Breaking boundaries is nothing new to Nollaig O'Donnell, who goes by 'glitch8d' online. Last Summer she represented Ireland at the European Esports Championships in Poland, now she is representing the team from her grandfather's home county, Kerry FC in the ELOI, and in doing is the only woman in the ELOI.
She's not even the only person in her family to represent her country, with her sister Rebecca being an accomplished karateka and has represented Ireland at karate championships internationally. Sports has always been a part of Nollaig's life, whether it was gaelic football or rugby she always had that competitive edge and it's that edge she's carried over to eSports.
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Nollaig 'Glitch8d' O'Donnell Is 'Doing It For The Girls'
Women's sport has taken more of centre stage over the past decade, but there is still barriers to be broken and Nollaig wants to try break them down. As the sole female representative in the ELOI she says there's pressure to show everyone that she and all girls belong at that level.
I've said the whole time the pressure is just that I want to perform for the girls, I want to do the girls proud because women in sports in general, whether it's physical sports or esports, it's a very big passion of mine. I just want to perform for the girls and do the girls proud! We've scored a few good goals to make the girlies proud, but yeah that is the pressure. I don't care whether I'm getting hammered, for my name it doesn't really bother me.
But the big thing is for the women to show that woman are able to compete in a space like this and we deserve to have a space to compete in.
Esports has been gaining in popularity among the younger generations and inclusion is a huge part of the community. There's no criteria to be a gamer, just access and with the work from places like the Wylde Academy, competitive gaming is more accessible to everyone.
It's this work from the likes of Wylde that Nollaig hopes further normalises girls gaming and has girls competing at a high level.
I'm doing it for the girls, I'm hoping in a year or two's time it won't be a big deal for a girl to be playing at this level and I do appreciate the infrastructure that is going on in Ireland for eSports, especially for women. I'm heading to the Wylde Academy for the girls in esports camp. I loved it the last time I was there, it was a great experience and the girls loved it as well which is the most important thing. It's great to see the infrastructure there, to see more women and girls into gaming, into any game because that's the beauty of esports and gaming itself, there's no boundaries, everyone can compete.
History seems to be always around the corner for Nollaig and it's just a matter of time before she makes even more.
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