TidyHQ vs Foireann
Last reviewed March 2026
Foireann is the GAA's official player registration system in Ireland — not relevant to most Australian clubs. For AU comparisons, TidyHQ vs PlayHQ, GameDay, or Wild Apricot is the more useful starting point.
Where TidyHQ wins
What your club runs separately from Croke Park. The member register beyond player registration — life members, social members, supporters, club volunteers who aren't playing. Finances by category (subs, lotto, gate, social, fundraising, bar) with native Xero sync. Governance: agendas, minutes with action items assigned to officer roles (Cathaoirleach, Rúnaí, Cisteoir, OO, PRO), declarations of interest, and 25 GB document storage for the constitution, Cosaint Leanaí records, and child welfare policies.
Pitch and training allocation across juvenile and adult sections. Lotto via recurring subscriptions. These stay inside your club's tenant. Foireann sees what player registration requires; TidyHQ holds the rest.
Where Foireann wins
Player registration flow. If your club is GAA-affiliated, player registration, transfers, age-grade compliance, Garda vetting linkage, and Cosaint Leanaí declarations belong in Foireann — that's the system of record above your club. Foireann is built and run by the GAA, free to clubs, and integrated with county and provincial board reporting in ways no third-party platform can match. For the playing side of the club, Foireann is where it lives.
Best for
GAA clubs that already use Foireann for the playing side and need the admin and governance spine for everything else — finances, AGMs, county board returns, lotto, pitch allocation, social members, supporters, and committee work. The two stack rather than compete.
Feature comparison
Built for
TidyHQ
The club committeeFoireann
GAA player registration and central adminWho funds it
TidyHQ
Your club, directlyFoireann
GAA HQ — free to clubsPlayer registration (GAA-affiliated)
TidyHQ
✗ Belongs in FoireannFoireann
The system of recordPlayer transfers and age-grade compliance
TidyHQ
Foireann
Garda vetting linkage
TidyHQ
Custom fields with expiry remindersFoireann
Direct GAA linkageCosaint Leanaí declarations at sign-up
TidyHQ
Custom fieldsFoireann
Mandated captureMatch reporting / team selection / jersey numbers
TidyHQ
Foireann
County and provincial board reporting
TidyHQ
Financial and governance exportsFoireann
Direct GAA integrationMember register beyond players (life, social, supporters)
TidyHQ
Full registerFoireann
Player-focusedAnnual subs with auto-renewals (Stripe)
TidyHQ
Foireann
LimitedFamily memberships with linked records
TidyHQ
Family discountsFoireann
PartialClub lotto (recurring)
TidyHQ
Via recurring subscriptionsFoireann
Pitch / training allocation
TidyHQ
Via events with venue resourcesFoireann
Event ticketing with member pricing
TidyHQ
Foireann
Online shop with member pricing
TidyHQ
Foireann
Apple Wallet + Google Wallet cards
TidyHQ
Pro plan, auto-updatingFoireann
Finances by category
TidyHQ
Subs / lotto / gate / social / barFoireann
Xero integration
TidyHQ
Native two-way syncFoireann
Meeting minutes & governance
TidyHQ
Agendas, minutes, action itemsFoireann
Document storage
TidyHQ
25 GBFoireann
LimitedCost to the club
TidyHQ
TidyHQ subscriptionFoireann
Free (GAA-funded)Key differences
Foireann holds the playing side. TidyHQ holds everything else.
Foireann is the GAA's system for player registration, transfers, age-grade compliance, and central GAA reporting. That's the layer above your club. TidyHQ is the layer inside your club — the social members and supporters who don't play, the lotto subscribers, the AGM minutes, the bar takings, the pitch bookings. The two don't overlap and they don't compete.
Treasurer reporting that survives the AGM
Foireann captures player registrations and the fees attached. TidyHQ captures the rest — lotto income, gate takings, social events, fundraising, bar — categorised by source with native Xero sync. When the cisteoir prepares the AGM report or the county board asks for splits, it's an export, not a fortnight of bank-statement archaeology.
Governance for the way GAA clubs actually run
Monthly committee meetings, sub-committees for juvenile, fundraising, grounds, AGMs. TidyHQ's meeting module handles agendas, minutes with action items assigned to officer roles, declarations of interest, and 25 GB for the constitution, Cosaint Leanaí, and child welfare policies. Foireann isn't designed for committee work.
Pitch allocation across juvenile and adult sections
Three coaches showing up to the same patch on Tuesday is a weekly problem in larger clubs. TidyHQ events with venue resources let you book pitches and time slots across U10s, U12s, U14s, minor, junior, and senior, with overlap detection. Foireann doesn't handle this — it isn't built for it.
What Foireann does well
Player registration flow. If your club is GAA-affiliated, player registration, transfers, age-grade compliance, Garda vetting linkage, and Cosaint Leanaí declarations belong in Foireann — that's the system of record above your club. Foireann is built and run by the GAA, free to clubs, and integrated with county and provincial board reporting in ways no third-party platform can match. For the playing side of the club, Foireann is where it lives.
We think honest comparisons build more trust than pretending competitors don’t exist. Try both and see which one your committee actually uses.
Is TidyHQ right for you?
TidyHQ is the better choice if…
- You need finances categorised by source and synced to Xero
- AGM prep is a fortnight and you want it to be an export
- You run club lotto and want it captured against the member record
- Pitch and training allocation across sections is a weekly headache
- You have social members and supporters who don't play but still matter to the club
Foireann might be better if…
- •Your only software pain is the player registration and county board reporting Foireann is mandated for
- •Your club operates almost entirely as a playing entity with minimal committee work, lotto, or social revenue
- •You're looking for a free option from the GAA itself rather than a paid third-party platform
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about using Foireann vs TidyHQ for membership organisations.
No. Most GAA clubs we work with run both. Foireann holds player registration, transfers, age-grade compliance, Garda vetting linkage, and central GAA reporting — that's mandated by Croke Park and free to the club. TidyHQ holds the rest: social members, supporters, finances by category, AGM minutes, lotto, pitch allocation. The two systems don't overlap.
No. Foireann is the GAA's system of record for the playing side, and that's where it should stay. TidyHQ doesn't compete with central GAA registration, match reporting, or fixture data. We run alongside it as the club admin spine for the parts of club life Foireann isn't built for.
Most clubs keep Foireann as the source of truth for player records and use TidyHQ for the broader member register — social members, life members, supporters, volunteers. Player rosters can be exported from Foireann and imported to TidyHQ for the club's own admin needs. A direct Foireann-to-TidyHQ integration isn't in place; CSV is the practical bridge.
Yes — these are exactly the income streams Foireann doesn't cover. Recurring lotto subscriptions via Stripe card, gate takings against match events, social and bar income categorised separately, all syncing to Xero. The county board returns and AGM split become an export.
Yes for the club-level record. Custom fields capture Cosaint Leanaí declarations at sign-up, Garda vetting status with expiry reminders, and child welfare policy acknowledgements. The vetting status itself is held in Foireann; TidyHQ holds the club-side record and triggers reminders before expiry.
Free for clubs under 20 contacts with full features and no expiry. Pro is €44/month (billed annually) for larger clubs, with a 1% + 20c EUR service fee on transactions plus Stripe processing fees. No per-member pricing, no annual contract, no setup fee. Foireann remains free from the GAA.
Sources
Claims in this comparison are based on publicly available information. Verify current pricing and features directly with each provider.
- 1Foireann official site— GAA's official player registration and club management platform
- 2GAA Foireann support— Foireann documentation, scope of player registration features
- 3TidyConnect — how clubs federate with peak bodies— Consent-scoped Project-based federation model for clubs working with governing bodies
Related comparisons
Other Sport Federation Platforms alternatives we’ve written about.