Connacht Ladies Council AGM 2007

Connacht Ladies Council AGM 2007

Delegates from the 5 counties in Connacht gathered at the GAA Connacht
Council offices on Saturday 13th January 2007 in Ballyhaunis, Co
Mayo to review what was, another interesting year in the Province.

In terms of success Galway claimed the U – 14, U – 18 and Senior
crowns, Mayo prevailed at U – 12 and U – 16, Sligo won the inaugural
U – 14B Championship and Leitrim claimed the Junior Crown for the
first time in 7 seasons. On the Club Front the senior title went
to Mayo and Carnacon, the Intermediate crown headed north to Sligo
and Geevagh with the junior silverware going to Galway and Tuam/Cortoon.

In the Post Primary Schools competitions, Schools from both Sligo
and Galway dominated this years post primary competitions with 9
of the 10 titles being won from the regions. At national level Dunmore
Community School & St Brigid’s Convent of Mercy from Tuam won
Titles at Post Primary Level, Milltown from Galway won the Junior
All Ireland Sevens and Sligo finally claimed the All Ireland Junior
Title at the third time of asking. In the Inter Provincials in Mullingar
Connacht were runners up in the Shield section.

Outgoing President Mary Quinn welcomed the attendance and in her
address she thanked all who had helped out in the various ways during
the year and in particular Secretary Ita C Hannon for her work not
only in the province but on Central Council also. In conclusion
the President commented that it was great to see all pull together
as a unit during 2006.

In a very detailed report, Secretary and Provincial Administrator
Ita C Hannon outlined the comings and goings of the council for
the year just gone bye, detailing all fixtures and results within
the province at Inter County, Club and School competitions. Upon
completion of this she went on to thank the referees, linespersons,
umpires, pitch committees, and anyone who made themselves available
during the year. The people who helped out at gates and the counties
who hosted the Connacht U – 12 & U – 14 Blitz in 2006 were also
thanked. With regards to the U – 12 blitz she specially thanked
Pat Costello from Galway for his input into the mini skills on the
day.

Awards and sponsorships were also thanked in the Secretary’s report
and she also welcomed the appointment of Mary Beades as the RDO
for Connacht. She complemented the appointment of Connacht Referees
Liam McDonagh, Gerry Guinan and Declan Corcoran to officiate at
national finals with both Liam and Declan also officiating at European
finals. Major sponsorships such as PJ Fahy, Corrib Oil, CBE and
Pat the Baker were also on the thank you list.

She went on to complement the Peil magazine but felt that a bit
more effort was required from the Counties to help keep them in
the limelight. In general she was delighted to see that all Counties
will have all grades of Club Football in 2007 following Geevagh’s
success in the Intermediate Club Final and that 4 Counties will
be seeking Glory in the Senior Championship.

In a comprehensive report, Treasurer Martina Carroll reported that
the Finances of the province are in a healthy state detailing expenditure
& Income for the past year. She went on to thank all who had
helped her to collect at gates through out the province during the
year. Without their help a number of gates would be missed and the
account wouldn’t be as good as it is. Summing up Martina Carroll
thanked her fellow officers for their help during the year and wished
all a healthy 2007.

Registrar Fiona McCarthy reported on all registrations in the province,
County by County at both Underage and Adult level committing that
a lot of Club Managers of underage teams would appear not to be
registered members of the Association.

PRO Martin Seery in his report thanked the local media i.e. papers
& radios for their help and support during the year. He congratulated
the teams from the province on their success at National level,
Aoibheann Daly from Galway and Katrina Connolly from Sligo on receiving
All Stars Awards, Lisa Cafferky from Mayo on being named the Connacht
young player of the year.

“To the Co PRO(s) for the work they are doing in promoting
the game in their own counties through their local media(s) well
done. It’s a pity the game doesn’t get the credit it deserves”
Martin Seery committed. On the Peil magazine he said it was a pleasure
to have worked on it and he hoped it would continue regardless of
who was working on it.

On the Development side of things Martin Seery said, now that the
B Championship at both U – 14 & U – 16 Level and Quarter Finals
has arrived, he hoped that the province would consider introducing
a B competition in both the U – 12 and Minor Championship. The introduction
of the Skills competition, Long kick competition etc on U – 12 Blitz
days was both a joy and an experience for one and all.

After a brief discussion the delegates went on to elect their officers
for Connacht for 2007. On the night only two votes took place. One
for the election of Vice President with outgoing officer Mary Shanley
of Leitrim defeating former President Benny Fahy of Galway. The
other contest was for the second position on the Fixtures Committee
with Geraldine Carey from Roscommon defeating Mary Hernon from Galway.

The officers elected were as follows-

President: Mary Quinn (Leitrim)

Vice President: Mary Shanley (Leitrim)

Secretary: Ita C Hannon (Mayo)

Assistant Secretary: Fiona Mc Carthy (Mayo)

Treasurer: Martina Carroll (Roscommon)

Assistant Treasurer: Olivia Grady (Sligo)

PRO: Martin Seery: [(Sligo)

(E-mail: andrewmfreeman@yahoo.co.uk)]

Registrar: Fiona Mc Carthy (Mayo)

Development Officer: Martin Seery: (Sligo)

Culture & Language Officer: Geraldine Creamer (Leitrim).

Connacht Delegates to National Fixtures Committee: Ita C Hannon
(Mayo) and Geraldine Carey (Roscommon)

Connacht Delegates to National Disciplinary Committee: Fiona Mc
Carthy (Mayo) and Con Moynihan (Galway)

Connacht Delegates to the National Appeals Committee: Kathleen Kane
(Sligo) and Mary Hernon (Galway)

The Board sees 1 new officer with Geraldine Creamer replacing Deirdre
Quinn as Culture & Language Officer.