TWO female sports stars, who have over 30 All-Ireland medals between them in Gaelic football, basketball, soccer and rounders, are now taking the business world by storm, with their fledgling sportswear company GOWA securing their third inter-county jersey contract in two years.

Galway’s Louise Ward and Sligo’s Noelle Gormley, who registered GOWA in October 2022 and subsequently left their public service roles two years ago to become full-time company directors, will fulfil all Galway LGFA inter-county gear orders in 2026 after announcing the partnership recently.

It is the third county that GOWA has signed up, having already been appointed the sole agents for Sligo LGFA and Roscommon LGFA in recent times. “We are delighted to work with the counties; we played for our counties ourselves and know what the environment is like as players, so it is a big thing for us,” says 2019 All-Star winner, Louise Ward.

Understandably, the Kilkerrin-Clonberne native is thrilled to secure the signature of her home county, particularly as she hopes to once again wear the maroon and white in 2026. “It is massive for me, because it is my county,” says Louise, “just as it was a big deal when Noelle signed Sligo because that is the county she has played for over the last 20 years. To own the company, produce the new Galway jersey, and play in it, it is going to be unique.”

No doubt, the GOWA brand has been growing, as they now not only supply sports, school, and corporate wear to all disciples and sectors in the West of Ireland and, indeed, nationally, but also as far away as New York, Chicago and San Francisco in the United States.

“It has been a massive learning curve for us,” says Noelle. “We are just so lucky that people put their trust in us and allow us to support and guide them. We treat the company like we play sports. You don’t look too far ahead, but we do have a vision to provide the best we can for as many customers, and make as many teams as happy as we can.”

She notes that this enterprise couldn’t have got off the ground without the support of their clubs, her own St Nathy’s and Louise’s Kilkerrin-Clonberne, along with all the other clubs, men and women, within their home and neighbouring counties.

“They have all got behind us; it is great,” says Louise. “Obviously, they see us playing for the club and county and they want to support us. People have been really good in that sense, and we needed that to get the business off the ground.”

When setting up their sportswear company, another person they relied on was Galway LGFA’s 2004 All-Ireland winning senior manager, PJ Fahy, who as owner of ECC Timber, is also a successful businessman.

“PJ has been massive,” says Louise. “I can’t stress how big of an influence he has been in getting us off the ground and he is always there for us or on the end of the phone for advice. He sat down with us for hours when we were getting started and every step we take, we like to seek his advice. So, we would like to highlight him, because he is never going to highlight himself.”

Family, too, have also played their part. Louise and Noelle both say their respective families have put in Trojan work. “They have taken such an interest,” says Noelle. “They love seeing our brand around the place and even if they are in a different part of the world we would get a text, ‘I saw a GOWA jersey today’. It is personal to them, too.”

Pictured: Modelling GOWA’s new Galway LGFA jersey at The Claddagh recently were All-Stars Nicola Ward and Olivia Divilly and Galway senior captain Kate Geraghty (centre).