Former GAA President John Horan has been confirmed as the new Chairperson of the Steering Group on Integration, taking on a central role in bringing the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association together.

All three associations nominated and ratified Horan’s appointment at their management committee meetings last night.

The Na Fianna clubman succeeds Dr Mary McAleese, whose leadership and contribution were acknowledged in a joint statement announcing the appointment.

The confirmation provides new leadership for the next phase of one of Irish sport’s most significant governance projects. The statement emphasises that substantial work is already complete, with governance structures and code representation models described as nearly complete at the most recent Oireachtas hearing.

No revised date for completing integration was included in the announcement.

 

Experience and Buy-In

Horan served as GAA President from 2018 to 2021, leading the association through the Covid-19 pandemic and overseeing changes with a direct connection to the integration agenda.

During his presidency, the chief executives of the Camogie Association and LGFA joined the GAA Management Committee. His tenure also saw the launch of the GAA Where We All Belong manifesto and the establishment of a gender diversity committee.

Camogie Association President Brian Molloy highlighted the importance of securing support for the next stage.

“John’s deep knowledge and understanding of Gaelic games, and particularly the GAA landscape, ideally position him to help us achieve buy-in and deliver Integration in the shortest timeframe possible.”

LGFA President Trina Murray described Horan as “an outstanding appointment”.

“He knows Gaelic games inside out, and his experience will be a huge asset as we drive integration forward. We’re delighted to have him on board, and we look forward to working with him.”

GAA President Jarlath Burns pointed to Horan’s leadership during the pandemic and his standing across the three organisations.

“He brought representatives of Camogie and LGFA onto GAA Management during his tenure, and he has the respect of all three Associations to make this work.”

 

Presidential Perspective

Horan’s public comments during his presidency provide context for the approach he might bring to the role.

In January 2019, he addressed Seanad Éireann and endorsed the One Club model and stronger links between the associations, linking closer collaboration to greater representation of women in GAA administration.

By the closing weeks of his presidency, he was explicitly advocating a federal model. In his final Congress address on February 27, 2021, he described the groundwork for “a road towards a federal system of alignment between the three bodies – similar to rounders and handball.”

Earlier that month, in an interview with RTÉ’s This Week, he said a timetable attached to an earlier attempt at full integration had rushed the process and set it back. He outlined a potential arrangement resembling handball and rounders, with each sport retaining its own presidents and councils within the GAA family.

“The last thing we need to do now is to try to push this at a faster pace. It is evolving,” he said.

Those remarks show support for closer working alongside a preference, at that time, for federation and a gradual approach. They predate the current steering group and should not be read as a declaration of the structure he will now seek to deliver. They do, however, add another dimension to his appointment.

How he reconciles his earlier approach with the three associations’ current shared ambition will be a point of interest in the next phase.

 

One Club Foundations

Horan’s home club, Na Fianna in Glasnevin, operates a One Club model, with more than 3,000 members across more than 100 teams promoting camogie, ladies football, hurling and Gaelic football.

“I come from a club that has achieved success on and off the field by valuing all of our members and harnessing our full potential across the GAA, Camogie and LGFA,” he said.

“Being elected Uachtarán was an enormous honour, and to be asked to Chair the Steering Group on Integration and work with everyone who is committed to having a new dawn for Gaelic games is a responsibility and a privilege that I am excited to take on.”

A retired secondary school principal and former Leinster GAA Chair, Horan remains active as an underage coach. He also chairs the Páirc Uí Chaoimh Stadium Board and Louth’s Stadium Development Committee, and serves on the committee overseeing the new Páirc Tailteann in Navan.

 

Sport for Business Perspective

John Horan was the first of the three most recent GAA Presidents to join us on Stage at the Sporting Year Ahead event.  We have since spent time on opposite sidelines in Glasnevin as our Dublin LGFA teams met in League and Senior Championship action, and we’d always stop for a friendly word.  

We can only hope that the conversation which will follow about his appointment goes beyond his being an ‘inside’ appointment, without the independent gravitas that Mary McAleese brought, but our belief is that his knowledge and political savvy can help to get integration done, calming the fears that have obviously arisen around funding and positions, and if that is proven right then this will prove to have been a winning appointment of a good man to an important position. 

He will have to hit the ground running.

 

 

 

 

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