GAA director-general Tom Ryan speaks in the wake of former president of Ireland Dr Mary McAleese’s resignation as chairperson of the Gaelic Games Integration Steering Group

The GAA is “just not ready” for the proposed timeline for integration with the LGFA and Camogie Association, the director general of the organisation Tom Ryan has said.

Describing integration as a “complex undertaking”, Mr Ryan said the aim was to have a special GAA Congress ahead of the launch of integration in 2027, but he said the GAA has “missed a deadline”

His comments come in the wake of former president of Ireland Dr Mary McAleese’s resignation as chairperson of the Gaelic Games Integration Steering Group, a role she had held since 2022.

Her resignation came following a request from the GAA for more time with integration. The proposed timeline had set integration to take place in April 2027.

“It’s our own deadline that we’ve missed, and in hindsight I think what we were aiming for just proved a little bit too ambitious,” he told RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland.

“So, we just need to refocus, recast our plans, and above all, the commitment remains firm and absolute.

“But there were a couple of specific things that we needed to get approval for at this juncture, and they were going to be tricky.”

Mr Ryan spoke as Sports Minister Patrick O’Donovan is set to meet the GAA on Wednesday afternoon following former president Dr Mary McAleese resignation from the group overseeing the merger of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association overseeing the amalgamation of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association.

It is understood that Ms McAleese, representatives from the GAA, the LGFA and the Camogie Association will meet with Mr O’Donovan in a series of meetings this afternoon.

Speaking further on Wednesday morning, Mr Ryan said the “tricky” issues included common membership of the GAA across all three organisations, and the structures of a new GAA from club level up to national governance.

Asked how long integration is set to take now, Mr Ryan said he “can’t offer a precise timeline”, but proposals around membership and structures could be presented next year.

He said integration would come through a “phased implementation” rather than a “single big bang”.

Mr Ryan said he “can’t accept” accusations of misogyny that have been levelled against the GAA since Ms McAleese’s resignation was announced.

“I would refute that in the strongest possible terms, and I accept in the course of a project like this, there will be different perspectives and different points of view, and that’s fine, but I can’t accept that as a charge.

“I’m very, very proud to be part of the GAA, I’m proud of what it is and does. It’s an inclusive organization, it’s a family-oriented organisation, it’s a progressive organisation.”

Of the 19 people on the GAA’s management committee, Mr Ryan said nine are women.

Speaking about leadership in the GAA, he said there are “countless women” at national and local level “guiding and driving” the organisation.

Asked about Ms McAleese, Mr Ryan said he last met her on a one-to-one basis last Thursday, and the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association met her in her capacity as chair of the steering group on Monday.

“From a personal perspective, I thought that was a good meeting and they’re always challenging, there’s always a good bit of back and forth.

“We don’t always agree on everything, that’s the nature of those things, but certainly, we left that meeting with a plan of action and with some work that needed to be undertaken, and we left that meeting with a commitment to gather again in the first week of October.”

Mr Ryan did not comment on whether Ms McAleese was thrown by the news of a delay to integration but acknowledged the work she did in her time as chair of the steering committee.

He said “there will be bumps on the road” during the integration process, but the GAA’s commitment to integration “remains firm and absolute”.

“I don’t see a future for us as a standalone organisation promoting and offering male sports only, our future is together.

“We will be far stronger as a combined organisation. I believe that, the GAA believes that, I know that my colleagues in ladies’ football and camogie believe that.”