Ciarán Murphy: Gaelic integration by 2027 is dead. Now, associations must get it right

After Mary McAleese’s resignation as chair of the steering group on Tuesday afternoon, and her subsequent interview on RTÉ, the concept of integration between the three Gaelic games associations by 2027 lies in tatters. But where does the idea of integration as a whole now stand? Integration was as much a philosophical statement as it was a logistical challenge. There is no doubt that the challenges are real, and a much, much better job could have been done in meeting those challenges and heading off predictable pessimism and criticism. But the statement remains powerful. The statement is that girls and women involved in Gaelic games are valued, and that after integration they will feel a greater connection to, and have a greater input in, how the whole jamboree operates. And more importantly, that having women involved at every level of the association will make it better, purely and simply, as has always occurred when women get involved in organisations.READ MOREThat’s why all this is happening. And after two straight years of strategic leaks to sympathetic journalists about how tough it is, how difficult it is, and the cost, the cost, the cost ... that still remains. But the momentum has dissipated entirely.The most frustrating thing about how this has developed over the last couple of years is the lack of communication from the Steering Group on Integration (SGI). In her interview on Tuesday, McAleese referred repeatedly to her appearances in front of the Oireachtas committee, but the SGI only appeared last December at the sixth time of asking.People in the GAA may be forgiven for holding up the Football Review Committee as the model for getting things done, but then again Fianna Fáil thought it was a good enough model to win the Áras, so we should perhaps cut ourselves some slack. Either way, Jim Gavin didn’t need to be dragged in front of an Oireachtas committee to make his case for the FRC.They communicated with the public at each and every stage of the process – almost to the extent of overkill. Gavin’s Morning Ireland appearances became so frequent the reaction soon became one of resignation – “just get the job done, Jim, we trust you”. Former GAA Football Review Committee chairperson Jim Gavin addresses the media during a briefing at the GAA Football Review Committee media event in 2024. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile The lack of public appearances from the SGI was a mistake. Another key problem was identified by Aoife Lane (founder member of the Women’s GPA and head of the Department of Sport and Health Sciences at TUS Athlone), Katie Liston and former Tyrone footballer Conor Meyler in their policy brief on Integration in Gaelic Games three years ago. [ Mary McAleese may have done the GAA a favour by burning the boatsOpens in new window ]“With the exception of the chair, the Gaelic Games Integration Steering Group is represented solely by high-level leadership with vested interests. Membership of this group should be widened to ensure a greater degree of independence and impartiality and to permit specialist support for, and input into, the delivery of transformative and reflexive leadership.”Lane was in these pages last week, and I spoke with her on Wednesday. The FRC communicated its methodology repeatedly, and it also had independence. Neither of those things happened with integration.In some quarters, the Government has been urged to cut, delay or deny funding entirely to the GAA until this is sorted out. That doesn’t sound like anyone’s idea of a vote-getter and no politician would attempt to face down the might (and political power) of the association, intensely frustrating as that may be for other sporting bodies. But there is another lever the Government can pull. They can insist on a genuinely independent SGI in its next iteration, as we presume must now happen. Instead of having high-level leadership staring across the table at each other like some Gaelic games pastiche of the final scene of ‘The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly’, get expertise in the room and let them at it. They have a mandate from all three organisations. [ GAA president says equal funding for intercounty teams a concern of integration processOpens in new window ]The FRC gave congress rule enhancements to pass or reject. If the SGI needs to present county boards and clubs with 99 steps to integration, then that is what it should do. It certainly should not be afraid of consultation or information.The idea of integration by 2027 is dead. What’s important now is getting it right, and if a reset for a couple of months is required, it might be no bad thing. I spoke to someone heavily involved in the process on Wednesday who said the whole thing could still be done in two years if the will is there and the make-up of the next SGI is correct. Mary McAleese has now resigned as chair of the steering group. Photo: INPHO/Morgan Treacy The GAA management committee has been accused of a “lack of vision” by a former president of Ireland. That is not something they should attempt to wave off. The GAA will have to prove its bona fides on integration and not simply bemoan it as a logistical challenge.Jarlath Burns has now shared his concerns regarding integration, and president-elect Derek Kent might share those concerns, or even have a few of his own, but the GAA must find a voice somewhere in their ranks who can prove they’re all-in.