Urgent need to tackle club and county divide

MUNSTER GAA chiefs hope their provincial club day will address the concerns and difficulties facing players and official at grassroots level.

‘The Club Voice’ is a conference and information day that will be held in the INEC Killarney on November 7, which will be made up of workshops dealing with areas such as club fixtures, fundraising and marketing, competitive or recreational games for underage players, tax exemptions for clubs and the recruitment of club volunteers.

Munster Council chairman Jimmy O’Gorman admitted that the divide between club and county must be addressed urgently.

“I think we should be concentrating on our clubs. One of the biggest challenges we’re facing is the protection of inter-county players over the summer. I think county chairman have to stand up to it and say ‘lads, we’re going to give our clubs a properly-structured championship’. That way players can at least take holidays during the summer. It is possible to solve but we need to all sit down and look at it.”

He continued: “I’m not happy that we play a blitz in April and May, and stop for a few months. To me that is the tail wagging the dog.

“Sometime clubs feel there is nobody listening to them. But that’s a wrong perception and on November 7, we’ll be listening to them. I am certain that ‘The Club Voice’ will prove beneficial to everyone. It is also an ideal opportunity to hear what clubs have to say and we will take on board what they say to us.”

Every club in Munster is invited to attend the event which is being jointly sponsored by Gaelic Telecom and the INEC Killarney. The morning session begin at 10am and the afternoon session commence at 2.30pm.

The two keynote speakers will be former Kerry All-Ireland winner Pat Spillane and celebrity solicitor Gerald Kean, with provincial chairman Jimmy O’Gorman addressing delegates at 5pm.