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‘It comes down to a respect issue’ | Amalgamation in Gaelic sports

Two-time All-Star Aislinn Connolly said that she was in favour of amalgamation of all three of th...



Hurling

‘It comes down to a respect issue’ | Amalgamation in Gaelic sports

Two-time All-Star Aislinn Connolly said that she was in favour of amalgamation of all three of the Gaelic sporting bodies on Off The Ball on Friday.

This comes after the fiasco that was the TG4 All-Ireland Ladies Football semi-final between Galway and Cork last weekend, which saw a late venue change cost both sides the majority of their warm-up time.

While Cork managed to arrive with a short amount of time to warm up, Galway had barely made it out of the dressing room, having just arrived at the stadium, before they were told that it was time for the throw in.

Currently there are three governing bodies overseeing the organisation of the men’s football and hurling, the women’s football and camogie, namely the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), Ladies' Gaelic Football Association (LGFA) and Camogie Association.

Galway Cork All-Ireland Semi-Final Amalgamation Tracey Leonard of Galway in action against Melissa Duggan of Cork during the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Ladies Football Championship Semi-Final match between Cork and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Connolly believes that these issues would not happen again if the three separate organisations amalgamated under one governing body.

“I would be in favour of amalgamation,” Connolly said. “You don’t have any breakdown in communication issues then, because they are all under the one organisation.”

She said that the miscommunication would not have happened if it were the men’s match that needed a venue change, suggesting that there was a lack of respect for the women.

“It is not like we are expecting like for like, or the same level of attendance, et cetera, but it comes down to a respect issue,” Connolly said.

“Finding out at 11 o’ clock [on the day of the game] that your venue has changed is not on, being rushed to warm up and rushed to tog out in the dressing room is not on.

“When you are preparing for this all year, putting in savage intensity and savage work rate on and off the pitch, to reach the pinnacle of the semi-final and not be able to play and plan properly is not ok.”

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