Clontarf GAA club’s motion to Congress proposes to make it a requirement by rule for adult intercounty players to play at least four club games early in the season to be eligible to play intercounty championship in the same season.
The rationale includes basic fairness, honouring the core essence of the GAA, protecting the health of players by getting them to regularly step outside the intercounty bubble, halting the misguided race to professionalism and acting to control the extraordinary amounts of money being spent on running intercounty teams.
The motion was passed by a huge majority at the Dublin convention in December, having touched on a very strong feeling within clubs that this issue needs to be addressed urgently.
Preparations are now under way to try to persuade delegates to support the motion at Congress. The process of engagement with county boards has been very positive. There is widespread support for the motion’s principle but some concerns about how it could be implemented.
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In his 2025 annual report, GAA director general Tom Ryan lays out his vision for a sustainable GAA, which includes the unambiguous wish for “county players fielding regularly with their clubs”.
This is precisely the spirit of Clontarf’s motion. Unfortunately, the issue remains unaddressed and is now a cause of immense concern because it threatens to undermine the very essence of the GAA.
The situation has progressively worsened over the past 20 years, in which period it has become the absolute norm for county players to have no involvement whatsoever with their clubs for the entire duration of the intercounty season.
The split season, while solving the very important challenge of bringing certainty to club championship fixture schedules, has had the unavoidable and predictable consequence of reducing the availability of county players to their clubs.
The split season itself is not really the issue. No matter what structure is put on the season, what matters and what needs to be fixed, is that county players simply play far too few club games.
[ Gaelic Players Association flags resistance to ‘stretching’ intercounty seasonOpens in new window ]
There is no rule currently to prevent a county player deciding to play no club games at all and instead to play only with the county team. In fact, this happened with a high-profile county footballer just a few years ago.
Intercounty players are heroic icons and this week, their friends, family, neighbours and clubmates will be playing with them or supporting them at a club game. Isn’t it highly likely that this grounding, humbling and supportive bonding with people, who matter in their lives, will translate into more of these people wanting in turn to support them at the big county games the following week?
This switching back and forth between club and county should be celebrated, protected and carefully minded as one of the nationally and internationally unique aspects of the GAA. It should not be let die.
The idea of moving the All-Ireland finals back to August (which Ryan has recently referenced) suggests that there is an acceptance of the merit of some change in this direction – and an acknowledgment that such change is possible.
This is relevant in the context of the Clontarf motion which would also require the split season to be revisited.
We now know that €44 million was spent last year running intercounty teams. This is an extraordinary, unsustainable and indefensible outlay within an amateur organisation.
The restructured calendar that would be necessary if the Clontarf motion is passed would have the welcome effect of limiting this spend, particularly by effectively removing any opportunity for training camps abroad.
In preparing for Congress, we are hosting information webinars for clubs and asking club secretaries to complete a very short (two-question) survey. The details of the webinars and survey, as well as full information about the motion are provided on the Clontarf GAA club website.
Our strong message to clubs is that this is a critical time for the GAA and that it is vital for the association to change direction quickly on this issue. Clubs now have a chance to express their voice by engaging with the process, by considering the motion carefully and forming a club position.
Attend the pre-Congress meetings with your county board and have an input into how your county delegates vote at Congress. Please don’t sit on the fence.
Motion to amend Rule 6.8
Noel McCaffrey’s motion proposes to amend Rule 6.8, governing playing restrictions (county and province) by adding a subsection to the effect that in order to be eligible to pay adult intercounty championship, a player shall have played a minimum of four competitive league games with his club in the same calendar year, subject to the following:
- In exceptional circumstances (including injury), as defined by Central Council, this eligibility requirement will be reduced or waived
- Intercounty and club league games will be scheduled in a way that allows this eligibility requirement to be met
- A player who is dual player for county may satisfy the club league game requirement by aggregating club league games played in football and hurling.
• This amendment will take effect on January 1st, 2026
