The GAA Steering Group on Integration (SGI) will meet this morning to navigate the next phase of its journey following the resignation of its independent chairperson, Dr Mary McAleese earlier this month.
Originated to oversee the amalgamation of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), the Ladies Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) and the Camogie Association into one single entity, the SGI hit a huge obstacle on the path to integration when Dr McAleese stepped down.
Through the SGI, the three associations had agreed to complete full integration in 2027.
But worried by issues over structures and finance, the GAA's management committee informed the SGI that the timeline was "too ambitious" and that it could no longer commit to it. Instead, the GAA suggested extending the timeline by up to five years, a call that prompted Dr McAleese to resign.
Despite the huge fallout and criticisms of the process, GAA president Jarlath Burns has insisted that "integration hasn't stopped" and remains a day-to-day objective.
It’s understood by RTÉ Sport that the SGI meets again on Monday morning in a bid to identify a new chairperson and to possibly outline new deadlines, structures and landmarks for integration ahead of their next meeting on 5 October.
Writing to camogie county units, Brian Molloy president of the Camogie Association, said that his organisation had to shoulder its share of responsibility for the change in timescales and recommended the creation of a new implementation committee at national level, led by an externally hired expert.
"As Uachtarán, I put my hand up and issue a mea culpa for not reading the signs that perhaps should have been clear sooner," he said.
"It is always easy for people to point to items that should have been taken as clear indications that the process was in trouble. I’m happy to accept that criticism has some validity. Much is made of the media reported position of the GAA at the end of last year indicating that 2027 'was unrealistic'.
"Perhaps we should have paused at that point to ensure that what we were proposing was still considered achievable by all three Associations? Ultimately the three Associations pressed ahead and we all participated in the roadshow which included the timetable for delivery of Integration by 2027."
In his letter to the camogie county units, Molloy reaffirmed their commitment to achieving a single fully integrated National Governing body for all Gaelic Games.
Molloy fully believes that the outstanding issues can be resolved over the next 12 months and that the new GAA can be delivered by January 2028.
"We propose that this date would be committed to at the 5th October meeting of the Steering Group," he said. "We support the appointment of a new Chair to the SGI to be announced at the 5th October meeting of the Steering Group."
The Camogie Association also proposed the creation of a new implementation committee at national level that would be professionally led by an externally hired expert and provided with appropriate and adequate resources and support to deliver and called for that agreement to be confirmed at the 5 October meeting.
"We suggest that a transparent communications schedule be put in place by the national implementation committee to provide transparency around the progress being made over the coming year across all lines of effort," he added.
Molloy also committed to providing whatever financial support was necessary to fund the working of this national implementation committee.
"We also believe that the unit level integration committees that were to be in place by January 2026 need to be put in place in every county and province by the end of October 2026 without exception."
"We believe that there is a need now for a new impetus and we would suggest that in order to achieve the proposed revised date of January 2028 we need a change in delivery model.
"Whilst the public focus is on the appointment of a new Chair of the SGI, the reality is that this body (made up of the three Uachtaráns and three Ard Stiurthoirs) does not have the bandwidth to deal with the levels of detail necessary now to close out the structures, the rule changes, the process changes and the glidepaths/phased deliveries of certain items which are all necessary to achieve our goal.
"As such we would recommend that the SGI immediately appoints a subcommittee charged with driving through the operationalisation of the integration process – under the guidance and with the support of the three Ard Siurthoirs.
"What is important now is to get the integration process back on track and key to that is confirming a new committed delivery date of the GAA as the single National Governing Body for all Gaelic games.
"We believe that the outstanding issues, which the GAA have indicated revolve around structures and finances, can be resolved over the next 12 months and as such we would advocate for January 2028 as the new delivery date for the GAA to become the single NGB for all Gaelic games.
"It should not be forgotten that a significant amount of the heavy lifting has already been done over the period from 2022 through to now."
