No ‘railroading’ of clubs on plan

CORK GAA chiefs have insisted that they are not going to ‘railroad’ clubs into endorsing their new strategic plan which seeks to overhaul its underage structures and resolve issues that have surfaced in conflicts in the county in recent years.

Grassroots members around the county have expressed their dissatisfaction at the level of consultation over the radical elements of the plan involving the disbandment of divisional boards at underage level and the creation of new East, North and West regions in their place. But board officials are adamant that they will allay the fears of clubs during a series of consultative meetings that are set to take place throughout the month of November.

“We are in the midst of holding divisional meetings at present”, revealed county board youth officer Marc Sheehan. “We held meetings for the Carbery and Beara divisions in Dunmanway last Wednesday night, and for the Seandun and Carrigdhoun divisions in Páirc Ui Chaoimh last Thursday night. Those meetings with divisions will continue this week. It’s very important to realise that we have then made a commitment that from November 1, we’ll start rolling out meetings with clubs on an individual basis. We’re going to work to help clubs at these meetings.