Wexford GAA Management Committee Meeting 13/01/2022, Chadwicks Wexford Park
Matters arising from 2019 Convention
It was agreed to propose the following for ratification at this months County Board meeting Tony Dempsey as the management nominee to the Management Committee. David Tobin as Development Officer and John Kenny as the Coiste na nÓg secretary.
The quality of county final medals was raised by a delegate at the 2019 Convention. It was noted that senior medals presently cost €60 each but it was agreed to examine the options out there and that this would be placed on the agenda of a future meeting.
Finance
The Cathaoirleach has done a line by line examination of the accounts over the Christmas break and will do a detailed presentation at the next meeting with a particular focus on any potential savings. He believes that up to €100,000 in annual savings could be achievable in 2020. The players’ fundraising efforts are ongoing and around €10,000 remains to be raised to pay the balance of the team holiday. It is hoped that the sale of more DVDs can help to bridge this gap.
A single underage squad selector has expressed disapproval that extra gear had not been bought for a particular squad. However, a clear policy is in place in this regard in order that squads will stay within budgets.
Committees
The Cathaoirleach said that the various committees had worked well in 2019 and asked committee chairs to revert with confirmed memberships at the next meeting. He has asked the PR committee to produce a 2020 yearbook and Ronan Fagan has agreed to edit this publication. It has been more than a decade since last a yearbook was produced and it was agreed that clubs should be advised of this project to ensure that they will have good material to contribute later in the year
Jim Byrne Cup
It was noted that a new committee is in place to manage this long-running competition and they are Harry Twomey (Chairman), Kieran Cullen (Secretary) and Eddie O’Sullivan (Treasurer). At present, about 15 teams have expressed interest in participating in the 2020 competition. It was also noted that accumulated funds built up by this competition over the years have been brought within the control of the county board.
Dates for meetings
Management meetings will take place on the second Monday of every month at 7pm in Chadwicks Wexford Park. County Board meetings are scheduled for
28 January
25 February (discussion on motions for Congress)
24 March
26 May
25 August
6 October
17 November
District AGMs will take place on 2 and 3 December.
Convention on 7 December.
The championship draws will take place in mid February. The Cathaoirleach said that it is important that we have an agreement in place by then with a “Wexford TV” commercial partner as the draws would be of wide interest; the commercial manager will be asked to address this as a priority.
Centre of Excellence
It was agreed that every booking for the facilities (to cover tea room, meeting rooms, pitches and gym) has to go through the Rúnaí who will manage the overall calendar of events. It was also agreed that planning for the development of a 5th pitch in the Centre should be pursued as a priority.
The naming rights for the Centre of Excellence are now available and negotiations are on-going with a potential sponsor. A number of details arising from the conclusion of the agreement with the outgoing naming partner were discussed and it is hoped to bring this to a satisfactory conclusion.
Other infrastructure issues
The Cathaoirleach has a number of proposals on the playing surface in Chadwicks Wexford Park and hopefully we will have a proposal finalised for approval at the February County Board meeting, he also stated he will explore the possibility of acquiring additional playing facilities to help with the increasing demand of facilities in Wexford GAA and all our schools.
There has been another break-in at St. Patrick’s Park, the third such event in recent months and it was agreed that an investment will have to be made in high strength security fencing at the venue.
Coaching and games
It appears that the issue at Leinster Council level regarding funding for the Games Promotion Officer model has been resolved and it is likely that new GPOs might be ready to commence by early March 2020 with Shelmaliers and St. Martin’s next in line. However, while the GPO model is well regarded and has been looked at by other counties as an example of good practice, the buy-in needed at club level to get the most out of the GPO has not happened in every partner club in Wexford.
The challenges facing GAA in our towns is well understood but it is disappointing to note the very low level of response from the clubs in Wexford Town to the report (including recommendations) done by Iar-Uachtarán Liam O’Neill on the GAA landscape in the town. This report, which was circulated to clubs in the town in November 2019, has only elicited a response from one club thus far. The Cathaoirleach said that committee should be appointed at the next meeting to drill into the challenges facing our urban clubs and to drive action and reform.
Adult Competitions
As committed to at 2019 Convention, a working group was established to make recommendations on the structure and calendar of the Under 20 championships and of our All County Leagues. The group proposes that Under 20 football and hurling both start in late July, taking place on alternate Wednesdays with straight knockout divisions of 8. As for the leagues, it is proposed to reintroduce promotion and relegation and that the leagues would not start until May and would then run week-in week-out until July. March could be used for district competitions, for challenge matches or for participation in Leinster Leagues. It was agreed to present the proposals for discussion at County Board and that, while changes to Under 20 could be implemented in 2020, any changes to All County Leagues would be proposed for introduction from 2021 onwards
Rathgarogue/Cushinstown All-Ireland Final Appearance
Congratulations were extended to Rathgarogue Cushinstown on reaching the All-Ireland Club Final. An application from the club seeking financial support for their preparations for the final was considered and a grant of €500 was approved as per previous grants for club teams reaching All-Irelands.
U-20 Hurling Management Team
It was agreed that James Shiel would be proposed as the u-20 Hurling Manager for 2020 at the next County Board meeting. His backroom team would also be advised at the county board meeting.
Other Business
It was noted that the Wexford GAA crest is owned by the GAA centrally and licenced to Wexford; it can only be used on playing gear or leisure wear produced by O’Neill’s, with whom the GAA has a commercial relationship. While Zurich Insurance has agreed to also come on board with camogie and ladies’ football as jersey sponsor it was noted that the Camogie Board can use the GAA crest, should they so wish, as they will be using O’Neill’s as their gear supplier. The Ladies’ Football board have been advised they will need to use an alternative crest as they will be using a different supplier.
The Senior Scór finals will take place on Friday 28 February in Carrig-on-Bannow and clubs will be written to and urged to participate.
