McAleese: 2027 merger on track
December 18, 2025
Update On The Integration Process Involving The Camogie Association, The GAA and the LGFA, Croke Park, Dublin 20/2/2024 GAA President, Larry McCarthy, Camogie Association President, Hilda Breslin, Chairperson of the Steering Group on Integration, Mary McAleese and Mícheál Naughton, LGFA President ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy
Mary McAleese says the 2027 date for the merger of the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association remains a 'realistic target', despite 'pockets of resistance'.
The former Irish president and chairperson of the steering group on integration was speaking at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport yesterday.
"There are pockets of resistance, there's no point in saying otherwise. Your county might actually have been involved in recent comments in that regard," Dr McAleese said in reply to a question regarding the difficulities of the process from Fine Gael Wicklow-Wexford TD Brian Brennan
"We conducted the biggest survey ever taken in any sporting organisation in Ireland to make sure we knew what their ideas were.
"Over 90% in every single code, in every single age category, was firmly in favour of integration. We’re not going to get 100%, but here’s the thing, integration is the future. We were asked by the three Congresses to prioritise integration because from the ground up that is what people wanted.
"We have met literally hundreds, if not thousands, of experts on the coalface who are telling us what needs to be done and what will work best and what is best practice. That is what gives us confidence that the roadmap we have put together has the backing of the people we have talked to. They are the coalface.
She added: "If we were starting today, 2027 would be a very ambitious target. We started in 2023. We set that target date back then. It was and remains a very relaxed target date. It is our target date for one organisation for all codes - 2027."
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