Players call for support of Galway’s integration motion at LGFA Congress

This evening, captains of the 31 football squads (female) represented by the Gaelic Players Association met on a video call in advance of Saturday’s LGFA Congress in Belfast.  As our representative body cannot directly table a motion of its own, the Galway motion calling for the LGFA to unite with the GAA, which is set to be considered by delegates, was the central item on the agenda for discussion.

It was agreed unanimously that players are supportive of the sentiment expressed in the Galway motion and therefore we are asking delegates to vote in its favour. We believe that passing this motion would signify a firm commitment on behalf of the association to prioritise full integration.

Players further agreed that it would be an appropriate and positive response to the integration motion passed overwhelmingly at GAA Congress last weekend and would allow the LGFA to add to the momentum that is building in a meaningful way.

All female captains last week penned a letter to their county boards and the leadership of LGFA and Camogie, seeking confirmation that they would support the GAA in prioritising integration. Camogie management have subsequently outlined a motion on integration they will bring to their own Congress in April and the vote at LGFA Congress on Saturday will clarify the LGFA’s position.

Players noted they felt encouraged by the words of LGFA CEO Helen O’Rourke in the LGFA’s Annual Report released to its members yesterday, which affirms the association’s commitment to integration, but captains also cited frustration at the ongoing lack of formal progress on the issue.

Players are also supportive of the CEO’s call for a “proper, open-minded process…where matters relating to integration at all levels of the Associations would be debated and ironed out, prior to the formation of a new incorporated body”. The GPA believe however, that such a process needs a commitment at LGFA Congress via the Galway motion, and a roadmap produced with the GAA and Camogie including timelines and key milestones, to achieve integration.