Journalist “surprised” at storm of controversy around women’s rugby article
A journalist at the centre of a storm of controversy over an article on women’s rugby published yesterday has said she was not expecting the furore that it caused.
“I’m surprised at the reaction”, said Niamh Horan, speaking to breakingnews.ie this afternoon about the article published in yesterday’s Sunday Independent.
“I was asked by several radio stations to come on and discuss the story.”
However Horan said she is currently away from home and has decided that she will not comment on the story until next weekend, when she will respond in the Sunday Independent.
There has been condemnation online of her article on women’s rugby, which talked about women’s rugby and the players themselves in a way that many have described as “lazy” and “stereotyped”.
This is probably the worse piece of "journalism" I've seen in a long time; really dreadful @niamhhoran pic.twitter.com/fP7OIFiaNY
— John Gilroy (@JohnGilroyTeam) August 10, 2014
Irish women do brilliant at rugby and this is the best the Indo can come up with. Jesus wept. http://t.co/MWm7vkwtUy (via @niamhhassell)
— Ian McCourt (@ianmccourt) August 11, 2014
The rugby club involved, Railway Union RFC, were asked by the IRFU to facilitate the journalist in a training session and have said they are disappointed with the resulting article.
“We are disappointed that what could have been a hugely positive article promoting women's rugby in Ireland at time of such achievement internationally has been reduced to stereotyping. The article in no way reflects our sport, its values and the values of our club and our members.”
Speaking to Newstalk Railway Union’s president Shirley Corcoran said the club felt let down by the article.
“We have put a lot of effort into the rugby that we have in Railway (RFC) over the last number of years”, said Corcoran, “to see the disappointment, the anger and the hurt that this has caused.”
