New Ireland can be dated to about 1994, when the Celtic Tiger emerged in the south and the Provisional IRA announced a ceasefire in the north. (It may be a coincidence that, according to some, the Down versus Derry match that year was the last great game of traditional Gaelic football.)

Since then, Ireland has witnessed the redefinition of Irish nationalism, the growth of a more American lifestyle in business and society and the reduced influence of the Catholic Church.

The GAA began as a nationalist athletics and sporting body, part of the late 19th century Gaelic revival. Apart from the War of Independence, the organisation has supported the broad thrust of constitutional nationalism.

But nationalism has reversed its beliefs in recent years. It now accepts the legitimacy of partition, fetes the queen and believes that Irish Protestants are no longer Irish. (Now, that’s deviant.) New nationalism’s cutting edge, Sinn Féin, intends to call for (yes, call for) a referendum on Irish unity. (How very radical.)

Whether or not you agree with new nationalism, it is hard to argue that it has not impacted on at least some of the GAA’s core values.

The organisation now reflects Irish society’s imitation of American culture in business and society. Last year, for example, it moved an all-Ireland football semi-final replay to Limerick to accommodate an American football match at Croke Park, which was marked by two US F-16 fighter jets flying overhead. Is the GAA unaware of Irish neutrality?

Or was it just a sporting reflection of the Dublin government’s financial support for US corporations, which believe that only winning matters? Even the US government suggests that Irish tax laws encourage corporate cheating. Yet some Irish commentators are surprised that this culture has permeated our most popular sport.

Last year the GAA sold the exclusive rights to 14 major matches on the pay-to-view channel, Sky, with no prior debate. Since 1979, when Margaret Thatcher was elected, no British government has come to power without the support of Sky owner, Rupert Murdoch.

The GAA aims to sell hurling to a worldwide audience. Why not sell it first to the children in Down, for example, where few have ever seen a senior hurling game?

The decline of organised religion in Ireland means that there is no one with the moral authority to shout stop. The Croke Park website, for example, boasts that the stadium’s Davin Bar is Ireland’s largest pub, with “about 400 beer taps in total on this level”.

Is the GAA unaware that two thirds of the Irish adult population drink to excess? Alcohol is the biggest risk factor for death among Irish men aged under 30, through accident, assault or suicide.

Although the 18-year Guinness sponsorship of the All Ireland Hurling Championship has ended, the company is still a “Proud Partner” of the GAA. Together they provide opportunities “to innovate together on new business and marketing collaborations”.

The local GAA club still practices the morality of community development, investment in young people, voluntary help, personal development and education. But as a corporate body, the organisation appears to be headed in a different direction.

It might be too fanciful to suggest that the demise of Gaelic football is a reflection of a nation which has lost its soul. However, it could be seen as an example of an organisation which is losing its way, in a country of rapidly changing values and attitudes.

This is not to suggest that some football managers have consciously decided to replicate international culture-less capitalism on the sports field. But the drift of Gaelic football could be explained because Ireland no longer has any signposts in terms of economic morality, culture or nationhood. In seeking to address football’s malaise, the GAA might look beyond the game.

You may deny that the new Gaelic football is solely a product of the new Ireland.

But can you honestly claim that the new Ireland has had absolutely no impact on the game? That is a much harder argument to develop.