What elite players have to say about 'toxic' alcohol culture in the GAA

Analysis: research has found a harmful drinking culture among elite GAA players, especially around binge drinking

Alcohol is a significant source of harm and the third highest preventable cause of death worldwide. Binge drinking is defined as drinking six or more standard drinks in one sitting and is associated with increased illness and death. A younger population is more likely to binge drink: 52% of Irish people under 35 drink in this way compared to 21% of those over 65. Studies of elite athletes suggest a higher rate of binge drinking compared to their peers.

Gaelic football and hurling are the best attended field sports in Ireland in with roughly 1.5 million attendees at inter-county championships annually and the Gaelic Players Association represents over 4,000 elite players. We carried out a 61 question survey amongst elite GAA players examining alcohol and gambling and the results have been published in three academic papers.

Players were offered the opportunity to comment on alcohol culture in the GAA in a free text section. A word cloud was created from these responses and they were analysed for themes.

111 comments were suitable for analysis and these contained the following 14 major themes

On versus off mentality (44 respondents)

Many respondents felt players are unable to drink for long periods for numerous reasons (drinking bans, peer pressure, inability to perform) and then binge. "In the GAA there seems to be a culture of 'full duck or no dinner'…players tend to abstain from alcohol for long periods of time and then when they do drink they binge…"

Binge drinking (40 respondents)

Some respondents feel unable to drink in moderation during the season and over-indulge in the off season. "People drink to excess