County Board Briefs

By Shane Brophy

Football Management Update

Football committee chairperson Conor O’Dwyer revealed that they are continuing the process of appointing senior and minor football managers.

While he understood the frustration in terms of the time-frame it is taking, he told the meeting that the committee had agreed on a process at the start and that will be maintaining that whether it takes a few days or weeks to secure the right appointment.

David Power stepped down as senior manager in June while John McNamara’s term as minor manager ended this year but may be retained.

Financial Update

Ahead of the final round of group games in the county hurling & football championships, treasurer Eleanor Lahart reported an 18% increase in income from gate receipts from the first four weekends of games in the hurling and football championships, to €153,000. However, with the price of entry increased from 2022 to €12 from €10, and OAP rate reduced from €10 to €8, income is on par with that of last year.

The 2023 figure doesn’t include the income from the county board streaming of games through Clubber which is believed to be in excess of €60,000 for the coming year.

Simultaneous Fixtures

CCC chairperson Jimmy Minogue warned that there may have to be a review of the policy of fixing the final round of group games with simultaneous throw-ins in the hurling & football championships going forward.

He said the fixing of the final round of games in hurling this year was extremely difficult in terms of the availability of venues. Because of postponements and a late fixture change, three games in the final round of the premier intermediate and intermediate championships were unable to take place simultaneously.

Extra GDA'S

Tipperary County Board are set to conclude the process of appointing three new Games Development Administrators (GDA’s) to bring the number to seven. Each GDA will have a specific role, on top of their work with clubs and schools in their specific area, with the seven GDA’s now set to have 10-11 clubs in their remit, down from eighteen each when there were just four GDA’s. One GDA will also have a specific focus on Gaelic football.

Improved Website

PRO Jonathan Cullen provided an update on the revamped tipperary.gaa.ie website, with specific focus on the new fixtures & results section which had frustrated many in recent years. He revealed that as well as each grade having their own section, all clubs will now have their own specific club fixtures and results link where they can also input their own club contact information.

Vice-Chairperson candidacy

Current Development Officer Mark McLoughlin from Roscrea has announced his candidacy for vice-chairperson at Convention in December. Current chairperson Joe Kennedy will complete his three-year term with Nenagh Eire Og’s Jimmy Minogue set to succeed him.

McLoughlin has previously been the Club representative on the CCC before being elected Development Officer in 2020 and is likely to be one of a number of candidates set to go for the vice-chairpersons position which is always well-contested every three years when a contest generally takes place.