Tipp Camogie great Ciara Gaynor to feature on 2024 Laochra Gael Series
She is one of eight legends who performed heroics on the field and who each have a unique and extraordinary story to tell.
5-time All-Ireland senior camogie winner with Tipperary, Ciara Gaynor will feature on the new season of Laochra Gael to be broadcast this spring.
Between 1999 and 2005, Gaynor was a cornerstone of Tipperary's formidable defensive unit, one of the best camogie teams of all time.
A player who won five All-Ireland medals and the Player of the Year Award in 2003, Ciara and her team inspired a generation of young Tipperary girls to follow their dreams.
The years of her youth, led by her father Len, stood with Ciara and at nineteen-years-old she already had her first All-Ireland senior medal in Tipperary’s very first success in 1999.
But after winning the third final in 2001, an incident that occurred in her professional life as a Guard put the prospect of her fourth championship in a row in jeopardy. However, she managed to win further All-Ireland titles in 2003 and 2004, and with five winners medals under her belt, Ciara announced her retirement at the age of just 26.
She then focused her newfound time and energy on family life and her lifelong love of horses. Today Ciara's competitive spirit is embedded in one of the most demanding global sporting events - Ironman. Not surprisingly, she qualified for the 2023 World Championships in Hawaii.
The episode, which will be the penultimate one of the series, will air on Thursday, 7th March at 9.30pm and will include contributions from her father Len, mother Eileen, sister Sinead, husband Jeremy Cairns and son Charlie, friend Sheila Gregan as well as Tipperary teammate Therese Brophy, Kilkenny’s Sinéad Millea, Cork’s Stephanie Dunlea and camogie journalist Darragh Ó Conchúir.
The definitive GAA sports series, Laochra Gael returns to TG4 for a 22nd series. The series hour-long format has proved a huge success, bringing each player’s personal stories to screen. While their sporting careers continue to provide the backdrop to the story, the series travels well beyond the four white lines. Gripping personal storylines will compel viewers to travel towards territory unique to the GAA television landscape.
The new Laochra Gael season will start on Thursday, January 25th at 9.30pm.
Programme 1: Kilkenny hurler Richie Power - Thursday 25th January
Programme 2: Derry footballer Tony Scullion - Thursday 1st February
Programme 3: Dublin Ladies Footballer Lindsay Peat - Thursday 8th February
Programme 4: Clare hurler Tony Griffin - Thursday 15th February
Programme 5: Galway dual star Alan Kerins - Thursday 22rd February
Programme 6: Laois hurler Pat Critchley - Thursday 29th February
Programme 7: Tipperary camogie’s Ciara Gaynor - Thursday 7th March
Programme 8: Tyrone footballer Kevin Hughes - Thursday 14th March