national league and now I am playing for Peamount United in the women’s
national league.
Interviewer: What club do you currently play for?
Interviewee: I currently play for Peamount United in the women’s national league.
Interviewer: What are some of your biggest achievements within football?
Interviewee: Winning the women’s national league
Interviewer: What do you hope to achieve from your footballing career?
Interviewee:WellIhave playedunder16,17 and 19 forIrelandsoaseniorcapwouldprobablybe the
highest thing I could do and obviously play professionally as well.
Interviewer: Do you think there is a gender pay gap in the League of Ireland?

25
Interviewee:Yeahthereisahuge gap,likenoneof usgetpaidsoamateurandinthe Leagueof Ireland
men’s in the premier are getting paid so yeah there is no comparison really in both of them.
Interviewer: If so, why?
Interviewee:AsIsaidnone of us getpaidat all inthe women’sleague sothere isclearlyagap.In the
men’sleague theyare gettingpaidso it is evident.The men’sgame getsmore advisementandmore
tv coverage so I think that is why they get paid and we don’t.
Interviewer: What are your overall thoughts on the pay gap in the League of Ireland?
Interviewee: I think it is evident for everyone to see who watchesfootball in Ireland. We should be
getting paid some money for playing as the men’s teams in the premier division get paid. It is very
disappointing.
Interviewer: Do you have any solutions or ideas to close the pay gap?
Interviewee: Well the 2020 thing that they done this year that actually helped an often lot because
there is more people goingwatchingthe gamesand that’s what youneed,yousee the crowdsgoing
to the men’sgamesandthat’swhere mostof the moneyprobablycomesfromforthemandyeahit’s
never probably going to be the equal pay but even if we got a bit itself it would be a help.
Interviewer: How has the gender pay gap affected you?
Interviewee:Welllike,we actuallyevenhave thisproblemwithourclubrightnow if we’re playingfor
Peamount it’s an hour drive from here so you’re driving up at say quarter to seven and not getting
back until elevenoclock.Andthenlikeyourpetrol andyourwearandtearonyourcar andeverything
like.Justsomethinglike that,forthe SummerI live at home so I have to drive from Clare for training
once or twice a week and it’s a three-hour drive so just a bit of pay would help there.

26
TranscribedInterview withMeganSmythLynch
January 2020
Interviewee (Megan): Playing football since about five years of age so 16 years playing now.
Interviewee:Think growing up like stuff just watching football on TV every week with my grandad
Interviewee:Justwinninglikeyougetthatwinningfeelingasaplayeryoudon’twanttostopandlose
a game. So it just motivates you more and more obviously feeling good as well being fit.
Interviewee:IplayedforShelbourne underagegrowingupandwhenIwent seniorsImovedtoRaheny
and then I went to Shamrock Rovers for a while and now I’m at Peamount United in the Women’s
National League.
Interviewee: As I said currently with Peamount United in the Women’s National League.
Interviewee:IthinklastSummerplayingforIrelandinthe worldstudentgamesandIhave capsforall
the underage teams for Ireland underage so they would be my big achievements and winning the
women’s national league last year with Peamount and going to the Champions League this year.
Interviewee:HopefullysomedayIcangoandplaysomewhereoutside of Irelandandseeingmyfriend
playingforthe international teamatthe momentseniorsIwouldlove togetthatseniorcapsomeday
soon.

27
Interviewee: Yeah at the moment were not getting paid at all in the women’s side and you look at
probablyJackByrne atShamrock Roversthey’re onmadmoneysothereisahuge gapatthe moment.
Interviewee: Maybe the men’s side are getting more publicity like fans coming out to games there
maybe more moneycomingintothe clubI do thinkyoucan argue the FAI are pumpingmore money
into the men’s side then the women’s in terms of like winning the league and bonuses and stuff is
maybe something hopefully we can bridge.
Interviewee:Ithinkthatthe pay gap isextremelyunfairasthe womendojustasmuch worktowards
the game as the men.I don’tthinkthat there shouldbe a pay gap betweengendersalthough men’s
games do attract more spectators.
Interviewee: I think in the Women’sNational League are just trying to expand the league instead of
justfocusingonthe teamsthat are inthe league atthe momentand puttingmoneyintothemteams
instead of trying to get more money for more teams to come into the league.So if we focus on the
eight teams that are there at the moment just help them and in the future try and expand maybe
when it’s all in a good way.
Interviewee:Yeahasa player,were goingtoPeamountprobablyfourtimesaweeknow forthe next
couple of weeksandwhenyou’re drivingand commutingand stuff like it’sjust a huge responsibility
so and there’s no money in it do you know and Peamount are looking for 500 euro off us each this
year, each playerto go to the ChampionsLeague whichis usually 300 but its 500 thisyear, it’sup to
you to get it and pay it if you don’t it’s your own responsibility so it’s very tough

28
TranscribedInterview withLaurynO’Callaghan
January 2020
Interviewer (Barry): so how long have you played football?
Interviewee (Lauryn): About 15 years.
Interviewer: And what made you start playing football?
Interviewee: My Dad was the coach of the local boys’ team and I went up training with them and I
loved it.
Interviewee: Seeing my fellow team mates progress onto the senior squad obviously is highly
motivating and hopefully one day I’ll get there.
Interviewer: So what Clubs for and in what Leagues have you played in?
Interviewee: Just the Women’s National League and for Peamount.
Interviewer: What Club do you currently play for?
Interviewee: Peamount.
Interviewer: What are some of your biggest achievements in football?
Interviewee: Representing Ireland underage and winning the Women’s National League.
Interviewee: To qualify for the Champions League and to progress onto the Irish Senior squad.
Interviewee:Yes,obviouslythe mengetpaiduptotwogranda weekandthe playersinthe Women’s
National League don’t get paid anything at all so it would be good to see in the future our league
progressing to become semiprofessional, and that’s where we want it to go.

29
Interviewer: And what are your thoughts on the reasons for this pay gap?
Interviewee: I just think that the women put in the same amount of work ethic as the men do and
stuff butIthinkthe 20x20Campaignisobviouslyhelpingthat,puttingmore publicityandstuff towards
it so hopefully it gets better.
Interviewer: Do you have any Ideas or Solutions that could close the pay gap in the future?
Interviewee: Maybe more publicity towards it and get people talking about it more and having the
right person in the association look for it because I don’t think anyone really has done that yet.
Interviewer: And Finally, obviously the gender pay gap has affected you but how has it personally
affected you?
Interviewee:ProbablywithtransportmostlyasitscommutingfromCarlow to Peamountup to three
times a week and that’s really affected me.

30
TranscribedInterview withJamie McGrath
Date of interview:Saturday 11th
January
Location of interview:Jamie McGrath’s house
Interviewer (Calum): How long have you played football?
Interviewee (Jamie):Ihave playedfootballeversince IcanrememberbutIhave beenplayingfootball
professionally for 5 years now.
Interviewee: My father. He has had big influence on me playingfootball. Since I was young all I can
remember is being on the front garden with a ball at my feet. we usedto have two goalposts in my
garden and me and my brotherand fatherwouldspendhours outside playing.He usedto coach my
brothersteam. He was five yearsolderthan me and from a youngage I wouldgo out and train with
them.WhenIturned12 myfatherrealisedIhadatalentandsobroughtme upto Dublin.Bothhe and
my motherspentthe bestpart of 10 yearsbringingme up to DublinfromMeath three timesa week.
I am so grateful for my mum and dad sacrificingso much to get me where I am now.It’s great that I
can make them proud, previously playing for my country, and also playing in stadiums like Ibrox or
Park head. They really have had an enormous role in my career.
Interviewee:Ithinkthe thingthatmotivatesme the mostismycontinuousdrive togetbetter.Ihave
sacrificeda lot since a youngage so I am hungry to be the bestI can be. I have a desire everydayto
get betterat anythingI do. Whetherthat is doingextra training,extragym work or lookingaftermy
dietItrytogive itmyall.Iwanttolookbackonmycareerandhave noregrets.Atthe presentmoment
being a young player money is not the motivation at the minute. The motivation is improvement.
Interviewee:Isignedmyfirst professional contractat 18 withSt. Patrick’sathleticwhile alsobeinga
full time studentatMaynoothuniversity.Previoustothis,Ibeganmycareerplayingformylocal team,
AthboyCeltic,at the age of 7. WhenI turnedtwelve Imovedup to play in Dublinwitha team called
cherryorchard and spenta successful 5yearsplayingthere ata greatclub.Afterthis,I moved toUCD
u19s forone seasonbefore makingthe move toSt.Pats.Afterthree seasonshere Iwasluckyenough

31
to make the move, to then champions of Ireland,DundalkFc. Under the management of soon to be
IrelandmanagerStephenKenny,Ihada great 3 yearshere andwon2 league of Irelandtrophies,2EA
sportcups 1 Fai cup and1 unite the unionscup.While hereIhave receivedcapsformycountryat u19
and u21 level. On a personal level I was fortunate enough to be voted the best young player in the
league in2018. Afterthree spectacularyearsof winningtrophiesandplayinginthe championsleague
and Europa league qualifiers,Ihave recentlymade the move to Scottishpremiershipside St.Mirren.
Hopefully it can be as successful and as enjoyable as my previous clubs.
Interviewee:Ihave recentlymade the move to Scottishpremiershipside St.Mirren.Hopefullyitcan
be assuccessful andasenjoyableasmypreviousclubs.Itwasabigstepformemovingcountry,leaving
behindfamily,friendsandmygirlfriend.Butinordertocontinue mydevelopmentIbelievedthiswas
the bestroute togo.Ihad a fewoffersfromdifferentteamsbutafteraprolongedperiodof discussion
and thinking I felt that this, at the present moment, was the best move for me. Hopefully it is just a
stepping stone to better things. I am delighted to be here.
Interviewee:Someof mybiggestachievementsinfootballwouldbegettinginternational appearances
formycountryat agesu19 under21,whilstalsorepresentingthe Irishschoolsatu18level.Ihave won
2 league of Ireland trophies, four EA Sport cups, 1 unite the union cup and 1FAI cup. I have won
Maynoothuniversityathleteof theyearin2016andalsowasvotedthe bestyoungplayerinthe league
of Irelandin2018. I have alsoplayedmanymatchesinbothqualifyingstagesof the Europaleague and
Champions league.
Interviewee: At the end of my football career I hope that my career can be as successful as the last
few years. Obviously you want to have a big trophy cabinet to look back and try gather as much
silverware aspossible.If I couldgetaseniorcapfor mycountry,itwouldbe special.Asaprofessional,
youhope to stay injuryfree,sohopefullyIhave acareerwithnot too manyinjuries.Fromthe money
point of view, I hope to be comfortable after my retirement, withhopefullya house paid for, plus a
good lump sum to lead me into my new career.

32
Interviewee:Of course.Takinggenderaside,the paygapin the league of Irelanditself isverydrastic.
Teamsat the topof the league are full timeandpayfull-time wages,whereas,teamsatthe bottomof
the league paypart-timewages.The difference fromteamto teamismassiveandluckilyenoughIwas
fortunate toplayforthe bestteaminthe countryandearnagoodwage.Froma genderpointof view,
I think the pay gap is massive. From going to university and speaking to some of the girls on the
scholarship team, the difference is night and day. I would nearly go as far to say that many of the
playersthatplayat a highlevel don’tevengetmoney.Iknow thatthere isno full-timewomen’sclub
inthe countrybutincomparisontothe mail parttime teamsthere isstill abigpaygap.Fromspeaking
to girlswhohave movedacrossthe watertopremiershipsides,evenstill playersatDundalkwouldbe
at times paid more, which is a clear indication that there is a big gap in gender pay.
Interviewee:Like Isaid,I thinkone of the main differentreasonsisthe fact that there isno full-time
women’s club in the country. I don’t know why there is and, because Ireland have produced some
amazing players that have all played in this league. One of the main reasons I believe is due to the
organisationthatrunsfootball inthiscountry.Itisonlyinrecenttimesthatthe organisationhasbeen
foundto be a complete farce,butin realisationtheyhave beenajoke for the last decade for the last
three or fourdecades.Theydonottreat football inthiscountrywithenoughrespect,theydonotput
enoughmoney,intermsof marketingandaspects,intohome grownfootball.Whatsumsthisupwas
when the women’s international football team had to go on strike to get demands for basic
entitlementsincludingtracksuits,gymmembershipandmatchsuccessfeesof lessthan500 euro.This
ismyopiniononthe matter.Untilthe organisationstartputtingsomerespectandmoneyintofootball
in this country nothing will ever change.
Interviewee:Ibelievethatthe paygap inthe league of Irelandismassive andabigproblem.Ibelieve
that contracts shouldbe standardisedandshouldbe fundedbythe FAI.Iknow now theydo nothave
the funds to do this but in the past there was nothing stopping them doing this. If the pay gap was
reduced from the top of the league to the bottom the league, I believe the league would be more
competitive asplayerswouldnothave to work part time and couldsolelyfocuson theirfootball.On

33
a Gender focus, I believe the same should happen, with more women’s teams becoming full time. It
would be great to see, and they should be paid at the same rates as men in this country.
Interviewee:Withthe state the FAIis in at the minute,itisprovingincreasinglyhardto have a quick
fix. With a lack of money combined with all the uncertainty around the organisation and no leader I
cannot see any solution being found in the near future. Like I said I believe contracts should be
standardised for both men and women but this takesbacking from the organisationthat’s in a dark
place at the minute.
Interviewee:Luckilyenough,the paygaphasn’treallyaffectedme.Iwasluckyenoughtoplayforthe
bestteaminthe country andearna goodmodestwage.However,playersIhave playedwithgrowing
up were forced to get part-time jobs as well as play football and as a result their football career has
suffered. I have witnessed players giving up on football because with the amount of sacrifice of
travelling around the country and training nearly every evening they were forced to quit football
altogether which is very sad. I hope something can be done about this issue in the future.

34
TranscribedInterview withShane Barnes
Date of interview:Thursday 6th
February
Interviewee (Shane): I played football for 17 years, since the age of five.
Interviewee:Mymotherplacedme into asambasoccercampinDublinwhenIwasyoungerandIwas
really good in it so then St. Josephs boys in Sallynogginasked me to sign withthem, I’ve always just
been playing football I’m not sure what made me start its just always been part of my life.
Interviewee:Beingthe best,playingatan elite level,andthe enjoymentthatI get from playingwell,
scoringgoals,playinginfrontof crowds,alsotheopportunitytoplayinbiggamesandtomake acareer
out of football is what motivates me.
Interviewee: I’ve played with St. Josephs boys u7-17 in the DDSL premier, St. Josephs boys in the
Leinster Senior League intermediate 3, Bray wanderers u19s in the League of Ireland u19s national
league, Tek Untied Leinster Senior League intermediate 2, Wexford in the League of Ireland first
division, Cabinteely in the League of Ireland first division.
Interviewee: Cabinteely in the league of Ireland first division
Interviewee:Playingforthe IrishcollegesandUniversitiesteamtwice andfinishingthirdinthe League
of Ireland First Division.
Interviewee: To play Premier Division Football and to become a full time footballer.

35
Interviewee: Yes
Interviewee: The standard of football between Men and Women is very big.
Interviewee:Ifeel itsslightlyunfairasthe womenplayersare verydedicatedandthereare manygood
players in the league although in order to increase the pay, the standard needs to be improved and
there needs to be more coaches.
Interviewee:Increasetheamountof womencoachesandincreasethe numberof highqualitycoaches
in the women’sgame to improve the standardwhichI thinkwill inturn make it more watchable and
it will get more spectators and then will get more money.
Interviewee:Ithasn’taffectedme somuchbutIcanclearlyseeithasaffectedmostof thegirlsplaying
football in the league and in Ireland.

36
TranscribedInterview withSeanHurley
Date of interview:Thursday 6th
February
Interviewer (Calum): How long have you played football?
Interviewee (Sean): I’ve played football since I can remember,my Father and older brothers played
football ata decentlevel soIdidn’thave muchchoice theyusedto take me to theirtrainingsessions
and matches. I started playing with a team when I was 5 or 6 and still playing to this day so all in all
about 20 years.
Interviewee:Ialwayshad an interestandwas eitherwatchingitor playingitall the time,I’dsay the
reasonI startedplayingthoughwasmy brotherStephen,he playedinthe eircomleague withUCDas
I was growing up and I was always going to the games. He was my main influencer and I also loved
playing from a very young age.
Interviewee:I’dsaygrowingupIwantedtobe like the playersIwaswatchingonthe T.V,Iknew from
a young age that I wanted too and could play at a high level so that was a good motivator for me.
Obviously winning at the end of the day is the main motivator because there’s nothing better than
winning.
Interviewee: Played with Arklow Town FC from 5-14 in the Wicklow District league, moved to ST
Joseph’sboysinDublinwhen I was 15-16, Bray Wanderers16-19, WaterfordUnited 19-21, Wexford
FC21-23, Cabinteely23-24 andcurrentlyplayingLeinsterSeniorLeague.Allotherclubswere Airtricity
league first and second division clubs.
Interviewee: Arklow Town FC in the Leinster senior league division 2
Interviewee:I’dsaygettingtrialswithLiverpoolwhenIwas15, representingIrelandatunderagelevel
and beingBrayWanderersyoungesteverplayertoplayinthe league of Irelandwouldbe my greatest
achievements.

37
Interviewee:Atthe minute I’mmore concentratedongettingmydegree incollegebutIwouldliketo
play abroad at some stage in my career.
Interviewee: Yes 100%
Interviewee:The League of Irelanddoesnot have the structure to supportboth men’sand women’s
seniorfootball,there issimplynotenoughfundingandmoneyinthe game to provide playerswitha
living wage. Unfortunately, women’s football is not promoted or supported enough in Ireland
therefore there is a serious pay discrimination.
Interviewee:Ipersonallyfeel thatwomenshouldbe paidmore infootball overall butnotas muchas
menbecause men’sfootballisabetterwatchand male playersplayingatthe highestlevel are better
than women playing at the highest level.
Interviewee: Honestly I see no solution to solving the gender pay gap within Ireland but feel
Worldwide that women’s football is now getting more coverage and publicitywhich is helping close
the gap between men and women’s football.
Interviewee:Itfortunatelydoesn’taffectme butIknow female players that it certainly does effect.

38
Appendix 3
InformationSheet - Interview
We are students in IT Carlow conducting an Interview for our Thesis on An Examination of Irish
Footballers Views on the Gender Pay Gap in The League of Ireland.
We would be delighted if you would be willing to participate in our short interview.
The purpose of our research is to find out Irish Footballers Views, Thoughts and Opinions on the
Gender Pay Gap in The League of Ireland. The information will only be used for research purposes
only.
We will keeprecordedinformationencryptedasperGDPR.Providingitisokaywewouldlike torecord
the audioof the interview,andof course duringthe processyouare free toleavethe interview atany
time.
Please print name here:
```````````````````````
Please sign here:

39
Appendix 4
Consent Forms
CONSENT FORM
An examination of Irish Footballers Views on the Gender Pay Gap in the League of Ireland
Consent Form to take part in research
 I……………………………………… voluntarily agree to participate in this research study.
 I understandthatevenif I agree to participate now,Ican withdraw atany time or refuse
to answer any question without any consequences of any kind.
 I understand that I can withdraw permission to use data from my interview withintwo
weeks after the interview, in which case the material will be deleted.
 I have had the purpose andnature of the studyexplainedtome inwritingandI have had
the opportunity to ask questions about the study.
 I understand that participation involves answering a variety of questions regarding the
views and attitudes towards the gender pay gap in the English Premier League.
 I understand that I will not benefit directly from participating in this research.
 I agree to my interview being audio-recorded.
 I understand that all information I provide for this study will be treated confidentially.
 I understand that in any report on the results of this research my identity will remain
anonymous.
 This will be done by changingmy name and disguisinganydetailsof my interview which
may reveal my identity or the identity of people I speak about.
 I understand that disguised extracts from my interview may be quoted in this study.
 I understandthatif I informthe researcher thatmyself orsomeone else isatriskof harm
they may have to report this to the relevant authorities - they will discuss this with me
first but may be required to report with or without my permission.

40
 I understandthatsignedconsentformsandoriginalaudiorecordingswill be retainedina
secure USB and folders respectively, held by Barry and Calum for the duration of out
Thesis.
 Iunderstandthatatranscriptof myinterview inwhichall identifyinginformationhasbeen
removed will be retained for the duration of our Thesis.
 I understand that under freedom of information legalisation I am entitled to access the
information I have provided at any time while it is in storage as specified above.
 I understandthat I am free to contact any of the people involvedinthe researchto seek
further clarification and information.
 Names,degrees,affiliationsandcontactdetailsof researchers(andacademicsupervisors
when relevant).
 Signature of research participant:
_______________________
Date: __________
 I believe the participant is giving informed consent to participate in this study
 Signature of researcher:
_______________________
Date: ___________
 Signature of researcher:
_______________________
Date: ____________

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