Big Strong Gorls? Sounds like the latest in the Marvel movie franchise about a new race of kick-ass Amazonian women who’ll crush you to a pulp with one flex of their biceps.
Not far off it actually, except these women are not fictional but real-life heroes. Big Strong Gorls is the identity that Ireland’s elite female rowing squad gave themselves a few years ago when they were looking to represent themselves collectively on social media. Four of them have since made history by winning Ireland’s first female Olympic rowing medal in 2021 and the BSGs are going from strength to strength, not only on the water but by creating a badge of honour that many more female athletes want to wear.
Sorry now, they may be inspiring women and world-class rowers but do none of them know how to spell?
“Gorls” is a deliberate misspelling. Olympic bronze medallist Emily Hegarty suggested the name because it’s a phrase they all repeatedly heard in their youth whenever they told anyone their sport was rowing. They’ve spelt it that way because her Skibbereen accent perfectly captured the way it was usually pronounced. As impressionable teenagers they sometimes weren’t sure if it was a compliment or a put-down. Now they’re ready to own it and other women have joined them to celebrate women’s strength and skill. They’ve literally founded and found their own tribe.
Got it. Spinning an old-fashioned phrase into a positive – like the Mullingar women’s rugby team calling themselves The Heifers – is a clever pivot. You’ll be telling me next they’ve gone full Rihanna and have their own clothing range.
They actually have. They designed a colourful one-piece (the BSG initials on it incorporate Ireland’s green, white and orange) and asked Rowing Ireland’s gear provider Powerhouse Sport to produce some for their own use, but it went a bit viral. Powerhouse’s Big Strong Gorls range now has a second colour scheme and includes cycling and leisure gear.
I had no idea rowing was so popular here!
It’s not just rowers. The gear is also proudly worn by female cyclists and triathletes and Ireland’s male rowers often wear it too to show their support. It’s a bit like the Mayo GAA jersey; worn with pride and in some pretty unexpected places. Rower Aifric Keogh revealed: “When the girls were training in the south of Italy last winter, one of the Italian girls was wearing it and shouted over ‘Big Strong Gorls!’ at them.” The range is so popular that Powerhouse insisted the rowers take a small percentage of the profits. But not only have the athletes waived their cut, they’ve agreed to use the money to create a scholarship scheme for some Irish junior girls coming in their wake, part of their legacy to the Next Gen. You can’t get more ‘Big Strong Gorl Power’ than that, right?
Fair Dues. When are the BSG in action next and will we get a goo at the flashy gear then?
They’re in action right now. Half of the 10 Irish crews taking part in the European Rowing Championships in Bled, Slovenia are women but, in competition, they wear the official Irish singlet. For a glimpse of their BSG alter-egos check out their Instagram: @big_strong_gorls_irl
