GAA Annual Congress 2026 Report

On February 27th & 28th the Annual Congress of the GAA was held in Croke Park. As part of a Cork delegation of 11, the Carrigdhoun Division were invited to send a representative to this year’s meeting. Our Communications Officer Seán Nyhan was in attendance and the following is his report.

Congress 2026 had received much media coverage in the days and weeks leading up to it’s commencement. Motions relating to extending the Inter-County season, a potential return of Minor Finals as curtain raisers to the Senior matches not to mention the election of the 42nd Uachtarán CLG, had all been the focus of comment leading into Congress.

Once registration was complete for delegates, a number of workshops were held prior to the official start of Congress. These were in relation to:

– Finance.

– Broadcasting/Media.

– Safeguarding.

As Carrigdhoun is a rural division and comment has been raised in recent times around how games are televised, I attended the Broadcasting/Media workshop with much interest. This presentation was given by Niamh McCoy and Peter McKenna of Croke Park. This was broken down in the areas of:

– The Broadcasting Guiding Principles.

– Streaming Approval Step Plan.

– Importance of Broadcasting Partners.

– Commercial Value.

– GAA Streaming.

Following a good discussion from the floor which included Provincial Delegates, former GAA Presidents & current media personnel, points noted included:

– 83% of all commercial value received goes back into the Association.

– The Broadcasting arrangement is due to be renegotiated in 2027. RTÉ have already declared their difficulty in keeping the same financial outlay to the GAA going forward.

– The GAA+ service (Previously GAAGo) is now under the full ownership of the GAA having purchased RTÉ’s share in recent weeks.

Indeed, on the future of GAA+, I asked if the GAA had any plan to bring this to life as a TV channel on a Saorview, Sky, Virgin Media platform considering the issues in certain areas of rural Ireland and the lack of sufficient Broadband facilities. This is something the GAA have under consideration I was told.

The opening evening of Congress saw an Uachtarán CLG Jarlath Burns welcome all attending and the balloting take place to elect the next President of the Association. The candidates were:

– Derek Kent (Loch Garman)

– John Murphy (Sligeach)

– Ger Ryan (Tibraid Árann)

A total of 277 votes were cast (with Corcaigh having the biggest number of 11 votes). The quota for election was 139 & after the official count had taken place, Derek Kent was elected on Count One with 169 votes. Derek will replace an Uachtarán Jarlath Burns in 2027.

As the count was in progress, an Ard-Stiúrthóra CLG Tom Ryan gave an overview of his 2025 review & the challenges that face the GAA in 2026 & beyond. Key points of note included:

– Integrating three of Ireland’s five biggest sporting organisations.

– Financial Health of the Association.

– The new Football rules.

– Future ground development (including Casement Park).

– Strategic Plan moving forward.

The Director General also addressed the continued sponsorship agreement between the GAA and Allianz. Outlined in his report was a recommendation by The Ethics and Integrity Commission to continue in this partnership was “explained in clear and rational terms” & had been endorsed by Central Council.

Day two of Congress commenced with the findings and discussions from the workshops held the previous evening. As this was taking place, word had filtered through that a number of protesters were outside Croke Park in relation to Allianz.

A total of 25 motions were to be heard and debated throughout the day with much focus on Motion 14 relating to playing the All Ireland Finals before the 32nd Sunday of the year. Key motions that were amended & carried include:

– Abolishing the Preliminary Quarter Finals in Hurling.

– Penalty of dissent in Hurling to be a 30 metre free.

– Provincial Football Finals to be replayed if tied after Extra Time.

Former Director General Páraic Duffy had chaired a steering committee appointed by Central Council in relation to the Inter County season and their recommendation was extending into this into August. Quite early in proceedings it was obvious this was not going to gain support and therefore the Motion was withdrawn at Páraic’s request.

Other motions that were defeated:

– Changing of First Club age to be changed from 12 to 10.

– Referee attendance at disciplinary hearings.

– Reintroduction of All Ireland Minor Finals to be played as curtain raisers to Senior Finals.

As many reading will now know, Congress was interrupted by protesters who had breached Croke Park security and made their way into the Congress Hall. The decision was taken to adjourn early for lunch. On resumption, an Uachtarán addressed the delegates on earlier events giving an insight into his experience of living in an occupied area of Ireland.

Debate and voting on motions continued into the afternoon before the Youth Representatives gave their address.

As an eventful Congress was drawing to a close it was left to an Uachtarán to address delegates with his summery of 2025 and his thoughts on the Associations future. Indeed the full transcript of his speech can be found using the following link.

https://www.gaa.ie/article/oraid-an-uachtarain-jarlath-burns-2026

Is mise le meas,

Seán Ó’Níatháin