OPINION: Burns’ intervention on Gallagher a significant moment for the GAA

Following the recent intervention by GAA President Jarlath Burns, former Derry, Donegal and Fermanagh manager Rory Gallagher will not be joining the Naas senior footballers as coach.
In 2023, Gallagher resigned as Derry manager days before his team’s Ulster final win over Armagh, following serious public allegations of domestic abuse made against him by his estranged wife, Nicola. A PSNI investigation was conducted, but no charges were pressed. Gallagher was temporarily barred from coaching and managing teams by the Ulster Council, but this decision was overturned by the Disputes Resolution Authority.
When news broke that Gallagher was take up a new role with Naas, Burns reportedly emailed the club with his misgivings, expressing concerns that the move might conflict with the GAA’s core values. This is an interesting development on several levels and has sparked mixed reactions.
Some have praised it as a significant stance by the GAA against domestic abuse, while others, claim it targets an ‘innocent’ man. Others still feel that Burns has overstepped. Irish Times GAA journalist Malachy Clerkin, argues in a recent article that Burns’ intervention represents an ‘unprecedented overreach’.
But does it, really?
In the court of public opinion, three main viewpoints have emerged. The first cohort, rooted in the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’, argues that Gallagher’s lack of a criminal conviction means he should be free to continue his career (he already holds a coaching role with Monaghan club Corduff, a position secured before Burns’ election), citing his record as a skilled coach. However, this argument is flawed, because it incorrectly equates the absence of a conviction with proof of innocence, ignoring the systemic challenges women face in reporting and prosecuting abuse.
Recent research highlights these issues. According to the most recent findings by the EU Gender-based Violence Survey (November 2024), Irish women’s experience of physical or sexual violence from an intimate partner is well above the EU average, with almost 20 percent of Irish women experiencing physical violence, or the threat of same. Yet only 14 percent report these incidents to the police, often due to fear, shame or lack of trust in the authorities.
A Council of Europe report produced by the Group of Experts on Action against Violence against Women and Domestic Violence notes the difficulty of measuring the level of convictions for male violence due to the insufficient collection of statistical data on the number of reports received, the investigations opened, indictments made, court convictions and sanctions imposed for all forms of violence against women. But we can be certain that this is not high, given that separately, from Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, we know that national statistics show that under 15 percent of all rapes are reported to Garda, with only around 10 percent of these resulting in conviction.
So, while Gallagher has indeed not been convicted of any crime, this does not categorically prove his innocence. Securing convictions against a violent man is incredibly difficult, and already traumatised survivors frequently describe the judicial process as re-traumatising. Despite this, online defenders of Gallagher have taken to social media platforms, not only supporting him but launching misogynistic attacks on Nicola Gallagher. This backlash underscores the societal challenges in addressing violence against women, and further highlights the lack of accountability for harmful behaviour online for both individuals and social-media platforms, as well as the cultural stigmas survivors still face. Many publicly identifiable Irish men have shown us who they are over the past few days. Reading these comments and absorbing the prevalence of these forgiving attitudes towards male violence, it is little wonder that so many women are reluctant to pursue justice in the courts.
The second perspective holds that Gallagher’s appointment at Naas would have undermined the GAA’s core values, among them community, inclusivity and respect.
This is true, and Jarlath Burns is nothing if not PR savvy. Notably, November 2024 saw the launch to great fanfare by the Minister for Justice of Game Changer, a partnership between the GAA, Ruhama and White Ribbon Ireland aiming to raise awareness about domestic, sexual and gender-based violence and seeking to ‘challenge the social and cultural norms that contribute to gender-based violence and sexual exploitation’. A key action identified in the initiative is ‘supporting the challenging and disclosure of abusive behaviours’. As well as undermining Game Changer – given Burns own vocal and welcome support for the project – what kind of contradictory and hypocritical message would his inaction have sent, not just to women but to the wider public?
Finally, there is the view that Burns’ intervention is actually a pivotal moment in addressing the culture of tolerance for violence against women in Ireland. Historically, Irish institutions have often turned a blind eye to such issues, therefore it can be argued that is deeply significant that the head of such a prolific, engrained community organisation as the GAA has intervened in such a meaningful way in a matter involving domestic abuse and male violence. Let’s hope that this remains consistent when it comes to Burns’ own county, if required. An Armagh player is currently under investigation in the US for allegations of sexual assault following their All-Ireland team holiday, but for now, omertà-esque silence prevails in the Orchard County.
While Clerkin may understandably view Burns’ intervention as an overreach, he rightly concedes in his article that domestic abuse continues to be grossly overlooked and is not taken seriously by our political leaders. It is true that this incident does raise the question of boundaries and ostensibly threatens the autonomy of individual clubs, but in the grand scheme of things, when an organisation explicitly claims that one of is very purposes is to ‘provide safe and inclusive facilities and environments for everyone’, it is far more important to follow through on this promise, and in doing so, to include women, in words, actions and deeds.
In this situation, there is very little doubt that Burns – whatever his reasoning – has done the right thing.