GAA organisations are set to appear before the cross-party Oireachtas Sports Committee to explain the resignation of the former president of Ireland Mary McAleese as chair of the Integration Committee.
Labour TD and committee chair Alan Kelly confirmed he will “urgently invite” the organisations to attend an upcoming meeting of the group, saying the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association have questions to answer over what happened.
Earlier today Dr McAleese said she is “devastated” and feels the momentum for integration is fading after confirming that she had stepped down as chairperson of the Integration Committee overseeing the amalgamation of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association.
It comes after the GAA told the steering group that it could not commit to the definitive timeline for integration.
In a statement this evening, Deputy Kelly wrote: “The GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association had originally committed to integration into a single governing body by 2027, but through the testimony given during the Oireachtas Sports Committee it wasn’t clear how this was actually going to happen across various strands.
“Anything that delays the timeline for integration is a completely regressive step.
“Kicking this can down the road would send a terrible signal to the thousands of girls in particular who pull on jerseys every weekend and to the volunteers who keep clubs running in every parish in the country.
“Equality in sport cannot be treated as optional or something that can wait. That’s why I would like the GAA to explain what they mean by the need for ‘greater focus on equity rather than equality’ in their letter to the former chairperson.
“As chair of the Oireachtas Sports Committee, I will be urgently inviting in the various organisations and senior members of the Integration Committee to discuss this development.
“These organisations have committed publicly to the integration of the Gaelic games by 2027. Players, volunteers and supporters deserve certainty and progress, not delay.”
Deputy Kelly separately said Dr McAleese has been “deeply committed to the integration project”, but said it “was never clear the various bodies would meet the timelines that the now former chairperson had committed to honestly and with enthusiasm”.
He said: “You cannot put a chairperson like Dr McAleese in a position where she makes such a commitment and then not alone not honour it but say it could take another five years.”
Dr 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 special congresses next month to enable the creation of one membership of one association from April next year.
However, the GAA wrote to the group yesterday, requesting time to pause and reflect on the process.