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G.A.A. PRESIDENT CHRISTY COONEY “ AG EISTEACHT” IN KEASH Report by PJ McKoen Fr. Kevin Brehony Park in picturesque and historic Keash countryside hosted the unique visit of the G.A.A. President Christy Cooney on the pleasant Autumn evening of Monday August 23rd.Providing one strand of his inauguration day promise in 2009 to roll out a new public relations initiative called “ Ag Eisteacht “ where the President would visit at least one club in each of the thirty two counties to listen to what the grassroots of the Association have to say, hear their views suggestions and problems, this two and a half hour “ear to the ground” session proved to be a most enlightening and informative experience. Mingling freely with club members as he watched a girls minor championship match from the upstairs clubhouse the President savoured the local atmosphere for thirty minutes or so before formal proceedings commenced with a welcoming address to the President and club delegates by Eastern Harps club chairman Padraig Henry. Club secretary Padraig Duffy followed up in Gaelige on the purposes for the novel “Ag Eisteacht” countrywide tour before outlining the format for the evening, firstly a brief talk from the President to be followed up by a lengthy question and answer session during which the pre club formation days, the formation, the history and all other aspects of club affairs, under age and adult, social and competitive, male and female, would be dealt with by various club personnel with the opportunity to raise a point of concern being made available to all club members.The President then spoke for fifteen minutes, his very first message being to heartily congratulate Sligo on their very recent winning of their first All Ireland football title for seventy five years, the All Ireland junior “Irish Independent Cup” which was present in the company of delighted Eastern Harps Panellists of that victory Kevin Gallagher and Barry Cryan who were also congratulated commenting that it was particularly sweet to defeat Kerry in any football final and being a Cork man he would know. Following on from this he gave the gathering a brief outline of his own involvement in the Association from the beginning in his native Co. Cork right through to his current aims and aspirations for the G.A.A. in future years. Moving eloquently onto club affairs the President caressed and assured the delegates. “ Your greatest assets lie and will continue to lie in the spirit and unwavering support of your community” “ Keep kindling that fire “ Don’t underestimate your social and development product and sell it to all “ It’s a traditional product that has survived ravages through decades “ “ Mix with other social and sporting groups, share ideas and facilities, adjust yours to suit theirs and visa versa and soon the benefits will be there for all to see” United you will stand but divided you will struggle” the President was heard to exclaim in a well studied and spell binding delivery. On disciplinary matters the President said he was pleased to hear that the Eastern Harps club had recently introduced a new code of discipline for players of all ages, male and female, management teams, referees, club officials, club members and supporters alike on and off the field. “ Discipline is the key to progress” “ Discipline on the field contributes to a superior team effort “ “ Discipline from management teams and supporters towards referees and match officials gives leadership, example and control to your players in particular the younger ones “ “ Discipline and self denial in preparation go hand in hand and is a requirement for success” “ Indiscipline will prove costly” “ You will reap what you sow “ All of these messages were emphatically dealt with by the President.Next up came the question and answer session and it was during this ninety minute riveting affair that the communicative skills and exceptional knowledge on G.A.A. matters by the President became evident to all. Questions on important matters of concern to the Harps delegates were fielded and answers sprayed around with all the authority and panache of an All Star midfielder, while at all times the President displayed the down to earth practicalities of a well chosen ambassador. The longer this meeting went on the more one could sense that the recognition gap between club and Croke Park was narrowing as in a remarkable exhibition of common sense and diplomacy he all but dissolved the “Them up there” and “ Us down here” perception. On only one question from several dozen posed did the President have to resort to the “ I’ll have to come back to you on that one” reply and his progressive approach towards getting things done suggests that indeed he will with his secretary for the night Alan Milton, Head of Communications at Croke Park noting this along with his recording of the full evenings affairs. Admirably candid and without a hint of arrogance the President told one delegate that in his opinion there was no chance the G.A.A. would classify some club areas in weaker counties as extremely disadvantaged in order to avail of a higher grant rate for development purposes, similar to what the E.U. do in other sectors, as although agreeing that the Eastern Harps area was lacking in industry, big business and also very thinly populated certain city areas were even more disadvantaged being wrecked with unemployment and other social problems. On the recent rule changes the President noted that he was quite shocked that some recent rule changes got through Congress but he was just one small cog in a big democratic wheel, and with these rules having been voted in, cannot now be changed for five years until the next rules revision year comes along. Neither does he see goal line technology being introduced in the G.A.A., certainly not in the short term despite acknowledging recent refereeing errors, the big economic barrier to this move was “ After Croke Park where do you stop” and to supply such expensive technology to only one major ground would be discriminatory. Opening up Croke Park to other sports has been a major financial success but the President does not see any further income in this area for the next ten years with the recent opening of the Aviva Stadium. Nevertheless the G.A.A. will continue to support clubs in development to the best of their financial capabilities but left nobody in any doubt that it wasn’t an endless pot of gold and with two and a half thousand clubs out there restrictions would be inevitable. Towards the evenings conclusion one Harps delegate, no doubt with an eye on future development asked “ Mr. President where would you like to see us in five years time”. The Presidents reply was firm but comforting. The physical details of this we will not detail but hard work by all would be part of it if we are to go forward. Notwithstanding the hard work, continued community cooperation would ensure that the future would be laced with youthful hope and embellished with the joys of achievement. To round off a historic evening for Eastern Harps in a truly historic year, two All Ireland medals secured and a training session with Micky Harte being other notable highlights, the charming and elegant ladies committee of Eastern Harps presented hot tea and sandwiches to all present as club members further conversed informally with the distinguished visitor to Fr. Kevin Brehony Park who even outside of scheduled time constraints was further prepared to encourage and advise. Never before as one delegate aptly described the evening “did two and a half hours pass so quickly in that club house”A quite amazing evening…. The G.A.A. President “Ag Eisteacht in Keash …. Were Eastern Harps “Ag Eisteacht” too ? I think they were. |
