Miltown turned down for County Final

A request from Miltown St Joseph’s GAA to be allowed host the Clare senior football final in 2012 was turned down.
In the letter of application Miltown pointed out that they are celebrating their 125th anniversary this year and having opened their new all-seater stand in 2011, they wanted to host the senior final.
“County senior finals are played in Cusack Park and there will be no deviation from that,” stated board chairman Michael O’Neill.
In reply, Miltown delegate Noel Walsh said, “the only ones entitled to make that decision are the county committee. It’s not a byelaw. It might not do any harm to move west occasionally. If this is turned down here I will ask my club to bring it forward as a proposal for the next meeting to be voted on here”.
“I am not being disrespectful to Miltown and we are well aware of their fine facilities but the finals are played in Cusack Park,” replied O’Neill.

Another team for the ‘Bridge
Sixmilebridge will bring an application before the April board meeting to be allowed enter a team in the 2012 junior C championship. This will be a fourth adult team from the club that already competes at senior, intermediate and junior A grades. Next month’s meeting will be asked to allow more that the specified four re-gradings for this to happen.
Stressing that he wasn’t objecting to the application, Tubber’s Michael Lee commented, “If it made a mockery of the junior C grade it would be egg on all our faces,” to which Sixmilebridge delegate Pat Keane replied “We don’t re-grade teams to win lower grade championships”.
County secretary Pat Fitzgerald told the meeting that “O’Callaghan’s Mills had a similar application two years ago to create a new team”.

Another U-21 amalgamation
The meeting accepted a request for a group U-21 team from Shannon Gaels, Killimer and Kilmihil for 2012. The meeting was told that Shannon Gaels-Killimer will compete at B level as will Kilmihil with the group team taking part in the A competition.
When the application asked that games be played on alternate weekends, board secretary Pat Fitzgerald pointed out that the normal procedure is for the games to go ahead on the same weekend with the club sides going first and the amalgamation then.

Clooney-Quin’s request is late
A request from Clooney-Quin to drop down from intermediate to junior A hurling league was refused at Tuesday’s meeting when they were informed that all league fixtures had been drawn up for the season.
Meanwhile, a request from cooraclare for their third adult team to be re-graded to junior B was granted by the meeting. Last year Cooraclare had two junior A teams but their application pointed out that the second of these teams “didn’t win a game”.

Clondegad move up to junior A
Clondegad’s junior footballers will compete in the Junior A Championship in 2012. Eligible for the junior B grade, the club informed this week’s board meeting that they wanted to move up to the A competition.

Isolated players
While dealing with applications from players to be allowed play with another club as ‘isolated players’, secretary Pat Fitzgerald again reminded clubs of the county byelaws. “The board will have to make a policy on isolated players”, he said.
This prompted Clondegad delegate Seamus O’Reilly to ask for “an explanation of the byelaw”.
“The byelaw is very clear,” stated the secretary. “They must play with an adjoining club or the nearest club. Its time there was a committee set up to look after all of these,” he added.
After O’Reilly suggested that Bord na nÓg were allowing a situation where one club would get assistance from at least four neighbouring clubs, Martin Reynolds, chairman of Bord na nÓg stated “we went by the bye-law and we are not victimising any club. We made our decisions as per the bye-laws and rules that are there”.
Ballyea delegate Sean McNamara told the meeting that “a player was refused isolated status with Ballyea having played with Ballyea since he was ten”.

O’Connor’s request fails
A request from Keith O’Connor Kildysart to be allowed hurl as an isolated player with Tubber was refused. The meeting heard that O’Connor, a member of the Clare U-21 football team, has played his underage hurling with Ballyea.

Transfers
An application from Damian Noonan to transfer from O’Callaghan’s Mills to Tulla was deferred at this week’s board meeting. In his personal application, Noonan stated that he lives at Gurteen, Tulla but O’Callaghan’s Mills delegate Noel O’Driscoll told the meeting that his club had “reservations about this address”.
Transfers granted included Eamonn Noonan from Clooney-Quin to Clonlara; Darren McGreggor from Wolfe Tones to O’Callaghan’s Mills; Barry Coleman from St Senan’s to Kilrush, and Michael McCarthy from Clooney-Quin to O’Callaghan’s Mills.

Curtin joins Moy
Despite objections from Ennistymon, William Curtin’s application for a transfer from Ennistymon to Moy was sanctioned at this week’s board meeting. The application had been deferred from the previous meeting.
Chairman Michael O’Neill outlined that Curtin’s letter of application was accompanied by three authentic utility bills.
Ennistymon delegate Tom Stackpool told the meeting that there was no change in his club’s position since the previous meeting.
Chairman Michael O’Neill allowed the transfer.

Club Clare Walk
Clare GAA will hold a 12km sponsored walk from Cusack Park to their new development at Caherlohan (on the Ennis to Tulla Road) on Bank Holiday Monday.
Starting at 10am from outside Cusack Park, participants will be given a tour new development on arrival and there will be a short welcome from board chairman Michael O’Neill before participants are taken by bus back to Cusack Park.
According to board treasurer, Bernard Keane, all monies raised will be spent on the nominated county team.

Game clashes
Clare GAA should make every effort to ensure that inter county fixtures involving the county team do not clash. That was the message from Clondegad delegate Seamus O’Reilly to this week’s board meeting and his view was supported by John Meade Kildysart.