Following the publication of research into the commitments required of male
Gaelic players to play senior inter-county, and knock-on effects of inter-county
commitment (Kelly et al., 2018), the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and Gaelic
Players Association (GPA) established a working group to make an in-depth analysis
of the report’s findings. One of the decisions taken by the working group was that
further research was required to examine a range of issues that emerged from the
original study. These included in particular: (i) the education and (ii) the
professional career experiences of senior inter-county players, (iii) their
engagement in risky behaviours (e.g. alcohol consumption), (iv) supplement usage,
(v) players’ views on both provided and required supports, and (vi) what they would
change about their experience of playing inter-county and the inter-county set-up
