Cumann Luthchleas Gael Roinn Oirthear Chorcaí

Comhdháil Bhlíantúil 2011

Lios gCúl, 7ú Nollaig 8.30i.n.

Clár

1. Tuarascáil an Rúnaí Secretary’s Report 2. Tuarascáil an Chisteóra Treasurer’s Report 3. Oráid an Chathaoirligh Chairman’s Address 4. Bronnadh na mBonn Presentation of Medals 5. Toghacháin na nÓifigeach Election of Officers 6. Na Rúin Motions

Officers 2011

Uachtarán: Derry O’Brien (Cobh)

Leas-Uactaráin: John Hennessy (), Willie Ring (), Jerry O’Sullivan (Cloyne), Tom Joe O’Riordan (Castlelyons), Gerard Lane (Bride Rovers), Jim Sarsfield (Watergrasshill), Dave Hoare (St. Catherine’s)

Cathaoirleach: Michael O’Brien (Aghada)

Leas-Chathaoirleach: Richard Fitzgerald (Russell Rovers)

Runaí: Tracey Kennedy ()

Cisteoir: Jerome O’Brien (Cloyne)

Oifigeach Caidreamh Poiblí: Derek Kiely ()

Oifigeach Forbartha/Cultúir: John Joe O’Regan (Lisgoold)

Executive Members: Tony Cody (Dungourney – Referees’ Administrator) Ken Murray (Midleton) Aidan Swayne (Fr. O’Neill’s) John O’Donoghue (Cobh) Tuarascáil an Runaí Samhain, 2011

A Cháirde Gael,

Is mór an pribhléid dom an tuarascáil seo, mo chéad mar Runaí, a chur os comhair an Comhdháil Bhlíantúil seo anocht.

It is my privilege to present my first annual report as Runaí of this Board to you tonight. My first year in office has been an eventful and challenging one in many ways, but has also been a rewarding and valuable experience for me, and I would like to begin by thanking you, the clubs, for your support and co-operation during the year.

In all, the Board ran 17 competitions in 2011, with 16 of these completed at the time of writing, and almost 400 games were played across all competitions. It was a historic year in many ways, with the successful running of the inaugural /Avondhu Regional Division 1 League, the launch of An Illustrated History of the GAA in East 1924-2010, and the first Final played under lights, but more of all these later.

County Championships A special congratulations to Carrigtwohill, who this year won their first Senior Hurling Championship title since 1918. Imokilly teams also completed a County double at U21 B level for the second year in a row, with St. Catherine’s winning the hurling and Glenbower Rovers the football. Midleton also claimed the County U21 A Hurling title for the first time in 22 years – well done to all.

It is worth noting that East Cork teams also contested the County Premier Intermediate Hurling Final (Youghal) and the Intermediate Hurling Final (Fr. O’Neill’s), reminding us yet again of the high standard of hurling in this division.

Imokilly Teams Once again, we fielded teams in both County Senior Championships. The early rounds were played on a round- robin basis, and we reached the knock-out stages in hurling, only to be defeated by eventual County Finalists, CIT.

Round 1: 1-18 Imokilly 1-15 Round 2: Imokilly 3-18 1-9 Round 3: Imokilly 2-12 Avondhu 0-16 Knock-out Round: CIT 3-15 Imokilly 2-12

Our thanks to Ronan Dwane (Aghada - Coach), Maurice Ahern (Dungourney), Don Hegarty (Carraig na bhFear) and John Desmond (Watergrasshill) for all their work.

In football, we only played two games as having suffered two losses, we were unable to field in the third group game.

Round 1: 0-15 Imokilly 0-10 Round 2: Duhallow 3-16 Imokilly 0-13

Thanks to Michael O’Brien (Aghada), Vincent Cronin (Bride Rovers), Donal O’Keeffe (Lisgoold), Tom Harrington (Fr. O’Neill’s), Jerome O’Brien (Cloyne) and John Buckley (Glanmire) for their hard work and dedication.

I am glad to see that for the year ahead, the Divisions have opted for a knock-out competition with one second chance, which also includes the two colleges, as I feel that this is a more manageable situation given the difficulties faced by Divisional teams due to the various claims on their players. I also think it is unfortunate that the managers of our Divisional teams so rarely have a full complement of players to choose from – especially in relation to football, where I have no doubt that we would experience a greater degree of success if all the eligible talented footballers in the Division were made available to us.

Imokilly Juvenile Teams This year Bórd an Roinn Oirthear also had responsibility for organising underage representative teams under the new Coiste na nOg structures, and our thanks to the players, the clubs who made their players available , the parents, and of course the mentors who put such effort into these squads.

U15 Hurling Report courtesy This team was prepared by Mark Landers, Fergal Condon, Tomas Abernethy and John Joe O'Regan. A panel of 30 players attended with 21 players seeing some game time. The competition was played on an extremely competitive Round Robin basis against Seandun and Avondhu, and Imokilly ran out winners on a scoreline of 1-12 to 1-10 to claim the Dick Barrett shield. The team was captained by Gavin Bagnell of Midleton, and a number of this panel went on to represent their county in the Cork U15 Hurling Carrigdhoun and Clarecastle victories. Since this victory Fergal Condon and Mark Landers have contacted each club in the Imokilly division to find talent for the 2012 Munster Inter-divisional tournament and have rolled out the Cork Development Squads’ Physical Development Program which is being overseen by Liam O'Reilly and Colin Santry, two lead tutors from the Cork Development Squads every Friday night in St. Colman’s Community College. All club mentors who want to see this educational program are more than welcome to attend.

U14 Hurling Report courtesy Anthony Connolly Anthony Connolly (Aghada), Aidan Swayne (Fr. O’Neill’s), Padraig Finn and Niall Cronin (Russell Rovers) took on this team. The squad came together 13 times during the year, and the first team won 3 out of 4 competitive games, while the second team won 3 out of 5. The second team reached the final in the hurling blitz in October only to be beaten by a strong Carbery side. The first team beat Seandún and lost to Avondhu, who went on to win the tournament. It was unfortunate that on the day two of the strongest members of the panel were unavailable due to club commitments. With over 40 players identified this year, it is to be hoped that more time can be spent training and playing games next year with this particular age group.

U14 Football Report courtesy Brian Lotty This panel came under the care of Seán O Caoimh (Aghada), Kieran Cliffe (Youghal), Brian Lotty (Glanmire) and Jim O’Neill (Cloyne). Following a series of trial games, they played five challenge games, against Muskerry, , Carbery, Glanmire and Seandún, fielding two teams in some cases. A total of 73 players were involved, and 17 of these went on to represent Cork. They played in the Delanys tournament in June, defeating Avondhu but losing to Muskerry. All except one club sent players for trials during the Easter Holidays, and it is proposed that such trials should take place during the February mid-term break in 2012.

The U14, U15 and U16 Football tournaments had not been played at the time of writing.

Many thanks to all who looked after our Juvenile teams in 2011. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the officers of Coiste na nOg, an Regiún Lárnach and an Regiún Thoir for their help and co-operation during the year.

East Cork Championships As always, this year’s championships were competitive and keenly contested, and it is a credit to all involved that all championship competitions are now complete, and that we met County Board deadlines in all competitions for the first time in a number of years.

The Junior A Hurling Championship had a particularly dramatic conclusion this year, as the Final, between Dungourney and Carraig na bhFear, ended in a draw and the sides had to meet again. The was an historic occasion, as it was the first time our Junior A Hurling Final had been played under lights (in Carrigtwohill), and it was a tight affair, with the result in doubt right up until the final whistle when Dungourney finally claimed the Jamesy Kelleher Cup by the narrowest of margins, 0-18 to 1-14.

History was also made in the Junior A Football Championship, as Glenbower Rovers won the title for the first time in their history, beating Lisgoold in the final on a scoreline of 0-16 to 0-6.

Our Junior B Hurling and Football were the last competitions to finish this year. While one can take the view that there is no County deadline to meet in these, and therefore no pressure to finish them, surely we are doing justice neither to our players nor to our competitions by playing them so late in the year? There is also a financial aspect to be considered, as many of these games were played under lights and as they do not tend to attract large crowds, this obviously has a negative effect on the finances of the Board. We also had draws in both finals, with Midleton eventually emerging winners over St. Catherine’s in the Junior B Hurling Final Replay, while Youghal were victorious over Castlelyons at the second time of asking in the Junior B Football Final.

The Junior C Hurling Championship continues to grow, with seven teams participating this year. Our thanks to the Foley family, Carraig na bhFear, who presented us with a cup for this competition in memory of the late Micheál. The competition was won by Midleton this year, defeating Russell Rovers 0-12 to 1-6 in the final. This competition is very valuable in encouraging clubs to field an extra team when they might otherwise not do so, and it is to be hoped that it will continue into the future.

Midleton did an impressive double at U21 A level this year, beating Erin’s Own in both finals. In football, they won 2-11 to 1-12, and it hurling, the scoreline was 3- 17 to 1-8. They went on to win the County U21 A Hurling title, beating Duhallow in the County Final.

In U21 B Hurling, St. Catherine’s went all the way, beating Cloyne by 2-10 to 1-9 in the East Cork Final, and ensuring that the Gene Fitzgerald Cup remained in the Imokilly division for another year by beating Ballygarvan in the County Final. It was a similar story in football, as Glenbower Rovers beat Carrigtwohill in a competitive East Cork Final on a scoreline of 2-12 to 3-7, and went on to bring the Seán Crowley Cup back to East Cork for the second year by defeating Cill na Martra in the County Final. Both of these competitions have only been run at County level for the last two years, and no team outside of East Cork has won either of them yet. We’ll hope the trend continues in 2012!

We also ran U21 Hurling and Football competitions at C grade in 2011. Three teams entered the hurling, which was won by Lisgoold, and there was a straight final in football, also won by Lisgoold, who beat Bride Rovers in both finals. While the C grade competition serves a purpose for those clubs who would otherwise not be able to field at this level, its usefulness is perhaps questionable given the small number of entries.

While our competitions ran very successfully this year, it is becoming ever more difficult to schedule games as clubs face greater difficulties in terms of the availability of players. While we must accept that players find it more difficult to take time off work in the current economic climate, we find it more and more common now that clubs don’t wish to play due to the absence of players on holidays. Between holidays, exams, weddings, stag parties and work-related absences, the scheduling of games at times that suit all parties is getting more difficult constantly and this is something that needs to be addressed going forward.

Leagues This year, the inaugural Imokilly/Avondhu Regional Division 1 Hurling League was run between Imokilly and Avondhu, as part of new structures put in place on a trial basis by the County Board. Nine teams from each Division took park, and the competition was run in two groups. No walkovers were allowed, and the final was played on July 31st, with Sars emerging victorious. A lot of planning and effort went into ensuring the smooth and very successful running of this league, and my thanks to Tony Cody, Dick Fitzgerald and Derek Kiely who represented Imokilly on the organising committee. My particular thanks also to the North Cork Board, who were very co-operative, and to the sponsors, Cavanagh’s of , who generously extended their sponsorship to include the Imokilly teams involved.

We also ran five other leagues, all but one of which have been completed. This year a total of 279 league games were played. There were 15 walkovers awarded and only 4 games were not fixed. Once again the Leagues were run by a Sub-Committee which consisted of Dick FitzGerald, Cathaoirleach, Tony Cody, Runaí, Derek Kiely P.R.O. and John O’Donoghue, all of whom deserve great credit for the difficult job they do so efficiently. My thanks to Tony Cody for the following report:

Junior Hurling League 1. This year saw a new departure in the structure of the Hurling league with the introduction of the interdivisional Junior Hurling Division 1 League. This proved to be a great success and consisted of 18 teams, 9 each from the Imokilly and Avondhu Divisions. A total of 75 JHL Division 1 games were played. A noticeable feature of this League was the competitive nature of the Competition and its duration starting on 20 March and the final played on 31 July. Every game was played and no walkovers given in this League. Winners: Sars Junior Hurling League 2 consisted of 9 teams and 37 games with no walkovers, starting on 31 March with the Final played 9 October. Winners: Bride Rovers Junior Hurling League 3 had 17 teams and was played in two Sections, consisting of 65 games in total. There were 3 walkovers in this League which started on 5 April with the Final played on 6 November. Winners: Fr. O’Neill’s Junior Football League 1 had 9 teams with 46 games. There were 7 walkovers, 3 played on the Championship and 2 not played. This League started on 13 February with the Final played 18 October. Winners: Glenbower Rovers Junior Football League 2 had 9 teams with 40 games. There were 4 walkovers, 2 games not played and 1 where the points went on the Championship. This League started on 4 February. One team is in the final but four others must play off to find the other finalist. Junior Football League 3. There were 6 teams with 16 games. There was only 1 walkover. This league started 22 August and the Final was played on November 26th. Winners: Castlelyons

We would like to sincerely thank all the Clubs for their co-operation in getting the games played. In particular we would thank the Referees for their availability when appointed for the games.

Once again, it is disappointing to see so few games played in the best months of the year, and then to have a glut of them condensed into a short period as the deadline approaches. Between the 10th and 16th of October this year alone, there were 23 league games played – do we need to look at setting dates for rounds again as has been done in the past, with a view to making our leagues more meaningful? Another problem we run into is teams unable to field for various reasons as outlined previously – surely when it comes to leagues, our objective should be to provide games for as many players as possible, rather than always needing to put out or best fifteen? I also feel that clubs may need to give a little more consideration to their competition entries to be sure that they will be able to fulfil their programmes without the need for postponements.

County Leagues This year also saw the introduction of County Leagues in Junior A and B Hurling and Football. We were represented by Sars in Junior A Hurling, Bride Rovers in Junior B Hurling, Dungourney in Junior B Football and Glenbower Rovers in Junior A Football. Glenbower Rovers won the Jackie O’Shea Cup, beating Kilmurry in the final, while at the time of writing, Sars were due to play Cloughduv in the JAHL Final.

Football Football continues to cause problems in the Division, with the current format perhaps addressing the requirements to produce a winner in time for the County Championships, while at the same time allowing the majority of our clubs whose main focus is hurling to proceed unimpeded during the hurling championships. The Division 1 Football League is yet again the league with most walkovers, and the feeling is that more could be done to promote football in East Cork. To this effect, a sub-committee has been set up to examine the Football Championships, and their proposals will be discussed here tonight with a view to taking a decision on the Championship format early in the new year.

Venues My thanks to all the clubs who hosted our games during the year – without your hospitality, our competitions could not be run as they are. A special note of thanks to Carrigtwohill, who provided their field at short notice for the Junior A Hurling Final replay, and to the hosts of all our finals. An increasing number of our clubs now have floodlights, and while this makes the fixing of winter games a little easier, it also brings with it an extra cost, something that needs to be considered going forward.

Referees Our thanks to all our referees for their service to the Board in 2011, and to the Chairman and Secretary of the Referees’ Committee, John Hanley and Cathal McAllister. A special word of thanks to our Referees’ Co-ordinator, Tony Cody, who does such vital and often thankless work in ensuring that we have referees for all of our matches. Our assessors also play an important role in the development of our referees. Congratulations to Cathal McAllister, James Bermingham and Denis O’Leary, who refereed County Finals this year, and Cathal, James and Jer O’Connell also refereed at Inter-County level in 2011.

East Cork GAA History One of the highlights of the year for Roinn Uí Mac Coille will undoubtedly be the launch of our history book, An Illustrated History of the GAA in East Cork 1924-2010, to which I am looking forward at the time of writing. On a historic night for the Division, Uachtarán Cumann Luthchleas Gael Críostóir Ó Cuana and Association President Joan O’Flynn, both from East Cork and the latter a daughter of the late Runaí Seamus Ó Floinn, will be present in Midleton, on November 30th for the launch of this impressive publication. The book was written by Tom Morrison, assisted by our Cathaoirleach Michael O’Brien, and I trust you will all have it on your Christmas lists! I have no doubt it will prove a wonderful resource for generations to come.

Website Our website, www.eastcorkgaa.com, continues to go from strength to strength, with 428,863 hits from January 1st to October 31st this year, up 15% on the same period last year.

It is, however, vital that we keep the website updated, especially in terms of fixtures, results and news – these are the three most popular areas of the website. To this end, we are dependent on you the clubs to send in results as soon as possible after games – we are now using an automatic text service for this, and my thanks to the clubs who have co-operated with this. Thanks also to Derek Kiely, Michael O’Brien and Tony Cody for their work on the website.

GAA Email System Our Division was the first to fully adopt the GAA email system for secretaries, thanks largely to the efforts of the previous Runaí, Liam Ó Rinn. In the past year, GAA email addresses were also distributed to club PROs and chairpersons, and it appears from the national statistics that PROs and chairpersons in this Division are not making as much use of these as our secretaries are. I would urge you all to make an effort in this as it is the way of the future.

Media My thanks to all our local media who do so much to promote our games, especially to Declan Barron of the East Cork Journal and Denis O’Flynn, who both generously provide us with reports and photographs for the website. Michael Scanlon, John Cashman and all at C103 provide great coverage of Divisional activities also, as do the Evening Echo and all our local media. A special word of thanks to CRY, which has done much this year to aid promotion of GAA in our Division.

PR My thanks to Derek Kiely, PRO for the following report on our promotional activites this year:

It was another active year for the Division with plenty happening in and around East Cork since the last Annual Congress in Cloyne. The congress itself was well covered by the media, from County Sound, the Evening Echo, the Midleton News and the East Cork Journal. Present to address the Annual Congress was Uachtarán Cumann Luthchleas Gael Críostóir Ó Cuana, who paid tributes to Willie Ring on his incredible service to the East Cork Board and the GAA in general. The first East Cork Board meeting was also well covered by the local media and the Chairman Michael O'Brien, Secretary Tracey Kennedy and the PRO Derek Kiely were all interviewed by John Cashman of C103 and all interviews were used by the channel. Again the local media were there in force and the event was well covered. There was coverage of the Imokilly Senior Footballers and Hurlers throughout their games and as well the Under Age Divisional sides had tremendous representation. The Championship was launched and well covered at Midleton GAA Club, as was the Junior A Hurling Championship Final between Dungourney and Carraig na bhFear. Both the Final in Midleton and the Final replay in Carrigtwohill had full live commentaries by Derek Kiely on CRY 104FM, with reports from both games on C103. The presentation of the Micheál Foley Cup by his widow Siobhán Foley was made at the Midleton GAA Club pavilion on behalf of the family and the Carraig na bhFear Club. The Division had a weekly dedicated Radio Show called 'GAA This Week' presented by the PRO Derek Kiely on every Thursday between 4 and 5pm on CRY 104FM and on the World Wide Web. The radio show included every aspect of the Division from fixtures, results, interviews, studio reaction etc. The show ran from March to October, and will return next March at a much more favourable time slot, due to its success.

Scór Thanks to John-Joe O’Regan for the following report: Tháinig Muintir Scór le chéile are an 14ú lá Deireadh Fomhair i halla na Sairséalaigh don Chrinniu Bhliantúil. With the exception of the outgoing officers, East Cork and County Board officers, the attendance was by no means encouraging. However, the incoming officers and committee will continue to actively support and promote our traditional Irish dancing, music, song and other aspects of Irish culture. I appeal to all cultural officers to become more involved in the promotion of Scór in their respective clubs. It would be encouraging to see all clubs organising their own internal competitions. Over the years, one of the highlights of a Scór night was without doubt the performance of clubs in Rince Foirne and Rince Seit, a tradition that has since died out almost completely. Scór Sinsear Torthaí 2011: Amhránaíocht Aonair: Ath Fhada Ceol Uirlise: Cluain Uamha Nuachleas: Cluain Uamha Tráth na gCeist: Cilliath Aithríseoireacht: Cluain Uamha Bailéad Ghrupa: Naomh Catríona Rince Foirne: No entries Rince Seit: No entries Felix Sarsfield Cup (Overall Winners): Cluain Uamha

For details of other winners and 2012 dates, see www.eastcorkgaa.com.

County Board Delegates My thanks to Willie Ring and Oliver Loughlin for representing Imokilly at the County Board for the past twelve months.

Sponsors Many thanks to our sponsors, without whose financial support we would find it much more difficult to function: East Cork Oil Michael O’Connor Motor Factors Michael Feeney Builders Garryvoe Hotel East Cork Journal Ger Motherway Accountants Fermoy Print & Design

In the current economic climate, and as you can see from the Treasurer’s Report, funding is a growing issue and one that needs serious consideration. New sponsors are always welcome.

Retiring Officers 2011 sees the departure of two long-standing servants of East Cork GAA, as our esteemed President, Derry O’Brien steps down from his position tonight, while Referees’ Co-ordinator, Tony Cody, has also decided to end his involvement in this role. Our deepest gratitude is due to both men, who have given a lifetime of service to the GAA, and we wish them well in the future.

Deceased Members We remember in our prayers all the deceased members from various clubs who passed to their eternal reward during the past year. Ar dheis lámh Dé go raibh said.

Conclusion I would like to thank my fellow officers and Executive members, all the secretaries and delegates, officers of an Coiste Chontae, especially the Runaí, and of course Mairéad McCarthy and Barbara Hartnett at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, for their help, co- operation, support and encouragement during the past twelve months. A special word of thanks is due to my predecessor, Liam Ó Rinn, for his assistance during the year – he was always there to answer my queries and give advice.

On taking office last December, it was my intention to serve you to the best of my ability in the role of Rúnaí, and I hope that I have done so over the past twelve months. It has been a steep learning curve in many ways, and I am certainly a great deal wiser than I was a year ago, but as the saying goes, “we live and learn”! I look forward to working with you all again for the year ahead, and I hope it will be a successful one both on and off the field.

A final word of thanks to my family and friends, who see me only briefly between matches and meetings, yet are a constant support to me in all my endeavours.

Sin é mo thuarascáil don Comhdháil seo. Míle buíochas agus Nollaig Shona díbh go léir.

Tracey Ní Chinnéide, Runaí. Roll of Honour

Competition No. of Teams Winner Runner-Up

JAHC 13 Dungourney Carraig na bhFear

JAFC 15 Glenbower Rovers Lisgoold

JBHC 16 Midleton St. Catherine’s

JBFC 11 Youghal Castlelyons

JCHC 7 Midleton Russell Rovers

U21 AHC 4 Midleton * Erin’s Own

U21 AFC 4 Midleton Erin’s Own

U21 BHC 11 St. Catherine’s* Cloyne

U21 BFC 10 Glenbower Rovers* Carrigtwohill

U21 CHC 3 Lisgoold Bride Rovers

U21 CFC 2 Lisgoold Bride Rovers

JHL 1 18 Sars Newtownshandrum

JFL 1 9 Glenbower Rovers Carraig na bhFear

JHL 2 9 Bride Rovers St. Ita’s

JFL 2 9

JHL 3 17 Fr. O’Neill’s Killeagh

JFL 3 6 Castlelyons Aghada

*County Champions

See www.eastcorkgaa.com for all results.