Players are now questioning whether the GAA was ever truly committed to integration (file photo). Alamy Stock Photo
From The Journalwhere we all belong?
How the GAA integration plan stalled - and what players make of it
Mary McAleese on Tuesday resigned from her position as chair of the Integration Committee overseeing the amalgamation of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association, when it became clear the process would not be complete in 2027.
PLAYERS ARE FRUSTRATED with the GAA after the timeline for the long-awaited integration of the organisation with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) and Camogie Association has been delayed indefinitely.
The GAA owns or operates the majority of pitches and facilities in Ireland, and as the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association are separate, this means that men, women, boys and girls playing for the same communities often do not have access to the same facilities and resources.
Some clubs across the country have voluntarily integrated and introduced a formal One Club policy ensuring equal access for all teams, but intercounty teams remain separate.
If integration is successful, all three associations will come under the GAA and a single membership structure will apply to all members.
Progress towards integration first began over four years ago in February 2022 when members of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association passed motions to prioritise integration into one, unified organisation based on equality.
However, players are now questioning whether the GAA was ever truly committed to integration.
Timeline
Former President of Ireland Mary McAleese was appointed as independent integration chairperson in September 2023. INPHO
INPHO
GAA president Jarlath Burns estimated that integration could cost over €500 million, a claim which was dismissed as “nonsense” by Camogie Association president Brian Molloy.
Early this year incoming GAA president Derek Kent told The Sun that the move could be delayed until 2034. He said that 2034 – seven years behind the stated target – is a “symbolic target”.
In March, Fine Gael senator Evanne Ní Chuilinn, the vice chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Sport, called on the GAA to get “stuck in” and stick to its 2027 timeline.
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But this week the GAA told the steering committee that it could not commit to the 2027 timeline. The GAA reportedly wrote to the group on Monday, proposing to extend the process by up to five years and that they remain fully committed to integration.
The former President of Ireland then announced her resignation from the steering committee, adding that “the commitment to integration has evaporated”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Inside Sport, McAleese delivered a withering assessment of the management committee of the GAA, declaring they had blocked any chance of progress and had no vision for the future of Gaelic games.
Today, Tom Ryan, the GAA’s director general, confirmed the association is “just not ready” for integration by 2027, adding that the deadline for integration is “too ambitious”.
He said the GAA’s commitment to integration remains “firm and absolute” and refuted accusations of misogyny “in the strongest possible terms”.
Meanwhile, speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Jarlath Burns claimed integration could cause expenditure for inter-county teams to double from €45 million to €90 million, admitting the delays are due to financial concerns.
A priority?
The GAA remains firmly committed to building a single Association that honours the identity, heritage and contribution of each of our sports while creating a stronger and more inclusive future ⬇️ https://t.co/4Lo2fBE8lX
Aisling Maher, Dublin Camogie captain and board member of the Gaelic Players’ Association (GPA), has questioned how genuine the GAA’s desire for integration is.
Speaking to The Journal, she said: “You would have to ask the question of how much do the GAA want to make this happen.”
“There’s plenty of competence there when there’s a will to introduce change and when there’s a will to enact that change.”
“It’s really frustrating, to be honest. From a player’s perspective, your time playing the sport is short, and I think the timelines were reasonable to begin with,” Maher said.
“We really weren’t given any indication that there would be need for a delay… I don’t think people within the steering group themselves were privy to some of the concerns that the GAA are now saying they have.”
Maher said she is particularly frustrated because the GAA seem to have made the decision to delay integration “in isolation at a management level”.
Cora Staunton, former Mayo Ladies Footballer, asked, “Did the GAA even want it, or were they just doing it because it was the right thing to do in terms of what the public wanted?”
Speaking on RTÉ this morning, Staunton said: “I was always sceptical of the process from when it even started.”
Grassroots
Despite delays at management level of the GAA, grassroots organisations within the Association seem to support integration by a vast majority.
The GPA said that the motion in favour of integration back in 2022 had the support of over 90% of members, while Maher said both female and male players are frustrated with the GAA’s latest move.
“I’ve spoken to a number of male and female players over the last 24 hours, and there’s frustration across the board,” she said.
Maher explained that, on a practical level, remaining unintegrated means that the GAA and the men involved control access to the majority of facilities and resources.
“I’ve been playing camogie for close to 25 years at this stage, and I’ve never been a member of the GAA, despite the fact that I’ve given a huge amount of time and energy and effort to it over those years,” she said.
“All the training facilities, all the resources, all the money is owned and controlled by the men. And as a female player, having access to that is very difficult and it’s at the male county boards or the male GAA’s discretion.”
Maher said the successful introduction of the One Club model in many clubs proves that resources and facilities can be shared.
Diarmaid Ronayne, who plays gaelic football with Clyda Abbey in Mourneabbey Co Cork, said that although his GAA club and the local LGFA and Camogie team are separate, they share resources and facilities, despite there being no specific One Club policy in place.
Speaking to The Journal, Ronayne said the only thing that would change if integration formally occurred is that the teams would decide on which club name to all use.
“It’s like we’re almost the one club anyway, really. It’s just we’re all using the same facilities. We’re all there together all the time,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone would actually care because everyone’s from Mourneabbey. We all support both clubs. So it’s not like it’s different.”
He said that at national level, many Camogie and hurling games, or gaelic football and LGFA games, are already played on the same pitch as double-headers, and billed under the same ticket.
Ronayne said he can’t understand why the GAA is delaying integration, and finds it hard to believe the amalgamation would cost €500 million.
“I don’t understand how it could possibly cost that much,” he said.
“I was kind of wondering then are they actually for it at all?”
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How the GAA integration plan stalled - and what players make of it
PLAYERS ARE FRUSTRATED with the GAA after the timeline for the long-awaited integration of the organisation with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) and Camogie Association has been delayed indefinitely.
Mary McAleese on Tuesday resigned from her position as chair of the Integration Committee overseeing the amalgamation of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association, when it became clear the process would not be completed in 2027 as planned.
The GAA owns or operates the majority of pitches and facilities in Ireland, and as the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association are separate, this means that men, women, boys and girls playing for the same communities often do not have access to the same facilities and resources.
Some clubs across the country have voluntarily integrated and introduced a formal One Club policy ensuring equal access for all teams, but intercounty teams remain separate.
If integration is successful, all three associations will come under the GAA and a single membership structure will apply to all members.
Progress towards integration first began over four years ago in February 2022 when members of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association passed motions to prioritise integration into one, unified organisation based on equality.
However, players are now questioning whether the GAA was ever truly committed to integration.
Timeline
In September 2022, the Steering Group on Integration was formed to oversee the process and McAleese was appointed as independent chair. The group began a consultation process, involving workshops, submissions, meetings with relevant parties and working groups on integration.
In February 2024, the group revealed 2027 as the proposed date for full integration. However, by September 2025, questions began to emerge on the practical implications of integration, particularly the cost and impact on fixtures and facilities.
GAA president Jarlath Burns estimated that integration could cost over €500 million, a claim which was dismissed as “nonsense” by Camogie Association president Brian Molloy.
The Irish Times then revealed that minutes from a December 2025 meeting of the GAA’s Management Committee state that the “consensus” was that “2027 represents an unrealistic target for full and complete integration”.
Early this year incoming GAA president Derek Kent told The Sun that the move could be delayed until 2034. He said that 2034 – seven years behind the stated target – is a “symbolic target”.
In March, Fine Gael senator Evanne Ní Chuilinn, the vice chair of the Oireachtas Committee on Sport, called on the GAA to get “stuck in” and stick to its 2027 timeline.
But this week the GAA told the steering committee that it could not commit to the 2027 timeline. The GAA reportedly wrote to the group on Monday, proposing to extend the process by up to five years and that they remain fully committed to integration.
The former President of Ireland then announced her resignation from the steering committee, adding that “the commitment to integration has evaporated”.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Inside Sport, McAleese delivered a withering assessment of the management committee of the GAA, declaring they had blocked any chance of progress and had no vision for the future of Gaelic games.
Today, Tom Ryan, the GAA’s director general, confirmed the association is “just not ready” for integration by 2027, adding that the deadline for integration is “too ambitious”.
He said the GAA’s commitment to integration remains “firm and absolute” and refuted accusations of misogyny “in the strongest possible terms”.
Meanwhile, speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Jarlath Burns claimed integration could cause expenditure for inter-county teams to double from €45 million to €90 million, admitting the delays are due to financial concerns.
A priority?
Aisling Maher, Dublin Camogie captain and board member of the Gaelic Players’ Association (GPA), has questioned how genuine the GAA’s desire for integration is.
Speaking to The Journal, she said: “You would have to ask the question of how much do the GAA want to make this happen.”
“It’s really frustrating, to be honest. From a player’s perspective, your time playing the sport is short, and I think the timelines were reasonable to begin with,” Maher said.
“We really weren’t given any indication that there would be need for a delay… I don’t think people within the steering group themselves were privy to some of the concerns that the GAA are now saying they have.”
Maher said she is particularly frustrated because the GAA seem to have made the decision to delay integration “in isolation at a management level”.
Cora Staunton, former Mayo Ladies Footballer, asked, “Did the GAA even want it, or were they just doing it because it was the right thing to do in terms of what the public wanted?”
Speaking on RTÉ this morning, Staunton said: “I was always sceptical of the process from when it even started.”
Grassroots
Despite delays at management level of the GAA, grassroots organisations within the Association seem to support integration by a vast majority.
The GPA said that the motion in favour of integration back in 2022 had the support of over 90% of members, while Maher said both female and male players are frustrated with the GAA’s latest move.
“I’ve spoken to a number of male and female players over the last 24 hours, and there’s frustration across the board,” she said.
Maher explained that, on a practical level, remaining unintegrated means that the GAA and the men involved control access to the majority of facilities and resources.
“I’ve been playing camogie for close to 25 years at this stage, and I’ve never been a member of the GAA, despite the fact that I’ve given a huge amount of time and energy and effort to it over those years,” she said.
“All the training facilities, all the resources, all the money is owned and controlled by the men. And as a female player, having access to that is very difficult and it’s at the male county boards or the male GAA’s discretion.”
Maher said the successful introduction of the One Club model in many clubs proves that resources and facilities can be shared.
Diarmaid Ronayne, who plays gaelic football with Clyda Abbey in Mourneabbey Co Cork, said that although his GAA club and the local LGFA and Camogie team are separate, they share resources and facilities, despite there being no specific One Club policy in place.
Speaking to The Journal, Ronayne said the only thing that would change if integration formally occurred is that the teams would decide on which club name to all use.
“It’s like we’re almost the one club anyway, really. It’s just we’re all using the same facilities. We’re all there together all the time,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone would actually care because everyone’s from Mourneabbey. We all support both clubs. So it’s not like it’s different.”
He said that at national level, many Camogie and hurling games, or gaelic football and LGFA games, are already played on the same pitch as double-headers, and billed under the same ticket.
Ronayne said he can’t understand why the GAA is delaying integration, and finds it hard to believe the amalgamation would cost €500 million.
“I don’t understand how it could possibly cost that much,” he said.
“I was kind of wondering then are they actually for it at all?”
The GAA has been contacted for comment.
Written by Sophie Finn and posted on TheJournal.ie
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Camogie Association GAA Gaelic Games Integration LGFA Mary McAleese where we all belong?