Clare told to stick with grant decision

CLARE GAA must stand by their decision to divide €250,000 between 10 clubs in the county, each receiving €25,000.

A request to the finance department at Croke Park to be allowed change and divide the fund between 25 clubs was not successful. Details on the distribution of GAA funds for club and county infrastructure projects will be announced in Croke Park this Thursday.
Clare is one of a number of counties that has yet to finalise details of how they will distribute the €250,000. Over a year ago, a Clare GAA meeting decided to distribute their allocation between 10 clubs, giving each €25,000. All clubs in the county were invited to make an application outlining details of development plans, with December 31 set as the closing date for the completion of work.
Since last October, the distribution of this fund has been raised at every board meeting with some heated exchanges.
Clare officials admitted they were having difficulty in deciding the 10 clubs and committee chairman, Johnnie Hill told a previous meeting that the committee’s preferred option was to share the fund between the 25 clubs.
At the February meeting of the county board, it was agreed by a majority of the clubs, that the Clare executive would speak with officials in the finance department in Croke Park seeking permission to change from their original plan. However, Croke Park weren’t in favour of change and advised Clare that they must go with their original decision to award 10 clubs €25,000 each
Neighbours Limerick and Tipperary have gone down the road of dividing their allocation between 10 clubs, while Galway and Roscommon opted to put their allocations into capital projects.
It is expected that Clare GAA will nominate the 10 clubs in the coming weeks.