Tyrone trio praised for their contribution

GAELIC GAMES ANNUAL CONVENTIONS:SOME OF Tyrone's leading administrators are set to step down at tonight's annual convention. The five-year rule means that chairman Pat Darcy and Ulster council delegates Cuthbert Donnelly and Liam Nelis must vacate their posts.

The new chairman will be Strabane’s Ciarán McLaughlin, the only nominee for the top job on the county executive.

County secretary Dominic McCaughey, in his convention report, pays tribute to the trio for their contribution to a highly-successful era for Tyrone.

“I trust that he will not be making a complete break from his involvement with Tyrone GAA,” McCaughey said in reference to the completion of Darcy’s five-year term in the chair.

And in relation to Donnelly and Nelis, both former county chairmen, he adds in his report that they “led the association with distinction and their reputations for never-ending hard work was further enhanced at provincial level”.

Meanwhile, the county secretary reveals that just nine months after the first sod was cut on the €7.5 million training complex at Garvaghey, phase one of the project has been completed, and the second phase is due to begin next spring.

The next step is the construction of the five sand-carpet pitches, associated floodlighting and fencing. The complex is expected to be in use a year later.

The Roscommon club which set the ball rolling a decade ago which eventually led to Croke Park being opened for soccer and rugby will take a motion to congress next April looking for the venue to remain available to non-GAA games.

A motion from the Kilmore club in 2001 finally led to GAA headquarters being opened up to “foreign games” in 2007. The arrangement is due to come to an end when the Aviva Stadium opens next year but Kilmore delegate Tommy Kenoy, who was the driving force behind the original motion almost a decade ago, last night stated the venue should remain available.

He told the annual Roscommon GAA Convention in Boyle that the opening up of Croke Park to soccer and rugby had served the GAA well. “Roscommon started the campaign and the net income from the three-year arrangement will be in the region of €36 million. Each county will receive €250,000 and €28 million will be spent on infrastructure.

“The Aviva Stadium will hold 50,000 but the likes of a rugby match between Ireland and England, or against France, would attract 80,000 and fill Croke Park. We should keep the option there. If the IRFU or FAI decide to not avail of Croke Park then so be it. They can explain that to their supporters.”

Kildare’s new county board chairman, Pádraig Ashe has dismissed proclamations from the GAA hierarchy regarding the importance of solving the club fixtures problem as “soundbites”.

Ashe has promised to make Croke Park and Leinster Council officials aware of the county’s dissatisfaction with the current intercounty championship structure, and is calling on the abolition of the back-door system.

The Straffan clubman said: “The intercounty season is too protracted and the back-door system needs to end. I will show that Kildare are no longer happy at club level with the system.”