Is mor an honour dom a bheidh anseo anocht ar oiche do CLG Fhear Manach.
I am delighted to see that we have an excellent attendance from all the clubs of the county for our annual convention. I thank you all for your attendance and your valued participation. I express my sincere gratitude to you all for your dedication and commitment in promoting our games in your communities.
Firstly, I would like to thank everyone at SWC for their assistance with the organisation of this evening’s county convention.
As I reflect on my 3rd year in office, I have once again witnessed the outstanding commitment that the clubs in the county have given to the promotion of our games. The recent independent report published by Hallam University; Sheffield found that the Social Value of Gaelic games is estimated to be worth at least €2.87 billion to Irish society.
You the clubs without exception are the backbone of your communities and as such form an integral part of Irish society and one that we can all be proud of.
The county secretary Tom has provided us with a comprehensive report on all County teams, it just remains for me to say thank you to all our managers, coaches, backroom teams, and players at every level in both hurling and football for the effort and commitment to Fermanagh GAA and for the many great days you give us in 2024.
A special word of congratulations to our senior hurlers on winning the Lory Meagher cup a tremendous achievement and a just reward for all the hard work and dedication during the year by the management and players.
The decision by Ard Comhairle to do away with the McKenna cup was in my opinion short sighted. It has meant that the opportunity for counties to try out new players in competitive matches before the National league commences has been removed.
It also would have been the ideal competition to trial the new rules and as in previous years there was also an opportunity to provide new up and coming referees with meaningful games.
I thank all our sponsors and in particular our main sponsors Tracey Concrete Ltd, Mannok, Monaghan Bros, O Neills, Modern Tyres, Mc Mahon Healthcare, Beltertech, Westville Hotel, Crust and Crumb, Cadco, B Mc Caffrey and Sons and Peter Carty.Their continued support is the financial lifeblood of our association and provides much needed resources for the promotion of our games. They support us, so where possible please support them.
Finance:
The continued dedication of Club Eirne in providing funding for Fermanagh GAA is without doubt a key component of the financial wellbeing of the county. A huge thank debt of gratitude is owed to the committee under the expert guidance of Ger Treacy. I have no doubt that the club Eirne report will outline in detail the amount of funding provided this year, and the future fund-raising initiatives that they have planned for the year ahead. I would encourage everyone to support these initiatives which in turn will benefit all the clubs.
Behind all of this is our county treasurer Sean, I really don’t know how he does it, his ability to carry out the duties of county treasurer as well as all his other roles within his club and his community is amazing. The treasurer’s role is indeed the most strenuous of all the officers’ roles and it takes someone with a special talent to fulfil the role. The amount of correspondence and requests that the treasurer receives from Croke Park is unbelievable.
To the merry band of gate personnel and stewards who have helped throughout the year at county and club championship matches, thank you.
The whole area of club levies was revamped during the year, and I thank the sub committee for their hard work in devising a system which was equitable and acceptable to the clubs in the county.
Thanks to all clubs who hosted county and club matches through the year.
Sub Committees:
In this evening’s convention booklet, each subcommittee has provided a report on their activities during the year, I ask each one of you here to read the reports and highlight to your club the outstanding work that is been carried out at all levels within the county. I want to put on record my sincere thanks to each committee and thank the Chairpersons and Secretaries for their leadership. In total 200 members served on the various sub committees during the year a true reflection on the dedication to the association within the county.
Bord na n-Óg:
I want to thank Bord na n-Óg Counte Fhearmanach for their outstanding work during the year in organising all our youth activities in both football and hurling codes with 465 competitive games taking place from U12 to U18 in both codes with a similar number of Go Games. Such an undertaking is no mean feat given the complexities involved in arranging activities and in some cases rearranging fixtures at very short notice
We are indeed lucky in Fermanagh to have such a dedicated team of volunteers looking after youth affairs at both county level and within our clubs. The amount of time and effort that the Bord na n-Óg committee have devoted this year to the implementation of the tasks associated with the smooth running of youth competitions in the county is to be applauded. Thanks to all the clubs in the county who have actively supported our games at youth level. Thanks also to all our coaching staff who continue to provide meaning coaching programs for both hurling and football within our schools. Teresa will no doubt give a detailed analysis of all the activities that were undertaken this year.
One point to highlight is the vacancies that still exist within the Fermanagh coaching structures which despite at least three rounds of advertisements and interviews have remained vacant. As Leanne states in her report there is a need for the jobs to become more attractive with competitive salaries accompanying them. This fact has been highlighted to the HR department in Croke Park not only by Fermanagh but also byseveral other counties. Hopefully they will take heed of the situation and act appropriately.
Leanne has provided a detailed comprehensive report on youth activities in the countyand I encourage everyone to read it.
At last year’s Youth Convention I emphasised that the time was right to produce a youth development plan and to this end under the direction of the Coaching and Games officer Fergal O’Connor a comprehensive external review and analysis of the coaching structures within the county has now been completed by Prof Stephen Behan of DCU and the findings and recommendations will be shared with all clubs at a standalone meeting at the end of January 2025. This report will form the basis of the counties Youth Development Plan for the next five years and link in with the new Fermanagh GAA Strategic Plan.
A sincere thanks to all those who contributed to the focus group meetings, your input was greatly appreciated by all those involved in compiling the report.
CCC:
I thank our CCC committee under the chairmanship of John and Secretary Phil for ensuring that all our competitions were run in a timely and professional manner. I wish to thank all the clubs for cooperating with our CCC.
They are several recommendations proposed by clubs in relation to the league structures within the county, these will be discussed in detail at the January County Committee meeting and a decision made on what best suits Fermanagh.
Hearings:
Thanks to Hearing’s committee who perform a key role within the county, one indeed that is very often overlooked. Thank you, Pat, and Martin and all the members of the committee, for making yourself available very often at short notice.
Health and Wellbeing:
The Health and Wellbeing Committee under the guidance of Damian and Anne have continued to promote health and wellbeing in our clubs and communities with a variety of activities. The committee continued to support clubs in the promotion of health and wellbeing in our players, members and wider community. 13 clubs in Fermanagh are continuing their journey as part of the healthy club project aiming for either foundation, silver or Gold awards and congratulations to; Belcoo O’Rahilly and Tempo Maguires for joining in Phase 7. We would encourage all clubs to consider becoming part of the healthy club project.
I thank you all for your support for our nominated charity “Friends of The Cancer Centre” a local charity enhancing care and support for thousands of people affected by cancer across the county.
The Hurling Development committee:
On behalf of everyone I would like to thank Roisin Smyth for taking on the role of secretary of the hurling development committee a role which she carried out with great diligence and knowledge. One of the key points in Roisin’s report is the need for all clubs to adhere to the decision to allocate Monday nights to hurling activities unfortunately several clubs did not adhere to this during the year. In Roisin’s words “In order to grow the code we all need to promote hurling in the county and give all players the opportunity to play hurling”
Referees:
It was indeed hearting to see several new referees coming onboard this year but there are still a few clubs that need to put more effort into recruiting a referee to represent their club. We are blessed to have such a competent group of excellent referees. I thank all our referees and the referee administration committee for the vital role they play inthe provision of our fixtures. I encourage more young men and ladies to come forward and take up referring. I appeal to players, management, and supporters to respect all our match officials as they carry out their duties.
Congratulations to all the Fermanagh referees who officiated at both National and Provincial level during the year.
Teams:
Congratulations to all clubs from U12 up to senior level that won trophies this year. Well done to the clubs that went on to represent the county at Provincial level, Lisbellaw in the UIHC, Erne Gaels in the UJHC, Erne Gaels in the UCSFC, LisnaskeaEmmetts in the UCIFC and Aghadrumsee St Macartan’s in the UCJFC.
Scor Irish Language:
Thanks to all clubs in the county who continue to support Scor and Scor na nOg. The level of competition continues to increase year on year thanks to the efforts of Ciaran Maguire and his committee. I would ask all clubs to actively promote Scor and hopefully in the not-too-distant future all clubs in Fermanagh will be participating in Scor.
Without doubt the talent exists within every club. Congratulations to all clubs who have received Glor Na nGael/GAA awards for the promotion of the Irish Language within their clubs.
Good luck to the Enniskillen Gael’s Scor na nOg Nuachleas team who go on to represent Fermanagh in the All-Ireland Final at the end of January.
Finally, much credit must go to the wonderful singers on the Fear Manach panel of Amhrán na bhFiann performers. It was noticeable at the majority of championship games that our national anthem was sung by club members. We look forward to extending this further in 2025.
Safeguarding:
Anita our County Children’s officer has outlined in her report where we are in relation to safeguarding in the county, she also outlines that 2025 will be a year to build on the foundations set in place over the past few years. Remember safeguarding is the responsibility of all of us and the wellbeing of our young players must be the number one priority. To quote from Leanne’s report “Fermanagh GAA are very lucky to have someone of Anita’s Calibre in this role” Than you Anita.
Safety and Facilities:
The chairperson of the Safety and Facilities Committee Sean has provided us with a detailed report on Lissan, New LED Floodlights, Gym, Wind Turbine, St Michael’s Partnership, Brewster Park development, Ulster Council Grants, Club Loans and the New Development at Ashwood’s Rd, Enniskillen. This committee works tirelessly in the background to ensure that our facilities are fit for purpose and are continually upgraded to order to meet the needs of all our teams both at club and county level. Thank you.
Clubs throughout the county have either completed, are in the process of, or are about to start major developments, I congratulate all involved on their foresight and ambition. At the end of the day, it will be the younger generation who will benefit.
PR and Marketing:
Thanks to our PRO Deirdre for all your hard work with the promotion of Fermanagh GAA activities within the media and on all the social media channels. The production of programmes for our National league and the club championship is not an easy task but it was completed with outstanding efficiency. One point I have noted in Deirdre’s report is the increase of abusive comments online and face to face directed at many of our volunteers this is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Clubs are responsible for the actions of their members and should do all within their power to discourage such behaviour.
Thanks to our Fermanagh GAA TV production team under the guidance of Phil, our games are now streamed worldwide and provide a link with Fermanagh people living in many parts of the world.
Media:
To the Fermanagh Herald and the Impartial Reporter, I say thank you for your coverage and promotion of our games in the county.
Coaching:
To our coaching staff under the direction of Teresa McNabb Fermanagh Games Development Manager, thank you for all your hard work and dedication throughout the year. The Coaching & Games Report contained in tonight’s convention booklet outlines in detail the extraordinary amount of activity that was untaken by our coaches this year. It is important that all clubs are made fully aware of both the amount of work undertaken by our county coaches and the assistance that they can provide to clubs.
As I have previously stated several roles within the coaching structures have still to be filled but we will be doing our utmost to alleviate this situation within the early part of 2025.
Catchment Areas:
Following a deliberation by the Hearings Committee the need for regularization of our regulations over whether we had definitions of our Club catchment areas was apparent. I set up the Club Catchment Area Workgroup to make proposals to be brought forward for adoption by County Committee. A scoping exercise was undertaken nationally to find out how other Counties deal with this and our Clubs were asked for their proposals as to what they felt was the best way forward. A very wide range of views were returned, and discussions were held with numerous Clubs. Following this it was decided to ask Clubs for their considered opinion as to whether catchment areas were necessary or not. Following the overwhelming view of this vote that they were not necessary it was decided to bring a motion to County Convention, that motion is to be brought to the floor for discussion and decision tonight. Thanks to Tiernach and all the members of the working group who worked diligently to come up with possible solutions.
Strategic Plan:
2024 was the final year of our current Strategic Plan (Ar aghaidh agus os a chionn Fear Manach). It is important that we look now at the way ahead for Fermanagh GAA in our ever-changing society and link our plan with that of the national GAA Plan (Aontas 2026) and the new Ulster GAA Plan. This will be one of the key priorities for 2025.
Schools:
Our schools both primary and secondary are the lifeblood of the association within the county. I thank all the staff within our schools who give tirelessly of their time in the development of the skills of our games. I ask all clubs to continue to support the schools in whatever way possible be it coaching or equipment. It is vital that there is a clear and tangible link between clubs and schools.
Integration:
At National level, integration between the association, camogie and ladies’ football was prioritised, this has proved to be a slow process however the sooner it becomes a reality the better. We look forward to working more closely with the LGFA especially around the whole area of fixtures and venues. On that point I would like to congratulate the Fermanagh ladies’ team and management on winning the 2024 All Ireland Junior title, a great achievement. Well done.
Conclusion:
Finally to my fellow officers I say thank you for all you help and support during the year, a special word of thanks to our vice chairperson John who stood in for me on numerous occasions when I was unavailable, I hope it gives him a taste of what lies ahead for him, to our extremely dedicated County Rúnaí Tom Boyle who kept me on the straight and narrow during the year, to our very hard-working and efficient County Treasurer Sean Burns, thanks also to rúnaí cúnta Phil Flanagan for his wise advice on all matters related to the official guide, there were times when I thought he slept with it under his pillow and finally to our PRO for being the shield between me and the media.
At this evening’s convention we have several officers who have completed their term of office, I thank each and every one of them for their hard work and commitment over the last five years and I wish them well in whatever role they undertake in the future. I know none of them will be lost to the association.
I want to extend to all who have suffered the loss of a loved one in the last twelve months our deepest condolences.
Ar dheis lamh De go raibh a anamacha.
In conclusion I thank you the clubs for your support throughout the year and I wish all
present and your families a Happy Christmas and a successful 2025.
Go raibh maith agaibh go léir.
Brian Armitage
Cathaoirleach
By profermanagh Mon 9th Dec
