Structures committee report expected early January

THE committee appointed to review Clare GAA structures has concluded its regional meetings and the group is now in the process of finalising its recommendations.
Meetings with club representatives took place in Kilrush, Ennistymon, Scariff and Ennis, while members of the committee also met with inter-county managements.
It is understood strong opposition was voiced by club representatives against the current championship system, which sees a break after Round 1 in football and Round 2 in hurling. The view put forward by club officials is that the competition must continue at regular intervals (every two weeks) once it commences. It is believed the new format will incorporate this view and that there will be change in the competition format recommended.
It has been suggested there should be a drop in the number of senior clubs in both hurling and football in the county. It is anticipated the report will go along with this recommendation and suggest a system that will apply over the next two or three seasons to bring about a drop in the number of senior clubs.
At the recent county convention, motions dealing with competition structures were all deferred and it is expected the upcoming report will incorporate the views expressed.
The report from the committee will be circulated to the clubs in advance of the meeting to enable each club to discuss the recommendations before attending the meeting, scheduled for Saturday, January 21.
The members of the committee are Pádraig Boland (Broadford); Colm Browne (Kilrush); Denis Tuohy (Whitegate); Nuala Shanahan (Doonbeg); Gerard O’Neill (Kilmihil); Rosaleen Monaghan (Tubber) and Jack Chaplin (Cratloe).