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2009 AGM 23rd Jan 2010 Chairman's Address Chairman Vincent Henry welcomed everybody to the 2009 AGM and remarked that it was great to see such a large turnout, especially of younger members and players. The following is his report; "I want
to congratulate the seniors on winning the Kiernan Cup, which showed potential
and hopefully we can build on this in 2010. I also want to thank the senior
management team of John Quinn, Eugene Carroll, Shane Quigley and Fergal
White for their tremendous work over the past 2 years with the senior
panel. The Junior team also had a great year reaching the County Final
which they narrowly lost and I want to thank my fellow management team
of Seamus Cawley, James Conlon and Conor Mc Donagh for their work with
the juniors. Bord na nÓg had a successful AGM last Wednesday and I want to thank all involved in under-age activities in the Club and congratulate them on their success during the year. Thanks also to Martin Nealon, who stepped down as Chairperson and I wish incoming Chairperson, John Moore, well in the year ahead. There were many Gaels players involved with various County teams and development squads over the year and I want to congratulate them. I want to mention Frank Quinn in particular, who made his debut for the County senior team last Sunday. I would also like to wish club members Bernard Mulhern and Shane Quigley well with the County Minor squad in 2010. I want to especially thank the McGoldrick family for their excellent ongoing maintenance of the clubhouse. This year was a sad year with the loss of two Club Patrons, Paddy Gethins and Frank Gannon as well as ex-players, John Callaghan, Joe Feeney, Ba Sweeney and Mattie Connell. Ar dheis De go raibh a n-ainmneacha.
The following is the full text of secretary Andrew Kearns report; Senior Football Whilst there may be a perception that 2009 wasn't a successful year due to the fact that we again ended up in a relegation battle to retain Senior Championship status, we must keep a sense of perspective. We won the Kiernan Cup and consolidated our progress in the League in 2008 by finishing up in 3rd place. In the Senior Championship, we were drawn in an extremely tough group and perhaps our lack of experience at this level was exposed in the process of the campaign. The year started on 14th February, with the first round of the Kiernan Cup against St Mary's, which we won. We eventually progressed to the final of this competition, which we won in some style by beating Bunninadden in Tubbercurry in June. This was our first Senior trophy in many years and gave everybody associated with the Club a great lift. In the Senior league, we played 14 games, winning 7, losing 5 and drawing 2 games to end up in third place on sixteen points. We missed out on promotion to Division 1 by 4 points and will perhaps look back with some regret on some of the games we lost and drew and feel that we could have won some of these and gained promotion. However, we did consolidate our performance in 2008 and hopefully 2010 will be the year that sees us push on and finally gain promotion to Division 1. This must be a priority for the year ahead as we seek to compete effectively for Senior Championship honours. In May, we participated in the Leo Kenny Cup but unfortunately lost our first game in this competition to Western Gaels from Roscommon. In the Championship, we were drawn in a group consisting of ourselves, Eastern Harps, Curry and St. Mary's. Whilst we entered into the campaign in reasonably confident mood, the first game against the reigning champions, Eastern Harps saw us suffering a heavy defeat. This was followed by heavy defeats to both Curry and St. Mary's, leaving us facing a relegation battle to retain Senior Championship. We regrouped however and put in a great performance to beat Castleconner in the first game. We faced Curry in the next game but once again were comprehensively beaten. This meant that it was a straight shoot out between ourselves and Easkey to determine who retained their Senior Championship status. The first game under lights in Tourlestrane was played with huge intensity and ended in a draw. The replay saw another determined performance by Shamrock Gaels and we eventually won by 8 points after a very shaky first half display. Whilst it's regrettable that we ended up in a relegation battle, once again this team proved that when the chips are down they are capable of big displays and we can only hope that this sort of attitude will be evident throughout the 2010 League and Championship campaigns. 2009 saw the progression of a number of younger players to the Senior panel and this is very encouraging as this is the lifeblood of any Senior panel. Having commenced training in January with the first competitive game played on 14th February and the last game on 17th October, this was a long year for the panel and management. I want to thank the players for their commitment during the year. A very special mention of course goes to the senior team management of John Quinn, Eugene Carroll, Shane Quigley and Fergal White for their unstinting work with the Seniors during the year. This Management team stepped down at the end of the 2009 campaign and it's fair to say that the panel has made huge strides under them over the past 2 years. I must also pay particular tribute to Eugene Carroll, who combined his involvement with the Seniors with being Captain of Castle Dargan Golf Club as well as making valuable contributions to other areas of Club activities during the year. Once again, I wish to thank Eamonn Mc Munn, Club Physio, for his work with the adult panels and also to Joanne Lyons who came on board this year to help out with physiotherapy. It's very reassuring to have the services of both Eamonn and Joanne at our disposal. Thanks also to the various people who came on board in various ways to help out with sponsorship of the Senior team, whether in terms of kit sponsorship, meals and refreshments after training etc., with a special mention to Glen Mc Dermott in this regard. Junior Football Once again, the Juniors had a memorable year, with the League commencing on 4th April. We lost our first two games but then went on to win 6 games in a row to put ourselves in contention for promotion. Our last game was a winner takes all encounter with Calry / St. Joseph's in Riverstown, however unfortunately we were well below par on the day and were well beaten. In the Championship, we built upon our solid performance in the League, beating Tubbercurry in the first round, before beating Ballisodare and subsequently Coolera / Strandhill in the semi-final to qualify for the final for the second year in a row, where we were once again pitted against Ballisodare. The final was a very keenly contested affair, which we lost in heart breaking circumstances by a single point. Once again, the Juniors have provided us all with some great days. It's great to have consolidated on the progress made by the Juniors in 2008 and hopefully we will continue to build on this in the year ahead. Thanks to the Junior management team of Vincent Henry, James Conlon, Seamus Cawley and Conor Mc Donagh for their work with the Juniors in 2009. Under 20's Mark Tuohy and Derrick Davey took charge of the under 20's for the 'B' championship. The start of this campaign was disrupted by postponements and cancellations, which didn't help our preparations and we exited this competition when we were beaten in the first round by Bunninadden on a scoreline of 1-9 to 2-13. Thanks to Mark and Derrick for their professional approach to managing this squad and to the panel themselves. Bord na nÓg Once again, a massive amount of work continues to be put in across all grades within the Club. A full rundown on all under-age activities in 2009 was given at the Bord na nÓg AGM on Wednesday night , however I just want to touch on some of the notable highlights, starting with the U10's, who won the Dominic Quinn Cup in August, defeating Coolera/Strandhill in the final. The tremendous work being done at under-age level is highlighted by the fact that we were in a position to field two Under 12 teams and reached two finals in the grade. The Under 14's won the 'C' Championship but were totally mismatched in the League. A promising U16 squad reached the final of the 'A' League and ended up in a three way playoff in the Championship but were unfortunate not to progress. The Minors reached the League final, which they lost by 1 point to St Pat's. They started the Championship with a comprehensive defeat of St. Michael's but subsequent losses to Castleconner and Tourlestrane meant we didn't progress to the semi-final stage of the competition. The Under14 Girls won the League and reached a playoff for a place in the Championship Final. The Under 16 Girls reached the League final, however they had no success in the Championship. All in all therefore, 2009 was a relatively good year on the playing fields for our under-age players. The under-age wards were held in the Folk Park in March and again proved to be most enjoyable and well attended event and provides due recognition to our young Club members. Thanks to all involved in organising this event. The awards on the night went to: U10 Boys
- Karl Mc Kenna Martin Nealon
stepped down as Bord na nÓg Chairman at the recent AGM and I wish
to compliment Martin on how he ran Bord na nÓg affairs during the
year and thank him for his work with Bord na nÓg. John Moore has
taken over as Chairman and we all wish John the very best in the year
ahead. One again I want to pay particular tribute to our Ladies panel, who continued to represent the Club in 2009 in very trying circumstances and with a very small panel of players. Towards the end of the year we held a number of meetings with the players and a plan of action is now in place to try and revive the fortunes of the Ladies panel in 2010. They sorely need and deserve more support from the Club in a number of ways. We have taken some steps forward in this regard and hopefully the fortunes of our Ladies panel will begin to turn in the year ahead. Other I want to give a mention also to Club players who were involved with County teams and development squads during the year at various grades as well and congratulate in particular Frank Quinn, who made his competitive debut for Sligo last weekend in Tuam. It's indicative of the progress we are now starting to make on the playing fields to see a number of our players making their way through to County panels and I wish them all well in the year ahead. I also wish Bernard Mulhern and Shane Quigley well with the Minors in 2010. Off the field, 2009 was also a busy year. In February, 19 Club members participated in a Foundation Coaching Course in the Sports Complex. Thanks to Coola school for the use of the premises and to Mary Quinn and Carmel Tuohy for organising the catering. The years ahead will see formal coaching qualifications becoming a vital part of our activities and we should continue to encourage as many people as possible to obtain the relevant qualifications, as this will be integral to raising standards in numerous ways. In March, we held our first Club Dinner Dance in many years Castle Dargan. Our special guests on the night were Christy Cooney, Uachtaráin, C.L.G. and John Murphy, Chairman of Sligo County Board. It was fantastic to see such a large gathering on the night and hopefully we will be organising another social occasion in the year ahead. On the night, a number of awards were made. The 2008 U20 squad were presented with their U20 'B' Championship medals. The Vincent Boyd Memorial Cup for Senior Player of the Year went to Johnny Burke. The Davina Duncan Memorial Cup for Ladies Player of The Year went to Deirdre Benson. The Club Person of the Year award went to Andrew Kearns. The organisation of this event was a mammoth task and on behalf of the Club I want to sincerely thank the organising committee of Cormac Kearns, Eugene Carroll, Josephine Leydon and Mary Quinn for putting this event together in such a professional manner. The Club
website continues to be a very valuable resource for the Club and an important
communication tool and I want to especially thank Cormac for his work
on this in addition to his varied functions as Club PRO. Unfortunately,
we had to cancel our La na gClub celebrations in May but hopefully we
will be able to make up for this in the year ahead. The finances of the Club remain in a relatively healthy state, as will be outlined later. These are especially difficult times and I wish to sincerely thank all of our sponsors and especially our official Club sponsor, John Mc Dermott and all who contributed in any way to the Club during the year. I also want to make special mention of the members of our monthly Club draw, which continues to be our main income source. There's no doubt but that financing the Club's various activities in the year ahead will be extremely challenging and I would appeal for everybody's co-operation in this regard. I wish to sincerely thank Mrs Quinn and the Quinn family for their continued preparation of Club kit across all grades. This is a job that may sometimes appear to be taken for granted but it is sincerely appreciated by the Club. Congratulations to Club Patron, Paddy Joe Quigley, who in March was presented with the GAA President's award in Croke Park. This was a great honour for Paddy Joe, his family and Shamrock Gaels and just reward for a lifetime's dedication to the GAA and his Club. Congratulations
also to Lauri Quinn, who was appointed Chairman of the GAA's Financial
Management Committee. In conclusion, I wish to thank my fellow members of the Executive for their work during the year and look forward to another great year for Shamrock Gaels. Bord na nÓg Presented
by Martin Nealon, outgoing Chairperson of Bord na nÓg. Various activities during the year were outlined in the Secretary's report, however Martin commented upon the fact that 2009 was a relatively successful year and he was confident that 2010 would be equally successful. He spoke about how valuable Riverstown Park is as a resource to the Club. He also spoke about the various Club players who represented their County with honour during the year. He also spoke about Ladies football and looked forward to a revival of their fortunes in the year ahead. He concluded by wishing incoming Chairperson, John Moore well in 2010. Senior Team Report Presented
by John Quinn. John thanked his fellow management team of Shane, Fergal and Eugene for their work over the past 2 years and also Eamonn Mc Munn, Club Physio. John also spoke about how competitive the Senior League Division 2 has become. He complimented players and said that he felt they were a great bunch of lads. Spoke also about their dedication and his feeling that there is something there for this squad in the not too distant future. Junior Team Report Presented
by James Conlon. It was a successful year and the Juniors were somewhat unlucky to not either gain promotion to Division 4 or win the Junior Championship. He thanked players and his fellow management team of Vincent Henry, Seamus Cawley and Conor Mc Donagh. Under 20 Team Report Presented
by Mark Tuohy. It was a disappointing year after the success of the previous years. The situation not helped by postponements and cancellations at the start of the campaign. Spoke about how this grade should be given more consideration and prominence by the County Board. Thanked Derrick Davey and players for their efforts and dedication. Election of Officers Fr. Francis Quinn and Joe Gannon elected as Patrons of the Club to replace the late Paddy Gethins and the late Frank Gannon. 2010 Officers President:
Tommy Mc Dermott 2010 Committee Vincent Henry, Michael Tuohy, Andrew Kearns, Mary Quinn, Cormac Kearns, Paul Little, Seamus Cawley, Michael Brennan, Austin Mc Tiernan, Martin Baker, Lauri Quinn, P.J. Quigley, Eugene Carroll, John Quinn, Andrew Hannon, Vivion Boyd, Anthony Connolly, Hilary Lyons, Martin Nealon, James Conlon, Shane Quigley. A minute's
silence was observed at the end of the meeting in memory of all deceased
Club members and friends. |
