Duignan calls for debate on parish rule at Offaly GAA Convention as small clubs face battle for survival

WITH Tullamore GAA Club withdrawing a motion to amend one of Offaly's most sacrosanct laws, the parish rule, Offaly GAA chairman Michael Duignan said a debate still needed to take place on the whole issue in his address to annual Convention on Tuesday evening.

In a very quiet Convention that lasted less than an hour and a half, Mr Duignan noted that Tullamore's motion was the start of a debate that needed to happen as changing demographics in the county are leaving many small clubs in a battle for survival.

The Tullamore motion had sought for the introduction of a parentage rule which would allow children of parents with a strong connection to a club to play outside the parish they reside in. Under the parish rule, players must play with a club in the parish they are born and live. Tullamore had carried out an extensive campaign seeking support for the change to the Offaly parish rule bye law but surprisingly withdrew their motion over a week ago.

Tullamore's motion would not have passed but there was some disappointment that they withdrew it as a debate on the issue would have been healthy. Tullamore's motion had a couple of problems – as the biggest club and population centre in Offaly, they would not have received widespread support for extending their base while it was aimed primarily at facilitating three young players living in the Cappincur area.

Re-elected unopposed for a fourth year as chairman, Mr Duignan, however, ackwowledged that many clubs were facing problems.

Noting that Offaly had a lot of very small clubs and a county of it size would need amalgamations, he called for a “tiered approach” and said that clubs needed to stay on their own as long as they can. Pointing out that there was 31 club nurseries now compared to seven in 2019, he said a club only needs 7 players for Go Games and should only combine with another club when they need to.

“There is a changing landscape across the county in terms of housing and the rural-urban divide. A debate is required early next year and maybe we will have a look at that and plan for the future properly. I know there was a motion that Tullamore have withdrawn but maybe that was the start of a debate that has to be had in terms of ensuring the viability of our smaller clubs across the county and making sure every club can survive and grow.”

He spoke at length about the board's strategic plan for the future. He outlined the five pillars of the plan: sustainable club coverage, a vibrant games programme, high performance pathway, financial stablity and a respected brand for Offaly.

He thanked all who helped the GAA run smoothly in the county for the past year, especially those involved in clubs. “Even being involved in a club, there is a huge amount of rules and regulations coming down from Croke Park and it takes a huge amount of diligence and huge work to keep on top of it,” he said.

Mr Duignan talked about the importance of integration and ladies football and camogie. He pointed out that Offaly GAA's main sponsors Glenisk are also sponsoring ladies football and camogie as well as Go Games for all three codes. He stated that the third level scholarship scheme will be opened up to ladies footballers and camogie players this year while Go Games is also catering for ladies football and camogie in Offaly.

He outlined a “record year of activity” for ganmes with 552 adult fixtures, 680 underage, compared to less than 200 underage in 2019. “It shows the amount of activity on the ground”, he said, thanking referees for their work and urging people to show them respect. Noting that Offaly didn't have major issues with incidents with referees this year like other counties, he said that respect was a two way things and referees also needed to show it to players.

“I know we are never too far away from a flash point but I would ask everyone to respect referees and sideline officials,” he urged.

He spoke about the importance of national and secondary schools, thanking teachers and principals. “There support is vital for the progression of Offaly GAA,” he said, referring to the “rapid progress” being made with secondary schools – he stated that people were noting how competitive secondary schools were now and how critical this is for Offaly GAA.

He also talked about the importance of the basic skills being imparted in national schools and the need for Games Promotion Officers to go into schools. “It is something we have to focus on. I have seen from going to matches players who are playing for six or seven years and their basic skills are not what they should be. I would urge everyone to put the time in with the 7, 8 and 9 year olds.”

Mr Duignan said the pathway from clubs and schools to development squads and county teams was crucially important. “How we marry that, measure it is important,” he said.

With Offaly's accounts showing a surplus of over €400,000, he expressed delight at a very satisfactory financial performance. He outlined that their strategy was to get all sponsorships on a five year footing so that they could concentratre on football and hurling in January of each year and not have to worry about how they were going to pay bills.

Mr Duignan stated that they would continue to review their spending. “It is important to have the required infrastructure around our teams while also ensuring we are minimising waste and getting value for money at all times,” he stressed.

He was happy that online tickets were working well and said he was glad that a season's pass will cater for pensioners and those who are not able to access tickets via the internet.

He thanked the 30 plus businesses who purchased advertising signs in O'Connor Park, paying €2,000 which includes two All-Ireland tickets and two season tickets for club games. “It is very steady income,” he smiled.

He officially welcomed Glenisk as new sponsors, noting that they were looking at other opportunities while he thanked Carroll Meats for their 31 years sponsorship.

He described Offaly's partnership with golfer Shane Lowry as a huge boost for the county and wished him well. “Having Shane behind us is fantastic and long may it continue,” he declared.

Mr Duignan stated that Offaly had a great brand and their success rate for a small county meant they were a very popular county. He referred to the support the minor hurlers got as they went to the All-Ireland final, thanking the young players for the joy they gave people. “It is all about hurling and football at the end of the day and that is why we are all involved. The other work has to go on and is critical but if we keep our focus on our young footballers and hurlers we won't be long in getting back.”

He concluded by thanking all county managements and wished the teams the best of luck. He thanked players and stated: “It is fair to say we were disappointed last year with the performance of our senior footballers and hurlers at the end of the year with the way they went out of the championships but that is history now and we will be looking for much more from our teams this year.”

“I want to thank the players for putting pride back in the jersey. We have had some great days out over the last three years, particularly at underage level and I thank the players for that.”

He thanked officers and the media and extended sympathy to all who suffered bereavements during the year.