Daily Mail columnist Ger Colleran has criticised former Irish president Mary McAleese after she resigned as chair of the GAA's Gaelic Games Integration Steering Group and accused the association's leadership of misogyny. McAleese said on RTÉ radio that she suspected some within the GAA were uncomfortable with women holding top decision-making roles, framing the organisation's decision to slow down plans to unify the GAA, ladies' football and camogie as a "slap in the face" for women. Colleran argues the accusation is unsubstantiated and unfair, given what he describes as the GAA's grassroots record of supporting women and girls across the country.

The steering group had been tasked with charting a path towards full integration of the three sporting bodies, but the GAA reportedly pulled back partly over cost concerns. Colleran contends the real dispute centres on money, specifically how limited resources should be shared between men's and women's teams, and whether funding should be split on the basis of strict equality or "equity" reflecting factors such as competition success and attendance figures. He calls on McAleese, a trained lawyer, to either substantiate her misogyny claim with evidence or withdraw it.