History favours Cooney to win presidential race

CHRISTY COONEY may gain some reassurance from the knowledge that only once in the last ten elections has the runner-up the previous time not been chosen President of the GAA and he remains favourite to edge out Liam O’Neill and Sean Fogarty in this afternoon’s vote at Congress in Sligo.

However, while all the indications are that he will make up for his disappointment at losing by 17 votes (171/154) to Nickey Brennan three years ago, he would be the first to concede that there’s no absolute certainty of success.

Former Leinster chairman Albert Fallon from Longford has the dubious distinction of being the only runner-up not to be elected at the second attempt. Back in 1999, he came second of three candidates to Sean McCague (173/85) in an election where the PR system was used for the third time. Noel Walsh from Clare received 66 votes.

In 2002, when Sean Kelly was elected, Fallon got eight less votes than the runner-up, former referee Seamus Aldridge from Kildare. Remarkably, Kelly’s 195 vote was 66 more than the combined total of the others — Aldridge (52), Fallon (44) and ex-Connacht chairman P.J. McGrath who got 33.

Over the last 30 years, the only other president to be elected at the first attempt other than Kelly or Brennan was another Kilkenny man, Paddy Buggy. He was chosen in 1981, defeating Dr Mick Loftus (successful three years later).

Theoretically, the fact that there are two Munster candidates in the field should be to the benefit of Liam O’Neill. He goes into the election with a potential advantage, given that the combined voting strength of the Leinster counties — 98 — is over 30 votes greater.

Fogarty says he doesn’t ‘buy into’ the argument that having two from the same province is a disadvantage — “unless they are each others throats’. “It might limit the potential for another candidate to take votes out of Munster and if Liam O’Neill were to hold all of Leinster he’d be three-quarters way there,’ he commented. “But I don’t think the GAA is as parochial as that any more — that a Leinster man has to vote for the Leinster candidate and so on. Counties are inclined to sit back and look at people’s policies and their past record and make judgement.”

There’s no doubt Cooney’s profile is helped by the fact that he went so close the last time, when he was damaged by the stand taken by the Cork County Board in not allowing clubs to vote on the proposal to allow Croke Park to be opened up to rugby and soccer.

“What Cork did soured a lot of people,’ one established source confided to me at the time. And, it was known that Donegal were one of two counties to switch allegiance from the Corkman.

In real terms, the voting strength of Congress will be around 330, with more than 50 delegates coming from units in Britain, New York, North America, Canada, Australasia and Europe. Other than the election, which is timed for 3.30, the main business will be to vote on the Central Council proposal to approve of the government grants — or to give it the official title — ‘annual team performance and support scheme.’

While a small number of counties will oppose the proposal and the Of-One-Belief grouping have not given up hope of stopping it, based on the fact that there was unanimous support for the motion adopted at the Central Council meeting held on St. Patrick’s Day, it’s clear that the long-running saga will finally reach closure.

* There are 29 motions down for consideration. Once more, there are a number of proposals dealing with the movement of players overseas, to Australasia as well as the US and Canada. There will be recommendations to allow all counties play in the qualifier competition in the senior football championship and to play All-Ireland hurling finals on the third Sunday of August and the football final on the first Sunday of September.

There is also is a proposal to make hurling helmets mandatory (for all grades) from January 2010 onwards.