John Horan has seen the GAA from just about every angle.
From his days as a teacher and principal in St Vincent’s CBS in Glasnevin, to his work with his club Na Fianna, Leinster Council and eventually Croke Park, Horan has spent decades involved in the organisation at every level.
He served as Chairman of Leinster Council from 2014 to 2017 before becoming the 39th President of the GAA in 2018. Today, his GAA experience is being put to work in another setting, as an Independent Director of Páirc Tailteann C.L.G. and part of the team overseeing the redevelopment of the stand in our county ground.
It is a role that brings together two particularly relevant parts of Horan’s background: senior GAA administration and major stadium development.
His experience stretches from Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork to Louth’s new stadium project in Dundalk, and now to Navan.
Horan’s GAA story began with Na Fianna in Dublin, where he was involved as a player before moving into coaching and administration.
His professional life was centred on education. He taught at St Vincent’s CBS in Glasnevin and eventually became principal of the school. The school has a strong GAA tradition, with former pupils including Dessie Farrell and Jason Sherlock.
Alongside his work in education, Horan became increasingly involved in coaching and administration. He spent six years working in the GAA’s Coaching and Games structures and was involved with Dublin underage teams.
His progression through the Leinster structure followed, serving as Vice Chairman from 2011 to 2014 before becoming Chairman in 2014. He remained in the role until 2017.
By then, Horan had built up experience across clubs, schools, coaching and administration, as well as a detailed knowledge of the GAA’s provincial structures.
In February 2017, Horan was elected GAA President elect at Congress, winning on the first count.
The following year he became the 39th President of the GAA and the first Dublin born President since Daniel McCarthy in the 1920s.
His three year term covered a significant period for the Association, including the development of the Tailteann Cup, which was approved at Special Congress in 2019, and the huge challenges created by the Covid 19 pandemic.
Horan completed his term in February 2021, handing over the presidency to Larry McCarthy.
But his time at the top of the Association also brought him into another area that is particularly relevant to his current role in Meath: stadium development.
During his presidency, Horan was appointed Chairman of the Board of Páirc Uí Chaoimh in Cork.
The ambitious redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh was one of the largest infrastructure projects in GAA history, but it also brought financial and operational difficulties. In his role as stadium board chairman, John was tasked with guiding the committee through these complex challenges while stabilising the venue’s ongoing day-to-day operations
It gave him first hand experience of the realities involved in developing and running a major county ground.
That experience has continued.
Horan is Chairperson of Louth GAA’s Stadium Development Committee, which is overseeing the development of a new county stadium in Dundalk.
And now here in Meath, he is an Independent Director of Páirc Tailteann C.L.G., the company established to manage and oversee the redevelopment of the stand in Páirc Tailteann.
It is quite a combination of experience.
Club. Schools. Leinster. Croke Park. Cork. Louth. And now Navan.
For John Horan, the next chapter is very much about Páirc Tailteann. With the redevelopment now moving ahead, he brings years of experience at the highest levels of the GAA, along with first hand knowledge of the challenges that come with major stadium projects.
From the classroom in Glasnevin to the presidency of the GAA, and now to the redevelopment of our county ground, it is another interesting chapter in a GAA career that has taken him a fair few places.
By Meath GAA Tue 6th Oct
