Tag Archives: Caherlohan

THE governance of Clare GAA needs to be overhauled, while a CEO, Finance Manager and Commercial/Brand manager should all be appointed, according to the newly published recommendations report of the independent Strategic Planning Group (SPG). In the appendix booklet of the report it stated that every stakeholder group in the county had prioritised governance as an area requiring immediate change and restructure. It says Clare currently does not have the ability to take advantage of financial opportunities that exist. “The expansion of Clare GAA “business of sport” activity has not been matched by increasing the operational capacity of the organisation. “The structures required to operate a multi million euro operation do not exist within Clare GAA with no capacity to adapt to or respond to many commercial opportunities now available. No structures exist to stimulate activity to generate the essential revenues for ongoing investment across all areas of Clare GAA. This represents a key limitation in the organisations capacity to …

THE Clare GAA €4.8 million Centre of Excellence at Caherlohan has been the subject of intense scrutiny and discussion over the last few months, in response to which clubs were invited to visit the facility for themselves last weekend before making any submissions to the new strategic group focusing on the future of Clare GAA. The Clare Champion understands that 13 clubs sent representatives on the day to view the facility, just less than a quarter of all clubs in the county. Here Derrick Lynch guides you through gallery of photographs from inside the gates of Caherlohan. GYM: It is accepted by the majority of stakeholders that the gym at the facility is in need of an upgrade, but this also could be put down to the growth and development in S&C trends since the doors were first opened in 2015. The motto of “First In, Last Out” adorns the walls along with a reminder from both the Clare senior …

Clare GAA clubs have given unanimous backing to a new committee being put in place to conduct a strategic review aimed at improving standards in the county. It comes from an Éire Óg motion which calls for Clare GAA to “establish an independent committee to develop a five year strategic plan”. It detailed that the committee should consist of five people who are independent of the county board, and drawn from business and commercial interests with a strong record of commitment and involvement in the GAA. The key areas identified for the committee to focus on are finance and fundraising, optimisation of the Centre of Excellence at Caherlohan and other facilities, Coaching and Games Development, Governance, Public Relations along with marketing and social media. The motion was the brainchild of former Clare minor coach Niall O’Connor. Each club who spoke on the evening gave their backing to the motion, with chairman Jack Chaplin outlining that a member of the county …

Contesting the final of the National Hurling League, which required a replay, netted Clare GAA €202,552.51. Clare’s return from the National Football League, where they were crowned Division 3 champions, was worth €28,554.38 to the board. Details of the financial returns from both leagues were revealed by treasurer, Bernard Keane to Tuesday night’s board meeting in Caherlohan. Up to the end of August, the total spend on county teams, Mr Keane outlined, was €449,124.51, of which €258,625 was for hurling, with €190,500 for football. A further breakdown revealed that €222,262 was spent on the senior hurling team and €159,777 was spent on the senior football team. The treasurer stressed that these figures “are what has been paid out in cheques up to the end of August and may not be a true figure but it gives you a feel for where we are. It’s not a complete picture.” Whitegate delegate, David Solan said, “Clubs are being squeezed to the limit …

Treasurer of the Clare GAA County Board, Bernard Keane has admitted that the board’s finance are “serious” prompting them to acquire “a line of credit of €200,000″. The financial scenario was outlined to delegates attending this week’s meeting of Clare GAA and the meeting unanimously supported a request from the executive to sanction the borrowings. Treasurer Bernard Keane said, “This is a necessity. There is no income until July. The finances are very serious at the moment”. Secretary Pat Fitzgerald explained that the board hoped that the borrowings will be paid back before October. “All outgoings are between January and April and monies don’t start to flow until July. We have acquired similar resolutions from Croke Park and from Munster Council,” he added. Outlining the expenditure to date on county teams, the board treasurer said this amounted to €153,244.27. However, he cautioned that it will be higher as “there are a lot of bills to come in yet”. The breakdown of …