Club/county taskforce will get better deal for all, says McGarty

GPA national development officer Dara McGarty has welcomed the establishment of a club/county taskforce by the GAA, which he believes will get a better deal for all concerned.

“It’s great to see the GAA doing this under the leadership of Liam O’Neill,” McGarty enthused. “It will make county board and player relationships better and it will hopefully make club and county relationships better also, which can only benefit the club, county and ultimately the player. I am certainly happy to be involved in the taskforce.”

The former Sligo footballer is on the taskforce and is already seeing improvements in various counties in relation to streamlining of issues such as fixtures between clubs and county boards.

“I have to say in my own experience of playing club football in Sligo that there does seem to have been movement by the county board in order to see county players freed up for club games.”

Croke Park chiefs also announced the membership of another committee charged with reviewing the scope and operation of Rule 11 of the official guide.

Ulster Council secretary Danny Murphy will chair the committee to review Rule 11. Their brief will be to review the scope and operation of the rule to reflect the amateur status of the GAA and to report back, with recommendations, to ARd Comhairle by December 31, 2008.

This committee is a high powered one and includes former Kilkenny player Pat Henderson, current Tipperary county board chairman John Costigan, former Clare player and manager Anthony Daly, and current chairman of the Higher Education Authority Jack Devanney.

The full membership of this committee is: Chairman — Danny Murphy (Ulster Council), Jarlath Burns (Armagh), Jack Devanney (Down), Pat Henderson (Kilkenny), John Costello (Dublin), Anthony Daly (Clare), John Costigan (Tipperary), Cathal Moore (Galway), John Maughan (Mayo) and Dessie Farrell (Player’s Representative).

Included on the club taskforce committee are Cork’s Des Cullinane, outgoing secretary of the Munster Council Simon Moroney and former Louth secretary Pat Toner.

The committee is made up of: Chairman — Liam O’Neill (Laois), Michael Burns (Monaghan), Des Cullinane (Cork), Simon Moroney (Clare), John Murphy (Sligo), Pat Toner (Louth), Dara McGarty (Sligo), Aidan Brennan (Mayo) and Dermot O’Malley (Dublin).