Kelly McGill is the co-founder and assistant editor of the only women’s sports website in Ireland, Women’s Sports Journal.
After deciding that there wasn’t enough being done to promote and support sportswomen in Ireland, she and her friend Lisa Haskins set up the site. As well as that, they have appeared in the Dáil regarding the issue of women in sport.
We caught up with Kelly to find out where the idea for the site came from and what the future holds…
Have you always had an interest in sport?
I have always had an interest in sports especially football. I played for Saint Patrick’s Athletic in my youth and it was something that I seriously enjoyed, not only because it was something to do but the team spirit was always something that made it great. I also played sports such as handball and basketball in primary school and was one of the first girls to play for a boy’s team in Saint Patrick’s National School, Chapelizod. I also played for the football team in secondary school. So the passion for sport has always been there.
When and how did the idea for the website come about?
The idea for the website came about while Lisa Haskins and I attended Ballyfermot College of Further Education. Lisa, like myself, is a seriously sporty person and has played such sports like tag rugby and archery. We were both studying a HND in Journalism and we always wanted to start something up together but never knew what. It wasn’t until we seen the amazing Katie Taylor and the attention that she brought to the media that we both realised that there surely has been other women that have won gold.
What Lisa and myself are never too embarrassed to mention is that the go ahead for this website was set in stone in a bar in Dublin City Centre, where I’m sure many ideas are created but not necessarily thought through. It all started from there really. We began to gather up and research how little women were being represented in the media, sports wise, and our minds were packed to the brim with creative ideas for the site. After a lot of thinking we decided on setting up the website Women’s Sports Journal and it wasn’t until the 20th of January 2014 that we pressed the publish button on the site.
The Women’s Sports Journal website.
What is your aim?
Lisa and I have worked seriously hard over the past few months and our aim has always stayed the same: to get women in sports the much needed and deserved attention that they have worked for. We aim to push women’s sports in Ireland and provide a site that gives women an opportunity to get there story heard.
Could you tell me how you got to this point in terms of getting the website up and running?
We first started off on a free blogging website. It was hard when it came to the design of the website as we had never done anything like this before so we really just stuck with green white and orange (I know how patriotic) as our main colours. The site was updated daily by myself and Lisa with stories that we believed were newsworthy and then got images together. It was an ongoing process that we learned about every day.
It wasn’t until we got in touch with a man named Conor Kelly, who came on board and set up the website on WordPress, that it was transformed into something we hoped for. Lisa and I were nervous as it meant a new layout and a new way of thinking but God it was so worth it. We then had a site that we were proud of showing off.
What is a normal working day for you?
I work in a retail as a customer care advisor and Lisa is in the process of finishing a degree in Media Management. As soon as shifts and college are over, we go home and jump straight onto the site to update it, so our working day does be quite hectic. On the last Saturday of every month I talk to Colm Hanley on Stadium Saturdays 103.2 about what has been going on in the world of women’s sport.
Kelly and Lisa.
What do you love most about your job?
I love everything about my job. Not only do I get to meet and interview sporting heroes such as Irish Rugby Captain Fiona Coghlan, MMA Champion Ais Daly, Paralympic Swimmer Ellen Keane and Irish Drag Racer Gabrielle McDonald, I get to see how much they enjoy retelling their stories of success.
Working with my best friend also has to be up there with loving my job. Lisa was my ‘buddy’ (a person who looks after new first year students in secondary school) and after all those years we ended up being in the same college and setting up this website together. To be honest I don’t think either of us would have it any other way.
What comes next for you and the website?
Lisa and I will be looking forward to the Blog Awards Ireland 2014 this coming October (we are up for Best Sports Website of the Year and Best Newcomer) and hopefully we can go in and win as it would mean so much to us. We will be continuing to look for a sponsor to help our site get out there and to help us make the site bigger and better. We are always looking to get people who are interested in sports involved with the team as well.
You can check out the Women’s Sport Journal here or follow it on Twitter here.
