Fitzpatrick thrilled to be part of 'phenomenal' football journey

Across her nine years as a Tipperary senior panellist, Lauren Fitzpatrick has witnessed a significant upsurge in the profile of ladies football.

A championship debutant in 2014, the dependable goalkeeper is now one of the most experienced players within the Premier County set-up.

For that year's All-Ireland Finals Day in Croke Park, there was a total attendance of 27,374 at the Jones’ Road venue.

By 2019, that figure had more than doubled to a record crowd of 56,114.

While the Covid-19 pandemic unfortunately put paid to the prospect of this figure being surpassed in either 2020 or 2021, with 46,440 passing through the turnstiles for last year’s championship showpieces, it is clear that the appetite for the LGFA remains strong.

On a weekend when Sport Ireland are exploring the theme of 'Visibility & Events’ as part of their Women in Sport Week, Fitzpatrick believes it is important that the exploits of her fellow players continues to be captured in the strongest possible way.

"It really is phenomenal what the LGFA, TG4 and Lidl have done for the sport. We’re very lucky. We’re playing games each week and they’re live-streamed for people to see, and your families to see. At the end of the day, female athletes are putting in as much as the men are doing each week," Fitzpatrick acknowledged.

"I think it's great that they’re finally getting that recognition that they deserve. Long may it continue. Hopefully it goes that bit further as well. We’ve been very lucky to have the majority of games at home this year and we’re playing them in Fethard.

"The place is packed on a Sunday for the games. It really is great to see. We’ve young girls coming out to watch us. It really is good to see them and for them to have some bit of a role model to