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4th June 2025
11:22am BST
Over the weekend, Armagh footballer Mark Shields spoke in front of an audience for the first time about being an openly gay player.
The All-Ireland winner came out to his teammates a decade ago, but regrets not doing it sooner.
Speaking at the GPA Pride Brunch over the weekend, he said: "I spent 15 years inside a senior inter-county dressing room, and I always wondered if I belonged.
"I never heard anyone like me speak up, so I stayed silent.
"That silence cost me.
"It was a male environment, very macho. You just felt, if they knew I was gay, maybe you'd lose your place, maybe you wouldn't be accepted.
"So I pushed it down, and that weight became heavier every season."
Summoning the courage to come out was inspirational, particularly considering the less progressive environment ten years ago.
But Shields' opinion on the current attitudes within the GAA culture are hopeful and positive for younger generations wishing to come out.
He added: "It was a daunting task coming out, whenever, it was about 10 or 12 years ago.
"But like I said, the culture has changed within society, within the group in Armagh, and I feel I can express myself more, the group are more accepting.
"The language used around the group has changed, and there's people standing up for people and myself in the group, whereas maybe that didn't happen as much before.
"I think the culture and everything is changing within the GAA itself.
"I hope speaking out and telling my story will help that kind of younger player for male and female, non-binary, to express themselves in the GAA environment."
For the defender, key to his journey was the support group he had.
And the advice he shared for those wishing to follow in his footsteps centres around confiding in those who you can trust: "For me it was a process.
"I had to find someone who I trusted in, that was my sister. I spoke to my sister a lot, I have a close relationship with her, my partner as well.
"It's finding someone you trust and you want to express yourself to them.
"They were the ones that stood by me throughout and supported me whenever I felt down or low or in the dumps or in a dark place.
"And it doesn't have to be in front of a group, it can be a one-to-one conversation."
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