BBC told that Laois GAA coach is expected to work 'full time' as MLA

In the dark...Laois manager Justin McNulty before the Dioralyte O'Byrne Cup Round 1 match between Laois and Offaly at Stradbally GAA Grounds in Stradbally in January. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

placeholder image — In the dark...Laois manager Justin McNulty before the Dioralyte O'Byrne Cup Round 1 match between Laois and Offaly at Stradbally GAA Grounds in Stradbally in January. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

SDLP Northern Ireland Assembly Leader spells out Justin McNulty's priorities

Laois GAA Gaelic Football coach Justin McNulty and all other SDLP MLAs are expected to work 'full time' in representing their constituents at Northern Ireland Assembly, insists the party's Assembly leader Matthew O’Toole.

Mr O'Toole was asked about Mr McNulty's political and Gaelic football commitments south and north of the border on BBC Northern Ireland on February 1.

The first conflict presents on the day the assembly resumes, Saturday, February 2. Mr McNulty is due to be on the sideline with Laois on the same day in Wexford - more than four hours from Stormont Castle near Belfast.

"After two years of not having an Assembly, it’s an important day,” he told Mark Sidebottom.

"Our position hasn’t changed on this. We made public statements about this a number of months ago. We are engaged in a process with Justin to understand and to move this forward.

"I think it’s right that we continue to talk to him about that and we will be talking to him about those responsibilities and how they fit.

“Justin has worked very hard as an MLA. He cares passionately about Newry and Armagh. He also has taken up a role with the GAA.

"We are engaged in a process to discuss with Justin those two roles, but we are clear – and we have been clear in the past – that the role of an MLA is a full-time one," he said. MORE BELOW PICTURE.

Pictured: Damien Delaney, Laois, in action against Armagh's Justin McNulty in 2003 in the Allianz National Football League, Division 1, Armagh v Laois, Croke Park, Dublin. Football. Picture credit: Ray McManus / SPORTSFILE

The Leinster Express Laois Live contacted the SDLP for an official statement on the situation while also contacting Mr McNulty and Laois GAA. No statements were forthcoming.

Politics and the GAA have often mixed. The most recent high-profile politician on the island to do as Mr McNulty is endeavoring to achieve was John O'Mahony.

The All-Ireland winner with Galway told the Sunday World in 2022 he did not regret his double-jobbing between 2007 and 2010 as Fine Gael TD and Mayo manager. He said he operated on the basis that the two roles were “totally separate” and his head space was entirely devoted to football at the appropriate times.

Mr McNulty is on his second stint managing Laois. He won an All-Ireland title as a player with Armagh.