How much will the GAA change before it turns 150?

As the 2034 committee are shortly expected to reveal their report, which of the 62 proposals formulated in January 2018 may be revisited? John Fogarty analyses 10 of their key conclusions

GAA president Larry McCarthy heads up the committee aimed at producing a GAA blueprint for the next five years, which includes former Dublin senior football and hurling manager Pat Gilroy, ex-Kerry chairman Tim Murphy, the ESRI’s Elish Kelly, and former Cork footballer Conor McCarthy. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

“I haven’t looked at it since it was created,” GAA president Larry McCarthy said back in February of the “Towards 2034 — the 150th anniversary of the GAA” report commissioned by former president Aogán Farrell.

“I’ll dust it off and see what is in it but I won’t comment on the content of it because I haven’t read it in a while.”

It was understandable that the new president should be reluctant to make too many big waves a couple of hours after taking office. However, strategic planning was clearly in McCarthy’s mind given he put together a new steering group less than a month later.

He now heads up the committee aimed at producing a blueprint for the next five years, which includes former Dublin senior football and hurling manager Pat Gilroy, ex-Kerry chairman Tim Murphy, the ESRI’s Elish Kelly, and former Cork footballer Conor McCarthy.

Aside from GAA president McCarthy, playing rules chairman David Hassan is the only member of the 2034 group on the new committee.

Among the 2034 committee’s recommendations that actually came to pass was the creation of “separate and distinct” playing seasons for inter-county and club championships. But as the new steering body are shortly expected to reveal their report, what other, if any, of the 62 proposals formulated by the 2034 report in January 2018 may be revisited? We analyse 10 of their key conclusions:

2034 group: Provincial championships to be replaced by tiered inter-county championship competitions.

Assessment: Given that Special Congress recently endorsed the provincial competitions and a separate body has been charged with producing a new senior football championship which will likely incorporate the provinces, this idea may be put on the backburner even if it seems an inevitability.

2034 group: Provincial councils to be replaced by regional councils based on agreed criteria such as population size and geographical proximity.

Assessment: Would it have to go hand-in-hand with the end of the provincial championships? May not be something that can be done in a five-year timeframe but could be a medium-term venture. There would also appear to be no major barriers to changing the provincial council headquarters in Armagh city, Ballyhaunis, Limerick, and Portlaoise into regional hubs.

2034 group: Amateur status to be retained at club level with no payments to players, managers or coaches but allowances, incorporating not fit for purpose mileage system, to be provided to inter-county players and managers.

Assessment: The 2034 committee did their best to pick GAA director general Páraic Duffy’s bold option off the shelf but it is high time the nettle was grasped and the whole area of compensating managers/coaches for their efforts regulated at both county and club level. The centralisation of the inter-county players’ expenses system, as was propelled by the financial fallout from the pandemic, appears to be a step in the right direction.

2034 group: A chief executive officer post to replace the current director general position.

Assessment: A move that makes sense to reflect the size of the organisation. Current director general Tom Ryan is nearly three years into a seven-year contract and if his role has to be redesigned and renamed then so be it.

2034 group: All those who provide professional services to teams must be members of the GAA.

Assessment: Seems an insular move on the surface although it would help ensure such professionals uphold the rules and ethos of the Association.

2034 group: Board of directors to be established as an amalgamation of Management Committee and Central Council comprising elected and appointed GAA members, independent non-executive personnel and GAA executive professionals/senior office holders (as non-voting members) and not to consist of more than 18 people.

Assessment: With the likes of highly successful private sector chief executive and managing director Gilroy involved, a merger along the lines of this would appear to be on the cards.

2034 group: Each county to have an operations manager with responsibility for all paid staff and a finance manager for all its financial management.

Assessment: Several counties have already put in place operations managers although some hold different titles while bearing the same responsibilities as mentioned above.

2034 group: Delegates at Congress will be those in positions of authority.

Assessment: A long-held aspiration for Duffy, it would ensure there are no crossed wires but how much of a burden would it put on volunteers, ie chairpersons? Prominent volunteer officials have raised the increasing demands being placed on them to full-time GAA employees in Croke Park.

2034 group: The “broadest range possible of supportive technology” will be available to those officiating games at inter-county and club championship levels.

Assessment: HawkEye has proven to be a success so much so that it should be extended to the large provincial stadia - only Semple Stadium and Páirc Uí Chaoimh have sampled it thus far. The GAA will be paying attention to how VAR (video assistant referee) has settled in the Premier League following a difficult start. However, initiatives such as a TMO and the clock/hooter have repeatedly been shot down by GAA officials.

2034 group: The GAA to retain direct control of its media rights using its own broadcast mediums and will retain the right to charge for a portion of its elite games as an income stream.

Assessment: With media rights up for renewal in 2022, how the GAA go about divvying up their broadcasting cake and possibly retaining a package or two will be interesting. The pandemic parked the GAA plans to develop their own broadcasting studio in Croke Park but it’s an idea that may yet return in the not too distant future.