GAA PRESIDENT JARLATH Burns has stated that there will be meaningful progress with integration of the GAA, the Camoguie Association and Ladies’ Gaelic Football Association at a 2027 GAA Special Congress. 

Speaking at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport on Wednesday afternoon, the leadership of all three bodies were represented and firmly behind the ongoing amalgamation.

“One of the things we have heard is not to get hung up on times… I would like to think that by 2027 Congress, we will have motions going to Congress that are very specific, from which we can take the implementation committees are working on what we have agreed,” Burns said.

“I would like to think those motions… lead out a navigable path where everybody knows where they stand on this.”

Dr McAleese

The process appeared to be thrown into disarray in recent times with the resignation of Dr Mary McAleese, who was Chair of the Steering Committee for integration.

She outlined her frustrations with some media contributions, and her comments were highlighted by Fianna Fáil’s Alison Comyn who asked Burns directly, ‘The question is, she is saying she is devastated and broken-hearted. How did it go from the conversation we had here, which seemed to be quite positive, a few roadshows and conversations and now she is devastated and heartbroken. What’s she talking about?’

Burns replied, “I think there was going to be a point where we realise that we are not going to be able to have a Congress, a Special Congress on structures. We were ready to have a Special Congress on membership, that was ready to go.

“But the general feeling is, people are going to want to join this new organisation. What are they going to become a member for?

“Camogie and the LGFA were voting themselves into extinction. Unless people from both of those organisations knew what this new organisation was going to look like and the consensus on the structures.”

He continued, “I think it was when the realisation came that that deadline was not going to be met, the first deadline was not going to be met, I think that is what she is talking about being devastated and broken-hearted.

“We were all disappointed and devastated that we lost Dr McAleese. But we are all back on this wagon. We really want it to happen.

“And I just want to make one really important point. There are probably going to be three crucial moments on this – three Congresses.

“One is on structures. The second one will be on membership, we have to get that right. And the third will be on how we flip the switch to become one organisation.

“If any of those three congresses decide ‘we are not ready for that,’ we have to go back, and we have to go back for our members.

“This is not a mergers and acquisition scenario between companies. These are three high-functioning, highly effective, democratic organisations. And I have to be honest, we were getting misgivings between all three organisations as to what exactly the structures would look like.

“A nightmare scenario for us would have been preparing for a Congress and getting messages back that ‘Our county is not ready to vote for this yet.’”