Aisling Maher was going to the gym on Monday last week when she was informed that the Leinster senior camogie final, initially scheduled for last Sunday in Mullingar, had been brought forward to the Friday evening.
The final went ahead at Cullen Park in Carlow, Wexford beating Dublin after extra-time despite Maher’s nine-point haul. And had she not attended Wednesday’s launch of the Gaelic Players Association’s annual report for 2025, that might have been that.
But the issue of the fixture change was highlighted by GPA chief executive Tom Parsons, who in a 45-minute media briefing covering various topics described the incident as “the only story in town for me”.
Maher, who is a co-chair of the GPA, explained that having asked for the refixed game to be played in Dublin, they were told on the Tuesday beforehand that it would likely go ahead in Carlow.
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“That left girls going into work on Wednesday morning looking for annual leave for less than 48 hours later,” said Maher.
The players somehow managed to swing the time off, but Maher had to take an alternative approach.
“The work around for me as a player was that I drove to Carlow on Friday morning before I started work, got a hotel room in Carlow and I worked in Carlow for the day because I couldn’t finish until half five.
“If I tried to finish at half five in Dublin and be in Carlow for a 7.45 throw in, even if I made it by the start of the game, I’d be no use to anybody.”
Maher and Parsons said there was no consultation with either county and the explanation given was that an All-Ireland under-23 fixture on Sunday took precedence.
Sitting alongside her GPA co-chair, Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan, Maher added: “We can all look at this objectively and say that, if Niall was in the same position with an Ulster final, there would have been a little more said about the whole thing.”
The GPA held its AGM this week, passing nine motions, mostly related to play welfare issues. It was while discussing motion number four, requesting that the GPA be granted representation “on all key decision-making bodies affecting inter-county players”, that the issue of the Leinster camogie final was raised by Parsons.
“That would not happen with the GAA, but it’s happened again with the Camogie Association,” he said. “You would think they would have learned from the skorts campaign last year (but) again it’s an example of us not representing Gaelic games (properly) in what is a fragmented, unintegrated association.
“If you’re looking at all the stories to potentially write, that’s the only story in town for me. It’s just not right.”
Another fixture issue discussed was the possibility of staging next season’s National Hurling League Division 1A final in September to coincide with the Ryder Cup at Adare Manor.
Parsons said the plan should go nowhere “beyond the conceptual stage until the players say that it makes sense”. He added a league final is a “significant fixture”.
“We’re back to proposing midweek fixtures in an amateur game,” said Parsons. “I’m surprised that (plan) got out in the public domain, and how far it got. The GPA aren’t against a fixture in the lead up to the Ryder Cup, but a more obvious one would be a provincial, Munster versus Leinster type fixture.”
Another motion passed at the AGM was around expenses reform in women’s football and camogie, calling for monthly reimbursements rather than the existing twice yearly system.
The success of the cardiac screening for intercounty players, which is funded by the GPA, was also highlighted. In 2025, 1,093 players were screened, 6.09 per cent of whom received a recommendation for cardiac follow-up.
Parsons also said they will continue to put pressure on the GAA to implement its new intercounty licensing system, proposing that as part of the certification process squads should “be named and set” for 12 months.
He argued all intercounty players should be “educated on anti-doping and player welfare” and if a club player is brought in midseason, they should “go through an induction process to make sure they’re educated on anti-doping”, as well as being given a minimum commitment of eight weeks.
