McAleese steps down as chair of integration body

FORMER Irish president Dr Mary McAleese has stepped down as chair of the committee overseeing the proposed merger of the GAA, Camogie Association and Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA), expressing disappointment at a lack of definitive timeline.

The three organisations voted in favour of integration in 2022, with McAleese appointed to lead the process and a target of completing the merger by 2027.

However, the GAA has now told the Integration Committee it cannot commit to that timeline. The decision follows growing doubts over whether the planned creation of a single membership and association can begin in April 2027 as originally intended.

McAleese said she was “absolutely devastated” after spending four years working on the project, praising the hundreds of people who contributed their expertise to developing a roadmap for integration.

She also questioned the future of the process after the GAA said it could not provide a definitive timeframe, despite maintaining its commitment to the merger

McAleese said: “I look at all the people who have given their time to it, people on the committee, but also literally hundreds of people all over the GAA, experts in the culture of the GAA, bringing their experience, their wisdom to bear on everything, on a very long list of issues that we had to deal with and put together like a giant jigsaw puzzle that then turned out to be a map, a roadmap to integration.

“I think of all the effort they have made. Now, I’m hoping that won’t be lost, because that’s still all there. It’s still all sitting, waiting to be used, hopefully by another group sometime.

“I don’t know when that will be, because unfortunately, as of now, the GAA have indicated that they cannot commit to any kind of a definitive timeline for integration, while at the same time, of course, saying that they are still committed to integration. I am dubious.”

.The GAA has thanked McAleese for her contribution and said the next stage will involve reviewing feedback from stakeholders and developing a revised set of principles, structures and a detailed workplan.

While the organisation remains committed to creating a single association for Gaelic games, the original 2027 target now appears unlikely. GAA president-elect Derek Kent has previously suggested that 2034 could be a more realistic completion date.