I remember the moment vividly. I was standing in the kitchen listening to Mary McAleese’s radio interview after she resigned from her position as chairperson of the GAA’s Steering Group on Integration, and I thought about it again this week ahead of the announcement of a new chair.

Before I turned on the radio, I had just moved the little pink hurley into its corner alongside the slightly bigger green one. The owner of the pink hurley is my granddaughter Katie. She’s 18 months old. The other one belongs to my grandson, Peter. He’s not yet three. Katie puts energy into hitting the ball while Peter is trying to direct the ball. Katie’s mam, Aileen, has played camogie with Inniscarra for more than 20 years. She also played for Cork at county level and has an array of medals for her efforts. Katie might follow in her footsteps.

The two dads, Philip and Colm, played underage hurling with the club. They had great fun. Underage games can be amazing to watch, uncovering future skilled players. I looked at the two little hurleys and wondered why the owner of the pink one might find it more difficult and maybe not have the same supports as the owner of the green hurley.

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The answer lies in the complicated politics at club, county and national level of the three organisations: the GAA, the Ladies Gaelic Football Association and the Camogie Association. It’s about finances and assets, who has them and who doesn’t, and maybe just about who has the power – or who might have the power going forward.

The radio show I had been listening to was RTÉ Radio 1’s Inside Sport. Mary McAleese was a great president of Ireland and in my opinion, she never put a foot wrong. I have great time for her. I felt that she would not walk away lightly from her role as chair of the Steering Group on Integration. I could hear her passion, her anger and her deep disappointment.

Spellbinding interview

Speaking to presenter Marie Crowe, she said: “I hate to say this, but I suspect that there are people who are not entirely happy about the idea of including women in decision-making at the top level of Gaelic sports.” She had every woman riled up, including me. Mary McAleese sounded very convincing. I was disappointed as the interview progressed. I feel that we must not lose hope. There is always a way of negotiating through these difficult structures. How do we eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

I looked at the two little hurleys and wondered why the owner of the pink one might find it more difficult and maybe not have the same supports as the owner of the green hurley

I’ve read and listened to the various arguments that were put forward in the last few weeks. I’ve talked to grassroots members. It is possible that none of the organisations were ready for the 2027 deadline. The mindset of everyone involved may not have been in the same place. At the end of the day, it seems to be all about money. It will cost too much to have the girls onboard. That might be simplistic, but that’s what an ordinary punter like me is hearing. A top-down approach has not worked.

The whole thing seems too hard to achieve with so many structures. Yet a lot of good work and progress has been made and that must not be lost. Maybe there is a different way. Imagine a grassroots momentum starting where the changes are implemented at club level across the country. I hear some of this has happened already, with good facilities put in place or shared with the girls. Each county board could implement its own integration following the blueprint already set out. Wouldn’t that be shared leadership? It’s great to hear a new date of 2028 being suggested by the Camogie Association. Hopefully, this new chair will hit the ground running. All is not lost.