The GAA today announced the first ever joint sponsorship of both the games of the GAA and the Camogie Association, which sees Liberty Insurance sponsor the GAA Hurling All Ireland Senior Championship and the Camogie Championships. The deal will be a five year arrangement, initially, and will see Liberty Insurance get involved with areas such as coaching and camogie development. No fee was mentioned in relation to the deal.

GAA President, Liam O’Neill was speaking with Newstalk’s Oisin Langan, following the announcement. He spoke of his desire to see the GAA and the Camogie association united under one banner so that all gaelic games, including handball and rounders, are part of the one organisation.
"We want people to recognise we’re serious about uniting the organisation under one banner. We want also people to realise that there will be tangible benefits from that."

It remains a somewhat under known fact that the GAA, ladies football and Camogie associations are all separate organisations, requiring separate memberships.

O’Neill also discussed the need to give a greater focus to promoting games such as rounders and handball, saying “It’s part of our mission statement” to share the experience of the GAA with newcomers to Ireland. O’Neill sees rounders in particular as a game that can entice immigrants to Ireland to join the GAA, as the game, as a ball and bat game, might be more welcoming to those unfamiliar with Gaelic games.

O’Neill said he felt it would attract “Particularly those who come from Asia and the far east, where bat games are common enough. I think rounders would be the portal through which they enter Gaelic games and I think that we really have to go out there and promote our organisation.”

Listen to the full interview with Liam O’Neill via the player below