Kerry GAA Online

A dhaoine uaisle, is mór an onóir domsa mar Chathaoirleach ar Choiste Chontae Chiarraí, bheith I láthair anseo anocht. Ba mhaith liom fáilte is fiche a chur roimh gach éinne go dtí an chomhdáil seo i mbliana. Iarraim oraibh tamall a thabhairt dom mo thuairimí a chur ós bhur gcomhair.

The year 2003 will probably be most remembered for our appearances on the six-one news rather than our exploits on the field of play that has been the hallmark of Kerry teams down the years. The extent of doom and gloom that surrounded Kerry's exit from this year's All Ireland series was unprecedented. Not alone were people predicting that Gaelic football as we know it had changed and changed utterly for the worst. But more importantly that Kerry football was in a serious state of decline and that the whole game needed to be looked at. I would not agree with any of the above thinking.

The ridicule that was heaped on Tyrone for the defeat of Kerry and the manner in which that defeat was carried out was neither fair nor deserved by the Tyrone team and management. Hunger, determination, will to win, and meticulous planning should not be criticised but admired. Performances like this will only be equalled or beaten when matched with the same fervour and tenacity. On behalf of everybody in Kerry, I warmly congratulate Tyrone on winning their first All Ireland title; they are worthy All Ireland champions.

I would like to extend thanks to our own team management for their commitment over the last number of years. Being involved in team management takes a massive commitment especially in relation to time spent away from family and friends. I extend our thanks on behalf of everybody involved in Gaelic games to our senior, under 21 and minor team mentors in Football and Hurling for their efforts to bring success to the county. I extend a special word of thanks to Paidí O'Sé for his work while manager of the Kerry team and wish him the best of luck as Manager of Westmeath.

If the pundits are to be believed the new management team of Jack O'Connor, Johnny Culloty and Ger O'Keeffe appear to have a daunting task to bring Kerry back to the pinnacle of success. The talent, skill and dedication of the present Kerry panel is not to be underestimated. As in the past, no short cuts will be taken and any support required by both the management and the team will be provided. The winning of league and championships is a combined effort of management and panel. Coiste Chontae Chiarraí will give all the necessary backup as it has always done in the past. I want the message to go out loud and clear from here tonight that the mood within the Kerry camp is a very positive one at the moment.

On assuming office of Chairman of the County Board in January 1998, I said that my wish was that Kerry be recognised as a football and hurling county and not be labelled a Football county only. While this will prove almost impossible to achieve, the success of the senior hurlers over the last twelve months drew many admirers from far and near, particularly throughout the Hurling fraternity.

Kerry Hurlers were involved in the longest campaign for years playing a record number of Leagues and Championship matches, culminating with a fantastic performance on the 28th of June in Austin Stack Park against Limerick. That day Kerry gave a performance that made everybody in the County justifiably proud of their heroics even in defeat. There were many contributing factors to Kerry's great success, not least the management team put in place under Maurice Leahy. Maurice has an infectious passion for Kerry Hurling and spreads it to everybody that comes in contact with him and wants to listen to him. I thank him and his team management for their tremendous dedication over the last twelve months.

This year there was a realisation by everybody that it was time to step up or shut up: pontificating about Kerry Hurling was not going to be acceptable anymore. The management, the players, the clubs and the County Board all played a part in ensuring that everything that was required to reach the top flight was done.

The management had a clear vision of what was required, the players were prepared to put in the effort and above all the clubs were prepared to back plans to allow the players to give full commitment to the County team and be released from Club duties. The latter was the single most contributing factor to Kerry's success; a realisation by the clubs that the County team must be accommodated and that the club is not the only outlet for our Hurlers to display their skill and commitment.

If Kerry Hurling is to build on what was achieved during the last twelve months then more of the same co-operation will be required and I hope that it will be forthcoming. I would like to thank the clubs for their co-operation and foresight during the year. Without the support of the clubs the County team will not attain the success that they deserve. I would like to extend our thanks to the Vice-chairman, Jerome Conway for his tireless efforts for the promotion of Hurling in the County and we look forward together in hope to 2004 and in meeting the All Ireland finalists Cork in the first round of the Munster Championship.

During the year the Coiste Chontae Chiarraí has to deal with a serious breach of discipline in relation to an attack on one of our referees. I believe as a Board we dealt very swiftly and fairly with the incident, which was probably one of the most serious breaches of discipline ever seen in the County. The message must go out loud and clear that incidents of this nature have no place in our games and that the offenders will have to suffer for their misbehaviour. The referees that officiate at our games at all levels have to feel totally safe when carrying out their duties. Once again, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the officers of the Ballyduff club for their full co-operation in helping to bring a speedy conclusion to a very sad affair. The deviation from the original proposals, namely in allowing the Minor Hurlers and Senior Footballers to play should not be seen as a dilution of the proposals or a softening of attitudes on our part but a more practical and common sense approach to the whole affair by County Board. I know that this approach is very much appreciated by Ballyduff. It is now time to move on and leave this episode in the past and hope that everybody has learned a lesson from it.

The rule change brought in at National level regarding the months of December and January being non-suspension period is a situation that we in Kerry have great difficulty with. December can be a very busy month on the Gaelic games front in this County, particularly in district boards. To have a non-suspension period makes it a lot more difficult for a board to deal with serious breaches of discipline that may occur. A player suspended in a divisional board semi final in late November for a serious breach of discipline could in effect play in the final in early December even without his case being heard. I believe it is a matter that has to be re-visited and if at all possible changed to avoid the confusion that is there at present. As it stands the rule at the moment gives the player with a willingness to misbehave to do just that without suffering the immediate rigours of the rules and this to me is just not good enough and makes it difficult for officials to run competitions in a fair manner at this time of the year.

In the wake of this years All Ireland semi finals and final, there was a clamour to change the rules and make sure that all teams play a certain type of game; it is my opinion that there was no need for the hysteria that emanated from certain quarters. From time to time teams and team managers will play to their strengths, and that may not be the traditional style football as we know it, defeating such teams will not be done by changing the rules but by advancing one's own team physically, mentally and technical preparation.

I believe we should be looking at our game on a continuous basis with a view to improving it overall. For a long number of years now Cumann Luth Chleas Gael has been involved in the compromise rules series. This has proved both enjoyable and competitive and gives our top players an international outlet. It is to this game that we should look for changes to our own game and to experiment with some of the disciplines that our players have been playing with in the compromise rules. The mark, the tackle and the direct pick up are three areas in particular from the Australian game that should be looked at.

The Games Development Section in Croke Park should embark on a process of dialogue with players that have played in the compromise rules series and ascertain from them if any of the Compromise disciplines are worth experimenting with. If we can commit ourselves to the process of the compromise rules for another ten years, then we should at least look at what is good in their game.

The one rule that needs urgent attention at the moment is; thirty players are allowed on inter county senior panels. This should be reduced back to the original position of twenty-four players; there is no reason in having a panel of thirty players to play a fifteen-man game. It adds an extra cost to the preparation of teams, a cost that any County can ill afford to carry at the moment. It also has a detrimental, effect on club football as more players are tied up with the County team, thus not being able to spend more time with their club team. The argument that thirty players are required for training purposes does not stand up as far as I am concerned. It would be far more beneficial to have an official panel of twenty-four and bring in the players that are playing good football when numbers are required during training. This would create a far more competitive edge to training and games.

Releasing county players to play club games and the postponement of club matches for inter county teams is once again a matter for serious debate. I have already discussed this with the new team management; there will be no deviation from the proposed fixture lists of G.A.C. in the coming year and only where replays are involved will postponements be taken into account. I strongly believe that players have a much greater edge when they are involved in club championship matches and we will be attempting to do everything possible to see that our fixture list progresses hand in hand with the county team.

The G.A.A. at the present time is facing many problems. Some have been with us for a long number of years: the changing social patterns, the decline in rural population, the choice of other sports, the demand on young students to achieve high points in exams, and a big threat to rural clubs at the moment is the stringent planning laws. This will see a dramatic decline in housing in rural areas with a big emphasis on a move to villages and towns. Many of the G.A.A. strengths lies with the small rural club, if the present pattern continues a lot of these clubs will go out of existence.

The Gaelic Athletic Association has catered exceptionally well for the youth of this country over a long number of years. I believe that we have not got structures in place to deal with the population explosion that is taking place in our towns and cities. The situation with regard to Dublin is being looked at, at a national level. We will have to look seriously at the population trends within the towns of our county, and see if we are doing enough to cater for the population rise therein.

For the first time ever in the town of Tralee, every primary and secondary school is being visited for Hurling coaching but without the young boys and girls being brought into a club set up, this could prove to be just a cosmetic exercise. The day is gone where parents will present their children at clubs. This will only happen with traditional G.A.A. parents. More and more parents have no affiliation whatsoever with the club in their area and will have to be introduced to the club structure. The message throughout the S.R.C. report was that we needed more community-based clubs to cater for our young people that want to play Gaelic games. I have no doubt that this will happen both in our towns because of the increased numbers and in rural areas because of amalgations due to the decline in numbers in the future.

No organisation has done more work for the youth of this country than the G.A.A. Volunteers provide countless thousands of hours coaching the youth of our country and providing playing facilities in every parish in the country. It would be impossible to put a value on the contribution made by G.A.A. volunteers over the last hundred years, a contribution that should not be underestimated or under appreciated but greatly valued by the many parents whose children's lives have been enhanced by being involved in the G.A.A. Every grant received from government by G.A.A. clubs is in recognition for the work done by members helping the youth of the country and enhancing every community as well.

The purchase during the year of thirty-one acres of land in Killarney, subject to planning permission, is a realisation by this board that we must plan for the future and put in place a state of the art training facility for all Kerry teams. It is proving extremely difficult over the last number of years to secure pitches for training- club grounds are stretched to the limit with club activities. The provision of four playing pitches with at least one all weather pitch will be of immense benefit to the county and will also prove to be a big help to the schools and colleges of the county.

This will be the biggest undertaken ever by the Coiste Chontae Chiarraí. Due to the cost involved it will take meticulous planning with a phased development and a carefully structured financial package to complete this major project. The ticket purchase scheme launched during the year was specifically earmarked for the purchase of this land. The scheme proved an outstanding success. This was very welcome and heartening for two reasons; firstly, that the monies collected would allow us to purchase the land and secondly, that so many people were willing to put their faith in Kerry football. That the demand surpassed the availability shows the belief that the Kerry supporters have in this Kerry team. It is our earnest wish that people will get many, many opportunities to use their tickets over the lifetime of the scheme.

I would like to extend our thanks to everybody that made the scheme a success, to the individuals and the clubs that supported the venture, to the office staff that worked particularly hard during that period, to everyone involved I say "Míle Buiochas." It is now up to the executive to move forward the plans for this development and put in place a training facility that befits Kerry's standing in the G.A.A. world, a facility that will be available to prepare many Kerry teams at all levels to win more All Irelands.

The whole area of coaching and games development is proving to be huge. This is evident in the financial report and demands a huge outlay of monies. Coaching is the fastest growing sector within the G.A.A. While I admit that it is vitally important to the success of any county and indeed the organisation as a whole we have to be extremely careful on the amounts of monies spent. Above all we have to ensure that we are getting value for the money spent. It is important to state that all coaching initiatives will have to be self-financing with grants from Munster and National level making up the bulk of the coaching budget. I would like to thank the Munster Council and Croke Park for their continued support of our projects.

During the year, Pat O'Shea moved to the Munster Council as Director of Coaching. Pat was a diligent hard working and dedicated Games Promotion Officer in Kerry; I thank him for his contribution to Kerry and wish him the best of luck with his new role with Munster. In her first year as Coaching Officer, Bernie Reen worked exceptionally hard at her portfolio during the year. No job was too big or the amount of time it took to carry it out a problem. When Pat O'Shea left Bernie's workload increased dramatically and I thank her for her efforts over the year.

Bhi bhlian iontach sasúil againn I gcúrsai Scór. Bhuaidh iomaitheoiri ó Chiarraí tri craobh uile Eireann I Scór Sinsear na bliana seo. Comhgairdeachas mór le Chumann Peile Na mBan ón Spa I gCill Airne atá tar éis Croabh Uile Eireann I rince Foirme a bhuachaint don tarna bhliain as a chéile. Do Caitriona agus Máiread Mangan, Patricia agus Eileen Moynihan, Maureen agus Lisa Hegarty, Siobhán Casey agus Caroline Murphy comhgárdachas mór as ucht an éacht atá déanta agaibh agus do ghach éinne a chabhraigh libh an craobh a bhuachaint.

In Amhránaoicht Aonair bhuaidh Máiréad Healy ó Chumann Cill Cuimin Craobh Uile Eireann. Bhi Máiréad go hiontacht nuair a chan si Amhrán Na bhFiann I bPáirc Aibhistin De Staic roimh Cluiche Ceannais Peile an Chontae.
Don chéad uair riamh bhuaidh foireann ó Chiarrai Craobh Uile Eireann sa chomórtas Rince Seit. Is ag na rinceóiri seit ó Chumann Ghleann Fleisce atá an onóir sin. Comhgáirdeachas do Joanne agus Eugene Bowler, Michéal McGillicuddy, Paul Favier agus Noel O'Donoghue agus gach duine a chabhraigh leo Craobh Uile Éireann a bhuachaint.
Ghlach Frances Kennedy as Cumann Lios Tuathail páirt ins an Comórtas Aithriseóireachta freisin ach nior éirigh léi an Chraobh a bhuachaint. Bhuaidh si Craobh na Mumhan.
Cé nár bhuaidh iomaitheóiri ón gContae seo Craobh Na Éireann I Scór na nÓg bhuaidh Rinceóiri Foirne Gleann Fleisce agus Denise Moran ó Chumann Céirin Ui Rathuille in Aithriseóireacht Craobh na Mumhan.
Molaim go mór an méid oibre atá déanta ag Oifigeach Cultúra Coiste Chontae Liam Mac Coitir agus Runaí Scór Mary Sugrue chun Scór a eagrú. Comh maith le sin an eagraiocht a rinne Liam dos na Scoláirechtai Samhraidh I Gaeltacht Chorca Dhuibhne.

As a board, it is our intention to move to electronic mail next year, it is hoped to be ready for this by the 1st of May deadline. To this end the Development Committee have embarked on an ambitious programme to train club officers around the county. Eoin O'Sullivan, Maureen O' Shea and Brian O'Callaghan gave their valuable time to ensure that the training took place on two nights a week at different venues over the last two months. Their willingness and commitment to the programme will have to be matched by the clubs and district boards. Modern technology dictates that we move in this direction and quickly to save finance and time, we cannot afford to wait any longer and will be doing all our correspondence by e-mail come next May.

I have spoken earlier about the commitment of the volunteer to the G.A.A. No man has epitomised that more than Jimmy Coffey who retires tonight after 30 years of magnificent service to this board. Jimmy has given a lifetime of dedication and loyalty to his club Laune Rangers and Kerry County Board, his hard working and gentle demeanour endeared him to G.A.A. people everywhere. Jimmy we wish you well in your retirement in the knowledge that everywhere a Kerry team plays they will have the good wishes and support of James Coffey.