Full integration looks unlikely as problems arise in process

Fallout from Dr McAleese's resignation continues in row over plan to bring together GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association under same umbrella

Meath GAA Co Board chairman Jason Plunkett doesn't envisage full integration between the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association to happen any time soon following the news that former President of Ireland Dr Mary McAleese has stepped down as chair of the steering committee on integration (SCI).

McAleese was appointed to lead the group to oversee the amalgamation of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association (CA) by former GAA President Larry McCarthy in September 2022 with the view to unity of the three associations by 2027.

However following a meeting of McAleese's steering committee on Monday there were serious misgivings about the timeline for the merger and the unlikelihood of a Special Congress taking place next month to take the initial steps and subsequently McAleese stepped down.

GAA's Management Committee informed McAleese that the timeline for integration was 'unrealistic' and that 'phased implementation would represent a more measured approach'.

McAleese rejected that opinion and despite multiple roadshows and other efforts to sustain the progress towards amalgamation the former President stepped away from her role with the SCI.

"I think there will be some form of integration, but I don't think it will be done fully, maybe in the same format as rounders and handball where they have their own rule book, congress and committee's," suggested Meath GAA Co Board chairman Plunkett.

"There is an issue with membership and an issue with the cost of running the associations in terms of player insurance scheme, affiliation of teams and property insurance has doubled for most clubs this year. That's not at a higher level, that is an issue at club level.

"Clubs have huge issues in terms of memberships for funding the running costs of clubs. The funding model needs to be right in terms of how much it costs to play our games.

"Then fixtures have to be looked at. It won't all come in under one umbrella, but we do need to align our fixtures, like we do in our own fixture calendar in Meath."

Plunkett was part of the work group looking at facilities along with Michael Reynolds from Leinster Council and Munster chairman Tim Murphy as chair of the work group, and he suggested that games on county grounds would have to be looked at on an attendance basis and rather than whether it's a male or female fixture, if a clash arose. On training facilities, no county has the playing facilities currently to cope with the demand if the integration happened in 2027.

The GAA have requested a pause to reflect on the process so far and that they wished to reconsider the approach with greater focus on equity rather than equality.

Plunkett believes that the LGFA and CA might be better served if they came together first.

He felt also that his fellow Co Board chairpersons were excluded from the process and never met with Dr McAleese, they got the update like the public in regards to the pathway.

"I was disappointed to hear that Dr McAleese resigned her position as Chair of the SIG, but I wasn't too surprised as I don't think she fully understood the GAA.

"From a business point of view the GAA is a very complex organisation and I don't think she fully understood all the mechanics of the associations.

"I can understand her frustrations because everything is slow moving in the GAA. We know that from trying to change competitions, from trying to develop, everything takes a lot of time.

"The changing of the GAA Football Championships to where it is now , was done under three Presidents to get it to where it is, that's 10 to 12 years.

"I think she was frustrated by the mechanics of the GAA, the LGFA and the Camogie Association.

"There were roadshows and surveys, but as a group of chairpersons in the association we haven't been fully involved, yet we are the people on the ground.

"There was a committee that were asked to be set up within each county to see what integration would look like within each county.

"There were terms of reference set out that there would be an independent chair, along with two representatives from the GAA, two from the LGFA and two from the Camogie.

"I don't know how that would have worked because if there were proposals that needed to be voted on, then the voting power would have lay with our sister organisations, those were the concerns of the other chairpersons as well, and they weren't prepared to do that , we wanted a process from top down not a integration for every county to be different.

"I was at a Central Council meeting in March and it was asked to pause that proposal and that was agreed. That was paused back then, so why is it only coming out now that Dr McAleese is resigning now, because the writing was on the wall several months ago.

"The fear was that if one of the organisations, be it GAA, LGFA or Camogie Association, voted against any of the proposals then that proposal would be off the table forever.

"Plenty of people resign from many roles in different walks of life, but the process still continues. The process is not gone because one person is gone," concluded the Meath GAA chairman.

Meath Camogie chairperson Kieran Devaney is disappointed with the latest developments, but insists that a strong relationship exists between the three associations in Meath and he is confident that the good working agreement will be maintained.

“We are obviously disappointed with how developments have gone in the last week. We have a good working relationship with both Meath GAA and the Meath LGFA. It is disappointing and at the moment there is uncertainty about where things are going to go now," said Devaney.

“We are building a Centre of Excellence beside Meath GAA in Devenish Park and we have to work together with them on that and we have been. We have a good working relationship with the LGFA which will only get stronger with integration.”

Meath LGFA chairman Tommy Cannon admitted that he could see the writing on the wall before Dr McAleese's decision to resign and he had contrasting views in terms of if integration wkill work in the future.

“I've been at a couple of the roadshows for integration and the way things were going and what was being said, I really could not see Integration getting over the line and I still can’t," admitted Cannon.

"I know the LGFA put out a statement saying that they were going to keep going ahead with it, but I can’t see it working and if it does I think the women are going to be worse off.

“A lot of the organisations within the counties are trying to talk to each other and it is not working. It is not even working in our own county and I know it's not working in other counties either.

"Some counties have been successful with it but a lot of them haven’t. It was never going to happen nationally when it couldn't work within the counties,” concluded Cannon.