YESTERDAY the camogie finals brought the inter-county Gaelic Games season to a close for the year. It has been a phenomenal few weeks for women's competitive sport – from the Olympics, to the Paralympics, to the women's Gaelic football finals - which yet again set Croke Park alight last Sunday - to Leona Maguire's incredible performance at the Solheim Cup.
Leona even had this non-golf enthusiast hooked and checking for updates. All of a sudden, female sports stars are taking centre stage and it's refreshingly brilliant to see.
What would be even more refreshing to see is parity of esteem for women in sport, right across the board. The recent announcement by the FAI to introduce equal pay for all Ireland football players was a momentous announcement, albeit long overdue.
Yet in the shadow of such progression, it is still disappointing to see that women's sporting fixtures are still overlooked and not given the parity of esteem that they are long overdue.
Following her Solheim Cup heroics in Ohio, Leona Maguire was given a joyful welcome home to Ballyconnell, Co Cavan last week. In these strange times, moments like this become even more important in bringing communities together and giving them a lift.
There is something incredibly heart-warming about seeing children out in their droves to greet their sporting heroes, who have excelled at the highest level – and they just happen to live down the road.
On the evening of her homecoming, Leona Maguire tweeted: "To all the little girls with big dreams... Chase them, it won't be easy, but I promise it's worth it. #canseecanbe." Leona knows that her achievements will have a great and long lasting impact, and she is happy to pay it forward.
Last Sunday, we watched the All-Ireland Senior Ladies' Football final on television and cheered on the underdogs Meath. Meath were electric. Emma Duggan scored an amazing goal in the first half, without thinking about it.
The commentator then mentioned that the Dunboyne teenager had just received her Leaving Cert results – and then scored a goal like that. She was fearless.
Afterwards, we paid the last visit of the weekend to the play park where I watched my little fearless girl run, climb, swing and slide. Whether she is a future Emma Duggan or not, I hope that she will always love, enjoy and play sport.
In the midst of all this positivity, a thunder bolt struck. Former Girls Aloud band member Sarah Harding died of breast cancer. She was 39. In moments like this, you don't have to know someone for the tragedy of someone losing their life at an early age to hit home.
The statistics tell us that one in 10 women in Northern Ireland will have breast cancer in their lifetime. I'm not sure if we talk about it enough. Do all women check themselves often enough, and do they know what they are looking for?
Stuart McIntosh, Consultant breast surgeon at Belfast City Hospital told me on my radio show last week that the cancer affects 5 per cent of women aged under 40.
Stuart's message was that if you check and suspect that something isn't right, don't delay, don't put it off - go and see your doctor.
On the same programme, a remarkable woman, Joanne Harris, spoke of her work with Knitted Knockers of Northern Ireland, a charity group who knit and crochet over 3,000 soft prosthetic 'knockers' each year, and make them available to breast cancer patients. The knitted knockers are more comfortable for women to wear post-operation.
What struck me about Joanne and her work is that she started to do this out of love for a friend, and it has developed into something much bigger.
She told me that 72 people turned up to the first meeting she ran, and that every person wanted to help someone else in need. From small beginnings in Lurgan, Knitted Knockers are now available from branches of Gordon's Chemists, free of charge to anyone who needs them or wants to try them out.
Other women are volunteering to knit to make life more comfortable for, and boost the confidence of women who are going through breast cancer.
The collegiate community spirit Joanne described was heart-warming and uplifting. Joanne leads from the front and has proven that there really is strength in unity.
