Reports have emerged which suggest that Scotland will be added to the Connacht Senior Football Championship from next year, as part of the GAA's increasing efforts to expand the reach of Gaelic Games outside of Ireland. A high-ranking source spoke today of "a historic step in the globalisation of our wonderful games, and part of the continuing cross-channel normalisation of Irish games and culture."
The move is believed to have been accelerated by the likely signing of a historic broadcasting deal between Croke Park and Sky, which should see matches beamed into millions of homes and bars across the UK.
With the referendum on Scottish independence to take place on September 18, the Association is keen to exploit a more official rivalry between north and south of the border on the other island. The source continued: "Regardless of the outcome of the independence vote, the inclusion of Scotland as a national team will hopefully inspire the entire country to get behind their GAA representatives.
"It has been decided to include them in Connacht, as opposed to Ulster, in order to exploit the centuries-old rivalry between London and Scotland.
"We feel that by always pitting the two against each other in their Championship opener, a Calcutta Cup-style annual contest will quickly gain momentum.
"Our Celtic cousins are wonderful travelling supporters and we look forward to welcoming them in good numbers to grounds throughout the West and beyond from next year."
The inclusion of the Tartan Army to the Championship programme next year will not be confined to the large ball - their national shinty team will be parachuted directly into the same competition as London, whom they will play first every year, regardless of the Exiles' placing in the hurling hierarchy. Initially at least, all games involving the Scots will be played with the composite hurling-shinty rules seen in the annual game against Ireland, to offer a degree of competitiveness and to preserve the integrity of the Highland code.
Alisdair Finlayson-Macdonald, who captained the Scots in the shinty-hurling international last year, spoke positively of the developments. He said: "We would be delighted and honoured to take part in such a fantastic competition. We were invited to fully take up hurling for the occasions, but have decided to stick to the composite-rules arrangement to preserve our game and to remain competitive.
"We look forward to appearing in Croke Park before too long - hopefully we'd bring a similar travelling support to the rugby or football guys."
In a further attempt to gain native-born followers in Britain, the London side will be rebranded as the London City Monarchs and will change from their green, Celtic cross-emblazoned strip to a white and red ensemble, with a crown and portcullis crest similar to the once-ubiquitous Ministry of Sound logo.
Lord's Cricket Ground, which has just enough playing space to host Gaelic Games, was touted as a home venue, but the suggestion was sidelined by the redevelopment of Ruislip.
The Scots will be known as the Highlanders and will play at Hampden Park, which will host the Commonwealth Games this summer. A lucrative sponsorship deal with McEwan's Lager is due to be signed in the coming weeks.
The developments are likely to encounter opposition from within Connacht and the wider GAA community in Ireland and the UK. However, recent expansion projects in Asia and Europe have proved popular, as did the recent tour to Ireland by a visiting South African team.
