The decision by Dr. Mary McAleese to step down last week as chairperson of the Integration Committee overseeing the amalgamation of the GAA, Ladies Gaelic Football and the Camogie Association is seen as a blow to plans for the proposed merger between the three bodies. It came after the GAA told the steering group that it could not commit to the definitive timeline for integration.
McAleese, who served as president of Ireland between 1997 and 2011, was appointed by the GAA in September 2022 to serve as the independent chairperson of the integration process between the three associations. The three bodies had committed to achieving integration by 2027 and had agreed to hold a Special Congress next month to enable the creation of one membership of one association from April next year.
However, the GAA wrote to the group last week, requesting time to pause and reflect on the process. The GAA told the steering group that it wished to reconsider the approach with greater focus on equity rather than equality. It’s understood the GAA’s proposal was to extend the process by up to five years, but they remain fully committed to integration.
A statement issued on behalf of McAleese said the change creates significant uncertainty around the previously agreed and publicly announced roadmap. She added that in her view the roadmap was now effectively blocked and no alternative pathway offered.
McAleese said: ‘‘I have to say, I was shocked to hear the current president of the GAA say that he didn't really support the idea, having supported it up to now at all our meetings, but that he was in favor of federation. Now, federation was not what we were asked four years ago to plan for. In fact, very early on in our discussions, it was dismissed because it wasn’t integration. I did meet the management committee, a body, quite frankly, that was less than impressive and very disappointing to me as a long-term GAA supporter to meet a body so lacking in vision for the future of the GAA.”
McAleese added, ”I hate to say this but I suspect when I see them that they have problems with equality that there are people who are not entirely happy about the idea of including women in decision-making at the top level of Gaelic sports."
It’s believed that GAA concerns focused chiefly on the costs associated with an integrated inter-county structure, after a special subcommittee estimating in a report that €11m alone would be required from central funding, before counties themselves had to commit funding to achieve equality.
GAA Director General Tom Ryan rejected McAleese’s accusations of misogyny ‘‘in the strongest possible terms.’’ In fact, the former Irish president did not use the term “misogyny,” but columnists did, particularly in reference to the last quoted sentence above.
Ryan said that a new chairperson of the Integration Committee will be appointed before their next meeting on Oct. 8.
He added: ‘‘Upwards of 30 per cent of members of club executives are female today in the GAA. And upwards of 30 per cent of our clubs are operated on what we call the ‘one club model.’ which means that that’s an outfit that promotes all codes equally.’’
