Cooney to provide ‘inspired leadership’

UNUSUALLY for the GAA Congress which can often turn into a boring, long drawn-out affairs, the weekend gathering of delegates delivered the full gamut of emotions. They ranged from the frustration of opponents of the government grant scheme in losing the final battle, to the exultation of president-elect Christy Cooney on succeeding second time round with 60 votes to spare.

The disappointment of runner-up Liam O’Neill was only exceeded by the dejection of Sean Fogarty who suffered the humiliation of receiving a mere 26 votes, while the sharply contrasting feelings of the three families who were in the hall to hear the official announcement mirrored the varying feelings of the candidates.