By John Harrington

Today’s GAA Annual Congress might have been relatively low-key compared to the historic 2017 Annual and Special Congresses, but a number of significant decisions were taken nonetheless.

Chief among them was the passing of Motion 1 which prohibits “sponsorship by a betting company of any competition, team, playing gear or facility”.

Speaking on behalf of the Motion, Mick Rock of Connacht GAA made the argument that banning sponsorship by betting companies would “enhance the moral standing of the GAA in Irish life and protect the integrity of our games”.

While GPA delegate Alan Kerins revealed a large number of their members who had sought help through their counselling service had done so because of gambling issues and commended the GAA for “taking this leadership step for society as a whole”.

The Motion was passed overwhelmingly, with 93% of delegates voting in favour of it.

By and large, most of the Motions that were passed or defeated had a clear-cut result either way, but there was a robust debate on Motion 30 which sought to abolish the All-Ireland U-21 hurling championship in favour of an All-Ireland U-20 Championship.

Offaly forwarded the Motion and drew vocal support from Tipperary, Galway, and Wexford. But delegates from Cork and Waterford voiced their objection to it.

When it came to the vote, 70% of the delegates voted in favour, which means this year’s All-Ireland U-21 Hurling Championship will be the last one ever.

Other significant Motions that were passed included Motion 24 which gives GAA Central Council the power to authorise the use of all GAA property outside of Ireland which are owned or controlled by units of the Association for games other than those controlled by the Association; Motion 26 which means only counties competing in the Nicky Rackard and Lory Meagher Cups will now be able to avail of ‘special eligibility players’; and Motion 40 which has deleted the rule that currently prevents a player who was sent off in a Final from participating in the after-match presentation ceremony.

After all the Motions were debated and voted on, Dublin native John Horan was installed as the 39th President of the GAA.

In a far-reaching interview with GAA.ie, he outlined his ambitions for his three-year term.

Meanwhile, Tipperary’s John Costigan and New York’s Larry McCarthy were voted in as the GAA’s new trustees. They replace John Greene (Longford) and Niall Erskine of Donegal.

You can read a recap of GAA Congress 2018 as it happened and how all 40 motions fared here.