The men’s and women’s Gaelic players’ associations have voted overwhelmingly to amalgamate. At egms held by both organisations on Monday evening, the decision was jointly taken to form one players’ body of 4,000 members.
It attracted unanimous support from the men’s Gaelic Players Association and nearly that, 96 per cent, from the Women’s Gaelic Players Association and the first meeting of the new association took place after the constituent egms had concluded.
A Transitional National Executive Committee has been established and will meet for the first time in January when officers, including co-chairs, will be elected.
The TNEC will oversee “the direction and strategy” of the organisation until its first agm in the second quarter of 2021.
This significant departure is indicative of a growing sentiment that all Gaelic sports should be under the one umbrella body and takes place in the light of recent controversies such as fixing a venue for the Cork-Galway women’s football semi-final and the radical discrepancy between men’s and women’s public grant entitlements.
The Oireachtas Committee on Sport has said it will investigate how €3.7 million was paid out by the Government to support Gaelic games players last year but of that, €3 million was allocated to men’s teams and just €700,000 for women.
