Foireann System caused problems for All-Ireland ticket allocation - Donegal secretary

In a wide-ranging secretary’s report to Donegal GAA Convention, secretary Mary Kelly calls for changes to the Foireann System which administers GAA club membership.

Donegal’s GAA Convention takes place on Wednesday night in Jackson’s Hotel, Ballybofey and the secretary’s report says the membership system caused many headaches in All-Ireland final ticket distribution.

“As we look forward to 2026, I would like to see the GAA look at the Foireann System which administers Club Membership as it is not user friendly. We had serious issues in the lead up to the All Ireland Football Final when many clubs encountered problems when they found out that some members were not uploaded on the system and did not reflect accurately the true membership total for their clubs. 

“The GAA also needs to amend the Injury Claim process where the players now record their own injury on Foireann where before it was the Club Secretary. This was something introduced earlier this year at very short notice to both clubs and county and is causing all sorts of problems,” says the report.

In her first report to Convention, Mary Kelly covers just about every single detail of GAA activity during the past 12 months, with details of every game at intercounty level, all the deaths etc.

She touches on the long wait from the end of the Donegal club championship to the winners playing in Ulster. She mentions the work being done for the promotion of hurling with seven new units introducing hurling to their clubs and she is looking forward to plenty of more success at county level.

“We are facing into exciting times for Donegal, football and hurling, ladies and men, young and old. The challenge for all of us is to keep building – facilities, coaching, and most importantly, our sense of belonging. So, let's celebrate the successes of the past year, the friendships that bind us, and the bright  future that lies ahead.

“Let us move in 2026 united, ambitious, and inspired to build on the work completed in 2025 and to serve the future of Donegal GAA with integrity, energy and renewed determination. No matter where life takes us, our club, our parish, and our county will always be part of who we are.

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“The rapidly changing demographics of this country is the biggest challenge facing the GAA at the minute. As the population shifts from rural to urban areas, some rural clubs do not have the numbers while urban areas have huge issues catering for the surging populations in their catchment areas. Please read the Donegal Demographics Report as prepared by our Demographics Officer Eamon Murphy. It makes for very interesting reading and there are clubs in our county who will be very much affected by the demographic changes occurring,” says the secretary’s report.