Two-way contest for post of central council delegate

NOMINATIONS close this week for positions on the executive of Clare GAA for 2010 and, as previously revealed in The Clare Champion, there will be a contest for the position of central council delegate with both Ger Hickey (Feakle) and PJ McGuane (Cooraclare) nominated for the post.
Clare has to elect a new delegate to the central body as Kilmihil’s Tom Downes has completed his term.

Both Hickey and McGuane are well known in Clare GAA and over the years have filled a number of positions on the Clare executive. Both have been actively involved with their clubs, where they held various positions. Both have served on the county Bord na nÓg executives before taking up positions on the adult board. Hickey has represented Clare on the Munster Council and has served as treasurer of that body while McGuane has been one of the Clare delegates at provincial level for the past three years.
Meanwhile, the indications are that there will be a contest for the delegates’ posts to the Munster Council. There are two to be elected and the outgoing Robert Frost is a candidate. Kilmihil’s Tom Downes has been nominated while independent councillor James Breen is understood to have sought a nomination from his club, Inagh-Kilnamona. A few weeks ago PJ McGuane announced that he will step down as delegate to this body following the appointment of his son, Enda, as the council’s deputy CEO.
The board will also have to elect a new coaching officer to replace Michael O’Connor, who is not seeking re-election.
Board chairman Michael O’Neill and treasurer Bernard Keane are both expected to be returned for another term.
There is some speculation that board vice-chairman Johnnie Hill is considering stepping down and may well challenge for election as the county’s Munster or central council delegate. The Lissycasey man has served on a number of provincial council committees in the past and was secretary of the council’s planning and physical development workgroup for a number of years.
The convention will take place on Thursday, December 17 at the Auburn Lodge Hotel and delegates are expected to have a number of motions on competition structures up for discussion.
It’s understood that there will be a proposal to limit the senior hurling championship to 12 teams and to have an intermediate A and intermediate B competitions. This would reflect a major change in the structures from what exists at present, which sees 20 teams compete for the senior title.
There has been much debate in recent times about whether there should be so many teams in the Clare senior championship. Some patrons have suggested that the championships should be re-structured and the number of senior teams should be reduced but to date no such proposal has come from any of the clubs. It will be interesting to hear the response from the clubs to such a proposal.
The final list of nominations, together with the full list of motions, will be available next week.