Irish Examiner view: GAA must not lose its soul in modernisation

If the GAA gets this right, 2036 could see a healthier, fairer, and more honest organisation. If it gets it wrong, the cost will be paid not in balance sheets, but in trust. File picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

The GAA has always insisted that it is different. Different from professional sport, different from commercialised entertainment, different even from its own image abroad. Amateurism was not merely a rule but a moral anchor: The idea that players represented place and people, not pay packets.

But with the announcement of a proposed “high-performance licence” for inter-county teams, the association is tacitly acknowledging that the old model has reached breaking point. This moment did not arrive suddenly. It has been building for years, driven by spiralling costs, an arms race in sports science and backroom staffing, and an inter-county calendar that increasingly resembles a professional operation in all but name.

County boards are under pressure from managers, players, and supporters, and now from Revenue, while financial demands continue to grow and expectations rise in tandem. The licence proposal is an attempt to impose order on a system that has drifted beyond its founding assumptions.

At its heart, the plan is about control: Controlling spending, controlling standards, and controlling a version of high performance that has become unsustainable for all but the wealthiest counties. In theory, a licensing regime could restore competitive balance, introduce transparency, and protect counties from financial self-harm.

In practice, it represents something more profound — an admission that amateurism, as traditionally understood, no longer reflects reality. The GAA now finds itself straddling two eras. On one side is the volunteer-led, parish-rooted organisation that still underpins club life. On the other is an elite inter-county game that consumes vast resources, demands year-round commitment from players, and increasingly mirrors professional sport in everything but wages.

The merging of the men’s and women’s associations, long overdue and welcome, only sharpens this tension, as investment expectations rightly rise across all codes. By 2036, the GAA will almost certainly look very different. Inter-county teams will likely operate within a clearly defined semi-professional framework, even if the language of amateurism is
retained for cultural comfort. Player welfare protections, capped expenditure, and centrally approved performance structures may become the norm rather than the exception.

The question is whether this evolution will be shaped deliberately or allowed to happen by default. There are risks on both paths. Formalising high performance could entrench inequality if not accompanied by robust redistribution and support for weaker counties. Yet failing to act risks a slow hollowing-out of the inter-county game, where only a handful of teams can realistically compete, and volunteer administrators are left to carry unsustainable financial burdens.

The GAA has never been just a sporting body; it is a social institution, a custodian of culture, and a reflection of Irish society. As Ireland changes, so too must its games. The challenge now is to modernise without losing the core values that made the association distinctive in the first place. The high-performance licence is not the end of amateurism, but it may well be the end of pretending that the old rules still apply.

If the GAA gets this right, 2036 could see a healthier, fairer, and more honest organisation. If it gets it wrong, the cost will be paid not in balance sheets, but in trust.

Cybersecurity

The ransomware attack on the Office of the Ombudsman is a sobering reminder that Ireland’s cyber vulnerabilities extend far beyond the private sector. When an institution charged with protecting citizens’ rights can be disrupted by criminal hackers, cybersecurity is no longer a niche IT issue but a matter of public trust and national resilience.

Public bodies hold vast quantities of sensitive personal data. Yet too often, cyber protection is treated as an administrative cost to be managed down rather than a core public service investment. That approach is no longer tenable.

Cyberattacks are becoming more frequent, sophisticated, and indiscriminate, targeting hospitals, local authorities, schools, and small agencies that lack the resources to defend themselves adequately. The lesson from recent incidents is not simply that systems must be patched or firewalls upgraded. Ireland needs a coherent national cyber-resilience strategy that recognises people, skills, and culture as much as technology. That means sustained investment in cybersecurity professionals across the public service, mandatory standards for data protection and system security, and regular independent audits that go beyond box-ticking exercises.

Crucially, the strategy must extend beyond central government. Small businesses, voluntary organisations, and local authorities are often the weakest links in the chain, despite being vital to economic and community life. Without guidance, training, and affordable security supports, they remain easy targets, with knock-on effects for citizens and customers alike. Public awareness also matters.

Phishing attacks and social engineering rely on human error as much as technical weakness. A population that understands basic digital hygiene is itself a line of defence. Ireland has benefited enormously from the digital economy, perhaps more than any of its EU partners. Protecting that advantage requires acknowledging that cybersecurity is now as fundamental as physical infrastructure. Failing to act decisively risks normalising disruption, eroding confidence in public institutions, and leaving citizens exposed in a world where the next attack is not a question of if, but when.

U-turn on RSA

The Government’s abrupt U-turn on plans to split the Road Safety Authority into two separate bodies raises serious questions about judgement and priorities at a time when our roads are becoming increasingly deadly. With road deaths rising, policy drift and administrative uncertainty are luxuries the State cannot afford. The original proposal to divide responsibility for enforcement and education was presented as a reform. Its sudden abandonment, following widespread criticism, instead highlights a lack of coherent thinking at the heart of road safety policy.

Structural tinkering may have its place, but it cannot become a distraction from the urgent task of saving lives. Public trust in the RSA is essential. The authority must be seen as focused, competent, and unequivocal in its mission.

When governance is in flux, confidence suffers — among road users, gardaí, and those tasked with delivering safety campaigns and standards. That erosion of trust carries real consequences on roads where complacency already costs lives. Ireland’s road-safety crisis demands leadership, consistency, and credibility.

If the RSA is to fulfil its role, it must be properly resourced, clearly mandated, and insulated from ill-considered political manoeuvring. When fatalities are mounting, the State’s message must be unambiguous: road safety is not an administrative experiment, but a national priority.

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