The amateur ethos is a core tenet of the GAA. Central to this is the ethos that players at all levels tend to be “one club” players for their playing career.
This is key to ensuring a level playing field for all clubs; if players were to move clubs easily,it would favour stronger clubs, and serve to weaken less successful clubs, ultimately making them non-sustainable.
There are some circumstances under which players can move club (e.g. due to moving home) but once registered with a club, all transfers must be agreed by the governing body (in our case, that is Dublin GAA).
The rules around transfer reside with the local county board and in cases where the transfer is to a club in another county, the transfer has to be ratified at national level.
Should a player wish to transfer from another club to St Vincents, they’ll need to follow the procedures outlined by the county board. Specifically:
- Transfers are only considered at one time during they year. This is typically the first week in December, running December 1 to December 8, with a strict deadline of 5:30pm at the end of that period
- The player that wishes to transfer must fill out a form available at the Dublin County Board website (or here for an Irish version)
- Transfer requests are at the discretion of the County Board and are not guaranteed to be sanctioned
- The player’s existing club are within their rights to object to a transfer, although the county board’s decision will be final
We recommend that if you are considering a transfer, that you seek the advice of the county board.
Transferring from a club outside of the county must be sanctioned by GAA at a national level. The inter-county transfer forms is available here