John Fogarty: Where is the Government’s support for real integration?

If integration is to work, facilities and infrastructure will be primary matters. The supply of existing pitches and dressing rooms will be far outstripped by demand

NEW APPOINTMENTS: Heading into the last six months of his presidency, Larry McCarthy will be remembered for appointing females to several of his committees. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

Nobody said it was going to be easy. With an abundance of goodwill, the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) might have said it would be easier than expected but integration is far too complex a matter to be sorted within a couple of years.

Speaking after their motion calling for the GAA to prioritise integration talks with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association and Camogie Association was backed at Congress in February of last year, GPA chief executive Tom Parsons said: “Players want to see significant equality achieved in 12/18/24 months so that it is within the player's career.