What's next for integration of the three Gaelic associations?
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Why did former GAA president Mary McAlees resign from the Integration Steering Group?
First this morning, a slap in the face for women and a GAA management team lacking in vision. Th those are the words of Mary McAlees, the former president. She stepped down as the chairperson of the Gaelic Games Integration Steering Group yesterday. Here's what she told Marie Marie Crow on Inside Sport last night.
The the document they produced yesterday wittered on um uh about um how they they continued to support integration and they were going to do all sorts of things to support integration, except that they weren't actually going to do anything because they've blocked our progress, they've blocked our plan, and they have no other plan currently. So it looks like going back to the drawing board. And yesterday I To say I was shocked to hear the current president of the GAA say that in fact he didn't really support the idea, um, having supported it up to now at all our meetings, but that he was in favor of federation. Now, federation wasn't what we were asked to four years ago to plan for. Uh, in fact, very early on in our in our discussions, it was dismissed because it wasn't integration.
and we were asked to deal with integration. So that was a shock to me, a huge shock. Um, as I think it was to others.
That's uh former President Mary MacAlee speaking to Marie Crow on Inside Sport last night. And you can hear that full interview on RTE Listen. Well worth uh your time uh to hear that. Well for more of this I'm joined now by Chorus Staunton, former Mayo ladies footballer, Ivan Lee Quillen, Finegael Senator and Laska Heerlock of the Oroctus Sports Committee, and Tom Parsons, CEO of the Gaelic Players Association. You're all very welcome. I might start with you. Ivan. Were there signs of this before? Because you had the steering group before the committee twice. Did you notice any red flags?
Um I did, David. Um hi, how are you doing? Thanks for having us on this morning. Look Um, I was as surprised as everybody else was, um, with the news, but like our job on the committee is to question everything. Um it took about five times um to get a date when they f when they initially came in on the seventeenth of december twenty twenty five. We had a special sitting earlier in the day to accommodate
What red‑flags did the committee notice about the integration plan’s communication?
their diaries. We had so many questions that day and I was probably quite sceptical um in my questioning of the steering group that day because there had been a void of information and there had been really no communication with members or the EROTUS committee, but more so the members didn't really know what was happening. So I suggested that they they should have more updates because we did get some information that day about planned roadshows and various other um developments that had happened. So the the steering group was was working and was getting a lot of work done but we weren't hearing about it. On the second occasion in June of this year I chaired that meeting because the chair was away um on other business.
So we had about three hours of engagement and it was a much more positive meeting with mar far more updates. Um and if you go back and look at the transcript of of that particular meeting there were there there was a there there was probably a more positive feeling in the room that progress was being made. But I used my time at the end of that meeting to question some of the red flags that I was still hearing about. One of those red flags was talk of a federation model. And when I say that my question was met with absolute um defensive um uh well it was it was a bullish response. No, that is absolutely not being suggested. Where are you hearing that? We put that to bed a long time ago. We are not looking at a federation model because that is not integration.
But I asked it because I did I was concerned. And it appears to be due and was shot down.
Yeah, and it appears to be back in the ether now.
Exactly. And nobody knew that it was back in the ether, including, as far as I'm aware, um the uh the uh central council um and the the actual like there was a meeting in August I believe.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why did former GAA president Mary McAlees resign from the Integration Steering Group?
0:00–2:13
2
What red‑flags did the committee notice about the integration plan’s communication?
2:13–4:03
3
How did the GPA’s 2022 motion on integration become sidelined?
4:03–6:34
4
What does Tom Ryan say about the timeline for integration and its implementation?
6:34–9:00
5
Why are players and officials frustrated by the cost estimates for integration?
9:00–11:25
6
What leadership and governance changes are being proposed to move integration forward?
11:25–13:55
7
How do Cora Staunton and the GEA view the loss of Mary McAlees and the future of integration?
13:55–16:25
8
What concrete actions are listeners being asked to expect from the GAA in the next year?
16:25–16:47
Speakers
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