Clare County Board Meeting Round-up

The members of the committee that will review competition structures and the workings of the GAA in the county and make a report to the county committee are Padraic Boland (Broadford) Rosaleen Monaghan (Tubber), Dermot Tuohy (Whitegate), Nuala Shanahan (Doonbeg), Colm Browne (Kilrush) and Gerard O’Neill (Kilmihil).

One more, representing dual clubs, will be added this week by board chairman Michael O’Neill, who revealed the identity of the new committee this week.
“It will be very open ended and clubs will be written to in the coming week. I would expect that clubs and all interested personnel will make submissions to this group in the next few weeks,” the chairman told this week’s county board meeting.
The appointment of the committee was agreed at the October board meeting on the proposition of Michael Curtin from O’Currys.
Speaking at this week’s meeting, Curtin said, “the objective is to get to the number of senior teams we want to have and it will take a leap of faith to do this. All clubs must embrace this.
“They should make submissions and meet the committee to see what’s best. Its very important that whatever comes back will be binding for at least a year. This will only be a success when the clubs embrace it.”
Agreeing with Curtin’s comments, Doonbeg delegate Michael Neenan said, “This has all been done before. We have just got a very good report from the recent forum and unless we implement it, the recommendations won’t mean one iota. Plans have been put before and never acted on. There was the Noel O’Driscoll plan and then an excellent one from Michael O’Doherty but none were implemented. Why weren’t these plans acted on. Is it because of funding?” he asked.
“It will take a certain amount of funding,” commented chairman Michael O’Neill. “It was an excellent forum and we will try and act on everything in the report. I will endeavour to ensure the plan will be implemented. We are falling down in relation to coaching and the clubs will have to work on this,” he added.
At this stage, Neenan again asked “Why did the O’Doherty plan fall down? When are we going to have the coaches put in place?”
Replying to this, secretary Pat Fitzgerald said, “there is some myth that the Clare County Board will find money and employ coaches. In Galway it’s the clubs that pay the coaches. Our clubs must start going into schools, they must appoint a liaison officer to the schools. In Clare we have put in the region of €330,000 into underage games this year. The clubs will have to come on board.”
Stressing that “the clubs must support their schools,” O’Neill suggested “some clubs spent their money on bringing in outside coaches to coach their senior teams”.
Doonbeg delegate Neenan persisted with claims that “nothing has been done with three previous reports. It’s not just the coaching structures that haven’t been acted on. Why has all the money that came from the sale of land at the rear of the scoreboard end in Cusack Park not carried forward? It’s bad planning,” he argued.
Referring to Neenan’s comments with regard to a lack of coaching, county coaching officer Eamonn Fennessy said, “the coaching and games committee have provided the courses and have worked with the development squads. The problem is to get quality coaches to commit to this. The reality is that the clubs must take on more coaching.”
Supporting this, O’Neill again stressed, “we have to get more coaches involved in the schools. There are far more constraints on teachers now and we must provide assistance.”
Replying to Neenan’s query with regard to money earned for the sale of a portion of ground at Cusack Park, the chairman said, “A decision was made here by the county committee to buy the land at Caherlohan in Tulla where a centre of excellence is being developed.” He was supported by a number of delegates at the meeting.
“It’s time to go forward,” said Munster council delegate Tom Downes. “We have a plan here and we all have a responsibility to carry it through.”

 

Report downgrades Cusack Park capacity to 12,800

During a discussion on finance at this week’s meeting of Clare GAA, it emerged that Cusack Park, the county grounds, has been downgraded.
“The capacity is now 12,800 following a report by Slattery and Co. All grounds around the country have been downgraded following reports by this company,” chairman Michael O’Neill told the delegates.
Income from all games in Clare this year is down considerably on the previous season, Clare GAA treasurer Bernard Keane told the meeting.
The income from both county finals is down in the region of €35,000. The football final realised €43,000, with the hurling decider bringing in €44,000.
“There are seven schedules of income on the annual report and we are down in all. It’s most disappointing. The county audit committee met for four hours last Saturday and the situation is serious. We need a fundraiser other than the regular events. We have made savings in areas but, as a unit, we all have to come up with ways of generating finance in the coming year,” he said.
Earlier board chairman Michael O’Neill presented a cheque for €3,000 to Cratloe GAA secretary Deirdre Chaplin after her club won the top prize for their efforts in promoting the annual county board draw. Disappointment was expressed by the treasurer at the number of clubs that “made little or no effort to promote the draw, which benefits the clubs”.
Whitegate’s Denis Tuohy asked if a more detailed breakdown of expenditure on county teams could be provided.
Secretary Pat Fitzgerald told the meeting, “we have made cuts of €145,000 on expenditure for inter-county teams over the past two years”.
“The Celtic Tiger has done us all a lot of harm. We have to be able to get forward but we have to do so on our own backs now. This is a reality check. The money isn’t there. Times are going to get a lot tougher. We must think more about volunteerism,” Tubber delegate Michael Lee said.
According to Doonbeg’s Michael Neenan, “we are all digging into a smaller pot. A lot of money is being collected but not by the GAA. There’s Share a Dream, hope this, hope that, monies for hospitals and that’s all great,” he said.
Miltown’s Noel Walsh said, “we have to reduce expenditure. It’s very difficult to raise money. A lot of businesses will close in the next year and a lot of young players will not be in the country next year.”
Kilmaley’s Michael Maher asked if there are any monies allocated towards the upkeep of Cusack Park.
Agreeing that works need to be done at the county grounds, the treasurer informed the delegates of the improvements carried out there in recent years.
“We have a lot of money invested in the facility in recent years and also in Clareabbey and there is a lot more to be done. We have to continue the work at Caherlohan. If we don’t, it will be a big mistake,” he said.
A full breakdown of the board’s finances will be presented in the financial report at the upcoming county convention which is set for Thursday, December 15.

 

Clare’s minor management duo step up

The successful Clare minor hurling management team of the past three years, Donal Moloney (Scariff) and Jerry O’Connor (Éire Óg) have stepped up to U-21 level for 2012.
At the November meeting of the board, chairman Michael O’Neill proposed the appointment of the duo and this was unanimously accepted.
Jimmy Browne and Paul Kinnerk from the outgoing selection committee will continue as part of the management team. Eamonn Fennessy has stepped down but he is expected to remain as part of the new minor management team that, according to board chairman O’Neill, will be finalised “in the next week or two”.
“I would expect the majority of the players that we have had at minor level in the past three years will be in contention for places on the panel, while we are hoping that a couple of others will have come through,” Moloney told The Clare Champion this week
Clare will play Waterford in the provincial U-21 semi-final on July 19. Given that they have clashed in the minor championship for the past three years, both sets of players should know each other well.
In 2009 Clare defeated Waterford in the first round of the minor championship but then lost out to the Déise outfit in a semi-final tie played at Cusack Park. For the last two years, Clare have beaten Waterford in the provincial minor finals. In 2010, the Banner side lost narrowly to Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final while, in the current year, they were pipped by eventual winners, Galway, in the All-Ireland semi-final.
As all underage championship games in the province are played on a home and away basis, the provincial U-21 semi-final is expected to be in Ennis in July. When the counties last met at this level, Clare won the provincial title for the first time on a memorable evening in Dungarvan
The current inter-county training ban prohibits U-21 teams from collective training before March 1.
Meanwhile Paul Kinnerk, a member of the teaching staff at St Caimin’s in Shannon and a member of both the Monaleen and Limerick senior football panels, is also expected to be a member of Davy Fitzgerald’s new senior hurling management team.

 

Huge increase in property insurance costs

GAA clubs throughout the country are to be hit with a huge increase in property insurance in 2012, delegates attending the monthly meeting of Clare GAA were told this week.
“Property insurance, as you can imagine with the winters we have had for the past few years, has been a major problem,” county secretary Pat Fitzgerald, and a member of the national insurance committee work group, told the meeting.
“In 2007 there was €403,000 in claims, €1.8 million in 2008, €1.063m in 2009 and €2.77m in 2010. The underwriters are saying they want no more to do with it,” the secretary explained.
He went on to say, “The excess now is going to be €25,000 and without proper management of facilities, clubs will not qualify for claims. Clubs must drain the system for the winter and must make sure you are not leaving your facilities in a situation where there might be burst pipes leading to big claims.
“The first thing that will be checked is whether or not there is a proper maintenance and management programme in place. There is going to be a significant increase in property insurance for 2012,” he said.
The secretary had some good news for the delegates in relation to player injury insurance, which he said will be reduced in the coming year. Only five counties qualify for this reduction, which came about by having 75% of clubs registered by the end of April and Clare topped the list here.