It’s not me, it’s you: the GAA and McAleese part ways
Divorces can be messy. So it was last week when Mary McAleese walked away from the GAA integration process in a blaze of acrimony.
Appointed four years ago to chair the board charged with overseeing the amalgamation of the GAA, the LGFA and the Camogie Association, McAleese has now decided to walk away from the project. It is understood the catalyst for her resignation was the GAA’s confirmation that it was not in a position to meet the 2027 timescale for amalgamation.
It is now obvious that there were serious tensions between McAleese and the GAA leadership in recent months. Ideally, McAleese would have stayed on and tried to work through the difficulties. Instead, undoubtedly deeply frustrated with the slow rate of progress, she chose to walk away. Whatever their view on the nature of McAleese’s resignation, even her critics would surely acknowledge that the former President of Ireland put four years of work into the role.
Of course nobody could say that Mary McAleese went quietly. In opting out, she did not hold back. She left in anger, while making scathing criticism of the GAA, particularly of the association’s management committee. She also effectively accused the GAA of misogyny.
On one level, all of this has catapulted the lack of progress into the public domain, arguably bringing a necessary spotlight to a stand-off that had been festering in private. At the same time, the manner of McAleese’s departure was divisive and damaging. Divisive, because it will heighten tensions between the various stakeholders, damaging, because it may, ironically, contribute to the delay in the planned merger being completed. That remains to be seen.
McAleese was entitled to walk away if she felt frustrated with what she saw as a lack of commitment on the GAA’s part. But I feel that a more diplomatic and less divisive resignation would have served the interests of the integration process much better.
The concern now is that, after last week’s very public row, a process which has already taken years to advance may have suffered a serious setback – one that could take years to overcome.
A period of reflection is now required. The GAA insists it remains committed to integration, but that complex challenges remain. As the GAA sees it, the 2027 deadline was far too ambitious. The message from the GAA seems to be: There is a lot of work to be done, but we are absolutely up for it. Just give us more time.
The GAA now needs to convince people that it means what it says.
Not crossing ‘The Bridge’ when they came to it…
I’m not really a fan of the horror genre, so it’s just as well I didn’t see any footage of Chelsea v Leeds in the EFL Cup last week.
After a good start to the Premier League season, Leeds faced an imposing challenge in the third round – away to Chelsea. As is the modern-day norm for Premier League clubs in cup competitions, shadow teams were fielded. Still, irrespective of the personnel involved, on checking the score I was thrilled to discover that Leeds were 2-0 up with 50 minutes gone. What could possibly go wrong?
Sport is fun, sport is cruel. Chelsea sent the often brilliant Cole Palmer on from the bench, he netted twice in three minutes, and the resurgent home team went on to score six goals in 42 minutes, winning 6-3. For a Premier League team to concede six goals in one half of football was quite bizarre. I consoled myself with a brief ‘It’s only the EFL Cup’ train of thought. We move on. Sport is fun, sport is cruel!
*Update: Since I wrote this lament on ‘The collapse at Stamford Bridge’, Leeds have bounced back with a superb 4-1 win over Newcastle in the Premier League. Who really cares about the EFL Cup anyway?
Taylor fight: After the final bell
RTE’s coverage of the recent Katie Taylor farewell fight at Croke Park attracted a huge 74% share of the available viewing TV audience. The event had an average audience of 973,000, peaking at a remarkable 1.6m viewers (possibly dipping earlier when Michael Flatley and Marty Morrissey had their silly interaction in which they half-danced; the footage of same is not to be viewed by the faint-hearted).
Meanwhile, it’s reported that the event brought a €15m boost to the Capital (or 5% of what Flatley is estimated to have amassed during his career).
Amgen Irish Open was a great success
The 2026 Amgen Irish Open was a great success. The field was arguably the strongest ever assembled for an Irish Open, the quality of golf was excellent, and tournament winner Shane Lowry delighted the home crowd with a scintillating performance. The presence of US President Donald Trump, owner of the venue, also provided a welcome boost to the tournament’s profile on the world stage.
Higgins makes promising pro start
Roscommon Golf Club member Thomas Higgins, who turned professional last week, had a most encouraging ‘pro debut’ while rubbing shoulders with several major winners in last week’s Amgen Irish Open.
While Higgins missed the cut, his rounds of 74 (conditions were far from ideal on Thursday) and 71 were very solid initial outings in his professional journey. Moreover, there were flourishes of brilliance during both rounds. It’s not as if his opening-day 74 was just a standard ‘14 pars & four bogeys’ effort. In fact, Higgins made the turn in his first ever professional round in an impressive 2 under, before suffering on the back nine. Indeed Higgins had an eagle on the par 5 8th hole.
Overall, this was a very steady first outing at this level for Thomas, and in exalted company. He finished three shots clear of both Padraig Harrington and Tyrrell Hatton, and outscored 5-time major winner Brooks Koepka by one shot on Thursday!
