Cruinniú Bliantúil Cumann An Chloigthí CLG Cluain Dolcáin 2015

Cruinniú Bliantúil Cumann An Chloigthí CLG Cluain Dolcáin 2015

Clár

1. Minutes of Annual General Meeting December 2014.

2. Adoption of Standing Orders.

3. Chairman’s Report.

4. Hon. Secretary’s Report.

5. Hon. Treasurer’s Report.

6. Appointment of Tellers.

7. Election of Officers:

President

Vice Presidents

Chairman

Vice-Chairman

Hon Secretary

Hon Treasurer

8. Election of remainder of Executive Committee

Assistant Secretary

Assistant Treasurer

Three (3) Members

9. Motions and Recommendations

10. Any Other Business

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Executive Committee Meetings 2015

Number of meetings held: 29

Niall Connaughton 23 Tony Delaney 27 Martin Ryan 25 Ed O’Malley 27 Michael McGlynn 24 Andrew Cronin 27 Alan Milton 23 Matthew McCormack 22 John Ryan 24

Nominations for the Executive Committee 2015-16 Aimniúcháin don Coiste Feidhmeannaigh 2015-16

Position Outgoing Nominations

President: Tommy Keogh Tommy Keogh

Vice-President: Paddy Delaney Frank Cosgrove John O’Malley Snr Paddy Delaney John O’Malley Snr

Chairman: Niall Connaughton Niall Connaughton

Vice-Chairman: Tony Delaney Ed O’Malley

Hon. Secretary: Martin Ryan Michael McGlynn

Hon. Treasurer: Ed O’Malley Andrew Cronin

Asst. Secretary: Michael McGlynn Martin Ryan

Asst. Treasurer: Andrew Cronin John Ryan

Members: Alan Milton Tony Delaney Matt McCormack Alan Milton John Ryan Billy O'Connor

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Standing Orders for Annual General Meeting

1. The proposer of a motion or amendment thereto, may speak for three (3) minutes but no longer.

2. A member speaking on a motion or an amendment may not exceed two (2) minutes.

3. The proposer of a motion, or amendment, may speak a second time for three (3) minutes before a vote is taken, but no other member may speak a second time on the same motion or amendment.

4. The Chairman shall, at any time he considers a matter to have been sufficiently discussed, call on the proposer to reply, after which a vote must be taken.

5. A member may with the consent of the Chairman move that ‘the question be now put’ after which, when the proposer has spoken, a vote must be taken.

Motions / Recommendations

Motion:

Proposed: Niall O'Malley Seconded: David McCabe

1. To amend paragraph 17 of the Club Constitution, in that we increase the number of elected members of the executive from nine to ten persons through the inclusion of an Irish Language Officer as an executive member.

This motion should it be passed will come into effect after the AGM in 2016.

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Chairman’s Report 2015 Tuarascáil an Cathoirleach

I’d like to welcome you all here this evening to our Annual General Meeting in this the 131st anniversary year of our foundation. This evening presents an opportunity to review the past year and also to discuss the future development of the Club both on and off the field.

It is a huge honour for me to address you as I complete my first year and as Chairman of this great Club, 2015 was a very busy year and I would like to thank all members for the support I received over the last twelve months.

Martin will give a detailed report on the various sections but in general terms it was a mixed year for our teams with some successes and in most cases our teams were very competitive.

The last few years has seen significant focus on developing the underage section and improving our systems and resources. There is no doubt that the superb facility that is Monastery Road has been a major factor in attracting children, coupled with excellent Nursery & Juvenile committees and a superb Games promotion officer mean that our numbers at Juvenile level continue to grow and thus we are starting all age groups in the same high level three team groups as Ballyboden, Kilmacud Crokes etc – the challenge for us is to ensure we stay there throughout the players development and they receive the requisite support and structures around them to ensure they reach their potential.

To that end, it is vital that we continue to implement our Strategic plan with a particular focus on Coaching & Games. This area is driven by our Coaching & Games committee, Chaired by Coaching Officer, Derek Murray. We will continue to focus on skills based training, the ‘Buddy’ system – where current players attach themselves to Juvenile team, ensuring out mentors have access to ongoing training courses and that all teams and mentors have support available where required. In 2013 we as a Club undertook a strategic review which examined our structures and objectives under a number of different headings. It has been and will continue to be beneficial to us in giving us a roadmap for the future. We are now into year three of this exercise and we continue to make progress and I am confident the plan will be fully implemented by its completion in 2018.

On the Finance side the Treasurers report will show that there is a decrease in our fundraising income for the second year running which is a concern. We have tried a number of different approaches regarding fundraising – from large events to several smaller events yet they are not proving a success in general. This is an area that we need to improve greatly on as the burden for the ongoing running of the club continues to fall on two few members. That notwithstanding, we continue to make inroads in historical debt and huge

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credit is due to the outgoing Treasurer, Ed O’Malley, for his work in this area over the last four years.

Another area of concern is the lack of people willing to contest positions on the Executive committee. Perhaps there is a perception that should you be elected onto the committee, you will be saddled with an unmanageable workload, or is there a perception of a ‘closed shop’? Neither could be further from the truth, and we would all like to see every position contested annually.

On a more positive note, the Monastery Road development continues to be a source of great pride to our members and to complete the first phase without incurring any further debt has been a great achievement and a compliment to the membership and wider community. Having been successful in receiving an allocation of €150,000 from the Sports Capital grants in October, our Development committee is currently investigating a number of options and costings – whatever option we choose however, it must be achievable within the twenty four month completion window. The next step for this process will be for the incoming Executive & Development committees to review the options and then hold an information night for our members.

The previous Chairman, Tony Delaney, in his report last year, spoke of the huge burden of our long term debt of €500,000. As you are aware, earlier this year we entered negotiations with a developer to sell a small parcel of scrap land, approximately one acre, and following an EGM in April where the membership approved this course of action, we are now at contracts stage and would hope to have the deal concluded after Christmas and realise a figure of approximately €400,000. We hope this will be the first step in a process that will lead to our club being debt free over the next ten years and allow future Executive committees to fully concentrate on helping our club reach its full potential.

September saw the return of Sam Maguire to Dublin and once again we were able to host Jim Gavin, Frank Roebuck and the Dublin panel. Huge crowds lined the streets of Clondalkin and as always, the Dublin players and management proved to be wonderful ambassadors for our games.

I would like to express my sincere gratitude and thanks to the many people and groups that work so hard for the benefit of this Club - the players and mentors who give so much commitment to wear the green and white jersey, the board delegates, our supporters who continue to turn out in big numbers, the sub-committee members who work with and support the Executive in carrying out the day to day business, all our local schools who work with us in promoting our Club and our sponsors who give us invaluable financial assistance.

Finally I would like to thank all of my colleagues on the Executive who have worked tirelessly over the last year; they have been hugely supportive and never shirked a challenge.

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Is mise le meas,

Niall Ó Connachtaín Cathaoirleach

Secretary’s Report 2015 Tuarascáil an Runaí

Is cuis mór áthas dom an tuarisc seo a chur ós bhur gcomhair anocht ag an ocáid mor seo an Cruinniú Bhliantúil Chumann an Chloigthí. It is an honour for me as Runai of Cumann an Chloigthi to present the annual report on club activities for 2015. I am thankful to the mentors and members who have submitted returns for inclusion in this report and hope that I have been able to give an accurate account and overview of club activities in the past year.

In what has been a very busy year for our club it’s been my privilege to perform the duties of Honorary Secretary and below are just some of the highlights:

 EGM - Agreement for proposed portion of land sale.  Dublin Senior Footballers All Ireland victory.  Jim Gavin and Frankie Roebuck homecoming with Dublin Senior Footballers.  Growth in Juvenile section & Nursery.  Club Family Day.  Increase in Sponsorship.

Significant progress has been made again throughout the club. On behalf of the Executive committee I thank again all who have contributed time, finances, ideas, energy, sponsorship, fundraising, etc for our club. There isn’t one among us that shouldn’t be proud of our modern day facilities and as a club we will continue to advance, grow and develop because of this.

The incoming Committee face difficulties on many fronts, not least the difficulty in meeting day to day expenditure and again will need the support of the membership to overcome these challenges. A historic EGM was held this year where the club members ratified overwhelmingly the executive to pursue an opportunity to sell a portion of unused land. This process has advanced considerably and a realisation of circa €400,000 should be achieved. It must be remembered that this is not for the day to day running costs of the club but primarily to reduce outstanding and historical debt. Therefore we can't rest on our laurels as the running costs of our club are ever increasing.

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Club Administration

Sincere thanks to all members who serve on the various sub-committees.

Adult Games: Bernie Cronin, Paddy Delaney, Frank Cosgrove, Shay Clifford, John Ryan.

Adult Hurling: Patrick Byrne, John Hoolan, Pat Lawless, Gerard Kessie, Brian Douglas.

Ladies Football: Marie Crotty, Jessica O’Malley, Dave Mc Cabe (Board Delegate)

Camogie: Ciara Ryan, Jenny Byrne, Eoin Ryan, Colm Kelly.

Juvenile Games: Liam McLoughlin (Chair), Sean McNamara (Secretary), Alan Milton, Mick O'Meara, Noel Kelly, Board Delegates & Juvenile Mentors.

Social: Phil O Connor, Annette Harrington, Carol Condon, Mary Douglas, Mark Hampston, Catherine Moran, Betty Ward, Martina Lyons, Amy Clifford

Disciplinary: Sean McNamara.

Lotto: John Ryan, Ray Verso, Eugene Garrigan, Sally Gilligan, Gerry McCabe, John Whelan, Gerry Banks.

Remembrance: Kitty Egan

Referees: Matthew McLoughlin, Adam Doyle, Declan Lyons, Heather McLoughlin, Micheal Walsh, Darren Gilligan Alan Gavin, Kevin O’Neill, Davey McCarthy, Eoghan Young, Chris Reid, Robert Doyle, Dave McCabe, Philip Carr, Andrew Cummins, Liam MacLaughlin.

H. Board Delegates: Dave Mc Cabe.

F. Board Delegates: Paddy Delaney (CCC), Bernie McLaughlin (CCC2), Eric Byrne & Mark Hampson (CCC1)

Ladies F. Board Del. Dave Mc Cabe (Leinster Council Delegate)

County Board Officials: Niall Connaughton - CLG Central Council Committee Member. Bernie MacLaughlin -

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Member of Bord na Nóg & County Youth Officer. Philip Carr - Juvenile Referees Tutor.

County Management: Jim Gavin - Dublin Senior Manager

Development: Brian Douglas (Chair), Patrick Byrne, Paul Swaine, Barry Gavin, Sinead McNulty

Development Finance: John Whelan (Chair), Bernie Cronin, Alan Milton, Mary Dardis.

GPO Steering: Liam McLaughlin Catherine Moran, Alan Milton, Neil Reilly, Mark Hampson, Tony Delaney

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Juvenile Section – Roinn na nOg:

Chairpersons Report - Juvenile Section (Roinn na nOg) 2015

As you will see from the following juvenile reports, we are very fortunate to have so many people willing to give of their time taking out juvenile teams, undergoing coaching courses and providing an opportunity for the youth of Clondalkin to participate in Gaelic Games. We have many men and women playing a very active part in promoting, camogie, both girls and boy’s football as well as hurling.

I must say that it very heartening to see the dedication and enthusiasm displayed by so many people as they go about their business in a quiet determined manner on a weekly basis. Their willingness to invest time in improving their own coaching skills, their dedication to the youth in their charge and their promotion of our games augurs well for the future of our Juvenile Section and the club as a whole. At some age groups where we struggled to field we were fortunate to have mentors who stuck with it and with the co-operation of other age groups managed to keep teams going.

I would like to acknowledge and thank all the mentors and players who make up the juvenile section who represented all codes with distinction throughout the year. Also the many parents who actively supported their children and the club on the sidelines on a weekly basis. It is great to go to matches and see such support for so many of our teams.

Thanks to the many sponsors of our juvenile teams that you will see mentioned in individual reports. Particular thanks to Etihad who came on board as Roinn na nOg sponsors through our local Clondalkin Travel and The Irish Fairy Door for Nursery Sponsorship.

The year gone by has provided us with many highlights such as:

 U 14 Footballers getting promoted to Division 2  Girls U14’s reaching Championship Final  Sterling performances in Hurling, Camogie, boys and girls Football Feile competitions  Super showing by U 14 hurlers in Leinster Feile  U 12 and U14 Hurlers just narrowly missing out on promotion  Nursery continues to go from strength to strength with growing numbers and parental involvement (great to see so many former players with the next generation)  The growing numbers of dual mentors and players from U7 to U12  Ability to compete in three team leagues with larger clubs  Hosting visit of boys and girls from Glasgow  Involvement of a number of adult players as buddies to some juvenile football and hurling teams  League and Blitz nights in Monastery Road  Schools coaching and blitzes organized by GPO

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 Family fun day where many of our juvenile mentors put on novelty events to raise club funds and the mentors who got together to organize the day  School visits of Sam Maguire and Dubs together with Jim, Frank and Sean with support of mentors.

It has been a privilege to serve as Juvenile Chairman for the past year with an active juvenile committee whose aim is to facilitate the growth of Roinn na nOg helping mentors to raise overall standards in coaching and playing. Whilst we have not been able to get to all that we would have liked I genuinely believe that we have continued to build on the work of previous committees.

We have had a number of mentor workshops early in the year where mentors have looked at where they are, what ambitions they have, what success will look like for them and what needs to be done to achieve that success. We also had a good attendance for night with Oisin Mc Conville set up by Alan where he gave us a very frank an open insight into what makes Crossmaglen so successful. In addition we have had coaching initiatives delivered by James Glancy, GPO for new mentors, nursery mentors and team coaches.

I would like to thank in particular our extremely efficient and hard- working Juvenile Secretary Sean Mc Namara who deals with so much correspondence, queries and juvenile pitch allocation. Without Sean I don’t know how the section could function (be nice to the muinteoir!). Sincere thanks to Alan Milton who has taken a very active and prominent leadership role in a number of Juvenile matters, Mick O Meara who has been a stalwart at committee, Noel Kelly who was so generous with his time in helping myself to get to know the ropes. Last but not least the three wise ladies Catherine, Betty and Gemma plus their helpers who do so much to keep the not only the nursery but also the section running.

Mise Le Meas

Liam Mac Lochlainn

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Games Promotion Officer (GPO)

It has been my great pleasure to oversee the recruitment of players and the development of underage activities in the vibrant and progressive club that is Round Towers. As the year end approaches, I would like to record my thanks to the Club Executive for all their help, guidance and co-operation throughout the year and in particular Niall Connaughton, Martin Ryan, Ed O’Malley and Mick McGlynn. I’m sure Mick and Ed sigh loudly whenever they see my number come up!

Schools In excess of 600 children are coached on a weekly basis in the eleven National Schools in the Club area. This is the foundation of which the future success of the club will be based. I would like to record my thanks to Gerry Banks for his help throughout the year and especially in the organisation of the successful School Blitzes.

Nursery Our Nursery numbers on a Saturday morning have swelled to an all-time high of over 160 attendees. This is a fantastic sight for all to see and would not be possible without the many people that make it happen but in particular all the parents that bring their children and help out at the sessions.

Clubs Camps Our Easter and Summer camp numbers rose again this year. These are a vital club initiative and large numbers will channel into the Kellogg’s Cúl Camps. Each child who attended received a specially commissioned football which were generously sponsored by the Irish Fairydoor Company.

Mini Leagues Our Mini Leagues which ran in September were a resounding success and credit is due to the enthusiasm of the team mentors who facilitated their successful execution.

Workshops I facilitated a number of workshops throughout the year with the aim of upskilling the coaches to qualify for the various levels. I was encouraged by the level of interest by our younger members to become coaches, the eagerness of all the coaches to upskill and the levels of attendance at all the courses.

Sponsorship A club man and woman were not found wanting when approached to sponsor the Club Nursery and Club Camps at the start of the year with the Irish Fairydoor Company coming on board as the main sponsor. A sincere thanks to Gavin & Aoife Lawler and all associated with their company for investing in the youth of the club. The by word for the Fairydoor

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Company is “to create memorable family moments and a little magic all year round – all YOU need to do is believe!” – does this not apply to all the workings of our Club?

GAA.ie I was delighted to get the opportunity to profile Clondalkin and Round Towers GAA Club in my interview titled “My Clubs and I” with the National GAA Website - GAA.ie. I hope it has increased the profile of the club?

Sam Maguire The highlight of the year was the visit of Sam Maguire to the schools of the area in October and what was especially satisfying was the fact that Sam Maguire arrived with Jim Gavin, Dublin Team Manager who despite his county commitments is very much a Round Towers man through and through. My dream would be that one day some of our young players will have the supreme honour of wearing the Dublin jersey in Croke Park just as Jim himself did.

Thanks My work on a Saturday morning is made so much easier thanks to the help I receive from Catherine Moran, Gemma Carr, Noel Kelly, Seán McNamara, Liam MacLaughlin, Betty Ward, Alan Milton, Niall Reilly, John & Angela Quinlan, Brian Douglas, the juvenile players and many others who put in massive work on a week-to-week basis. If I have left anyone out I sincerely apologise. These volunteers are so inspirational in their drive to develop the underage structures of the club. The Nursery would not be the success it is without the work they do behind the scenes. A special thanks to Niall Reilly. He has been a rock of support to me since my arrival at the club. His enthusiasm, organisation skills and love of the club is unquantifiable and I have no doubt he will flourish in the role of U8 manager in 2016. A special word of thanks also to Sean McNamara and Catherine Moran for everything they do for the club - be it the Nursery, Club juvenile issues, attending meetings, coaching courses, pitch allocation, Sam Maguire!! They know no bounds and I greatly appreciate their willing support.

I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Round Towers and I am so grateful to all the officers and club members who have accepted me as just one of their own. I look forward to continuing my involvement with such a marvellous and welcoming club that fulfils every aspect of the role of the GAA in the community.

Míle buiochas,

James Glancy Games Promotion Officer

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Child Protection Officer:

Overall structures are working well. GAA are currently reviewing relevant courses and we will continue to run these accordingly for mentors in the new year. Just a reminder to any new mentors that they will require Garda vetting and the CPO course to mentor any underage player. New vetting forms have been issued by County Board.

There has been a good response to the initiative of having a defibrillator at our home matches and I thank mentors for arranging the collection of this potentially lifesaving device. Much of this is organised through a simple phone call.

Michelle Walsh

Football and Hurling Academy (Nursery) Sponsor: Irish Fairy Doors

Background Our nursery re-convened with the commencement of the school year in September coinciding with a great period for Gaelic games in the capital.

A special awareness push was organised by club GDO James Glancy and some other volunteers which saw a massive increase in numbers attending. These figures reached 170 on one Saturday at Monastery Road. These figures included players who will form next year's U7 teams to be managed by Neil O'Reilly and they started to organise themselves separately and organise blitzes against various clubs.

Communications In addition to the leaflet drops at schools and the use of our various platforms to promote the activities of the nurseries a concerted effort was made to enhance the data of both players and parents to include their schools and parent email addresses and phone numbers.

We now have a designated nursery mailing list which facilities weekly communication with parents and guardians about nursery arrangements.

Support and Sponsorship A special word of thanks is due to Gavin Lawlor and Irish Fairy Doors for their generous and valued support of the nursery.

This support has enabled us to subsidise jerseys for large numbers of children raising awareness visually of the club throughout Clondalkin and ensuring our budding footballers and hurlers have their own club colours at a very early stage in their development.

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Mentor recruitment A concerted effort was made to entice new coaching talent to assist with our growing numbers and the response was encouraging.

James Glancy organised an entry level coaching session to assist those who had never trained teams before and this was followed by another dual code coaching success in mid-November.

Buíochas and 2016 plans It would be our intention to rename and rebrand the 'nursery' in the coming year for a variety of reasons - chiefly to get away from any suggestion that our Saturday morning is in someway a babysitting service.

It takes a dedicated team to ensure the nursery functions as effectively as it does on a weekly basis. Catherine Moran and Gemma Carr - and their team are hugely important to the whole operation. John Quinlan, Brian Douglas and Niall O'Reilly organise and set up the equipment and drills on a weekly basis and Ken Byrne's assistance in establishing the data base was appreciated.

Our mentors - some new, some not so new, all play a vital role so a special word of thanks is due to them. For fear of omitting someone, they are not listed here.

We had special visitors such as Bernard Brogan, Ryan O'Dwyer, Sam Maguire and Liam MacCarthy in the opening weeks of this year's nursery and hope to entertain more county players in the weeks and months ahead.

Finally, a special GRMA to our club GPO James Glancy for his ongoing input to the nursery. It is the driver for our juvenile section which can be viewed as the driver for the entire club. It is also the first point of contact for many parents/ guardians and to that end it is imperative we are as organised with as many skilled coaches as possible to fully exploit the potential of the numbers we are now attracting.

Go raibh maith agaibh.

Alan MacMaoldúin - Coiste Roinn na nÓg

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Juvenile Football & Hurling

Under 7 Boys Football/Hurling Lead Mentor: Niall Reilly Sponsor: None

Following the re-start of our club nursery in September after the summer break this team was formally put together at the start of October initially with graduate boys from our club nursery. The numbers have grown over the past 2 months and the current team stands at approximately 40 boys. We also have a great team of mentors being put in place without whom our team could not survive;

Stephen Homan Ken Coy James Kenny Brian Graham Paul Wisely Duncan Banks David Adams Mark Ward Mark Matanes Dwane Jones

The team train every Monday evening rotating between Hurling and Football every other week. We have played challenge matches every Saturday morning and following on from our first match against Na Gael Óga on 3rd October we have played both home and away fixtures against Thomas Davis, Clanna Gael, St. Pats Palmerstown and Lucan Sarsfields with tremendous success.

We are currently looking for team sponsors who are interested in helping out with sponsorship of all the equipment required when setting up a new team. We are working together with the Juvenile committee to put this in place before our Go Games leagues start in early 2016. A special thank you to the boys U8, U9 and U10 football and the U8 Camóige teams who continue to help us out with matchday equipment and shared training sessions.

I would like to thank all involved with the setting up and running of this new team, I would like to particularly thank all the parents for the huge support on matchday over the past 2 months and as a team we are looking forward to an enjoyable and successful 2016 season of Go Games

Go raibh maith agat Niall Reilly

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Under 8 – Boys Hurling and Football Mentors: Frank McKenna, Paul Lindopp, John O’Malley, Paudge Byrne. League: Southside, 3 Team League (Go-Games) Gormanstown Indoor Hurling Tournament. Sponsors: McKenna Construction (Frank McKenna) Braudstone Motors (Michael Fogarty)

Our year kicked off in January when we entered a team in the Gormanstown Hurling tournament. The tournament runs for 6 weeks and was a great introduction to competition for the lads. Our numbers grew from 9 on the first weekend to 20 on the final day.

It was straight into Go–Games after that with Hurling and Football on consecutive weekends. We train for hurling on Tuesdays and Football on Thursdays. We have grown our numbers to 44 during the year although 8 of those will be under 8 again next year. Our league has pitted us against the likes of Kilmacud Crokes, Lucan Sarsfields, Balinteer etc. some of the biggest names in juvenile games in the county. We are delighted with the standard of play in these games and our teams have been comfortable at this level, one of the highlights was beating Crokes comprehensively in Stillorgan in one of our early encounters. (Games are non-competitive of course.....)

A special word of thanks to our GPO James Glancy for his work promoting the games in our schools and creating contacts with the club. It has worked very well for us. We look forward to 2016 with great enthusiasm when we will have 3 teams of 9 players contesting go-games.

A special word of thanks to all our parents who have been fantastic all year. The boys are reaping the benefit of your commitment.

A highlight of the year was a trip to Croke Park for the Stadium Tour and a visit to the GAA museum.

Thanks to Paddy Morris and Noel Kelly for their help getting us up and running, to Mick McGlynn for uploading our weekly updates to the website and to Liam and Sean for their support during the year.

Towers Abu.

Under 9 Boys Football & Hurling Mentors: Liam Walsh, Patrick Morris, Sean Flynn, Lorcan Downey and Ray Donnan. League: Go Games Sponsor: Ciaran Carr Foundation

We had a great year maintaining 3 teams in both football and hurling. We were competitive throughout and we feel we have made great strides in developing the kids in terms of skills. We have found this year that we are 28ú Samhain 2015 Page 16

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sharing a lot of kids with other sports, especially soccer. This has meant that we have struggled some weekends with numbers. We have tried very hard to increase parent buy in to our team but this is a slow process and we would be grateful for any help persons in the club could lend. The lady who collects our subs has recently left and we could do with someone to collect them, ideally someone that could run this making sure that everyone pays and also that everyone has paid insurance. We have a bunch of very talented and enthusiastic kids who are a credit to the club.

Under 10 Football Mentors: Gavin Lawler, Kevin Walsh, Jimmy Coleman & Alan Casey Level: Go Games Sponsor: None

We entered three teams (9 a side) in the league in 2015. Numbers were consistent throughout the year with 30 plus on match days. The school blitzes and mini leagues which were run by the GPO boosted our numbers further and we regularly have 40 at training.

Home matches moved from Corkagh Park to the Community Centre in September which has been very beneficial with parents, kids and coaches preferring the new venue. The all-weather pitch continues to benefit with training continuing throughout the year.

We entered a mini All Ireland in Celbridge in August which was a great experience for the kids who played teams from Kerry, Down, Westmeath and Dublin on the way to the Quarter Final. The kids also had the opportunity to play in Croke Park at half time during the Kildare v Longford Minor Championship Final in July. This was a great experience and we would like to thank the club for giving us this opportunity.

The kids have continued to develop with improved skill levels and teamwork reflected in some excellent team performances however there is a big gap in levels at this stage with a big effort needed to keep all of the kids interested and focused.

Under 10 Hurling Team Mentors: Gavin Lawler, Kevin Walsh, Jimmy Coleman Level: Go Games Sponsor: None

We entered three teams (9 a side) in the All County league in 2015. The kids and coaches enjoyed their first taste of playing teams outside of the Southside and acquitted themselves very well in the league.

Numbers were consistent throughout the year however we struggled to get 27 out on match days and will have to drop to a 2 team league next year.

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We are working off a panel of 24 which is about 16 lower than the u10 football. Any new kids who joined were not interested in hurling. The all-weather pitch continues to benefit with training continuing throughout the year although space is limited as we share with two other teams.

We entered 2 teams in the Gormanston Indoor Hurling Tournament during January and February which was excellent preparation for the season. We also entered an O’Tooles Hurling Blitz in September and had our usual challenges with Commercials.

The kids who are talented and enthusiastic would benefit from some additional coaching as we do not have hurling expertise in our group of mentors. Keith Murray and Mark Hampson have taken some sessions lately which was a great help. Liam Walsh took some Sunday sessions before the summer.

Under 11 Football & Hurling Mentors: Paul Swayne & Brian Kirk League: Go Games Sponsor: None

Under 11's football and hurling team started out in January of this year and was a follow on from the under 10 team of last year. This group is made up of those born in 2004

Numbers have been good and consistent throughout the year, with between 20 – 28 kids in football and 16 – 20 kids in hurling although we could do with more kids in hurling

We have been competing in South Dublin Go Games where we have 2 football teams and 2 hurling teams. We have had moderate success with both teams with a very dedicated bunch of kids.

In Football at the start of the year we competed in section 2B and both teams enjoyed great success as a result in September we moved up to Section 2A which is proving more challenging but rapid improvements are being made.

In Hurling we have competed in Section 2A and this has been challenging throughout the year, we decided to stay at this level after the summer break and steady improvements have been made. The under 10 hurling group provided great back up throughout the year.

We also get a lot of support from parents who help out both at training and on match days. George Hughes, Paul Lindopp, Kieran Downey, Bernard Rose & David Whyte all of which have been a great help and will continue to coach and help going forward.

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Training currently takes place in the Monastery Road astro pitches at 5.45pm Tuesday (football) & Wednesday (hurling). Match day venue is Community Centre We also have additional training sessions using the hurling wall on selected Sunday afternoons where parents / players interact more and it will improve the skills of the players.

For next year we will have 2 football teams competing at Under 12 and due to numbers we will have one hurling team initially.

We have managed to secure a sponsor for next year. Reilly’s Life Pharmacy will provide sponsored jerseys for our teams next year.

Geraldine Finnegan looks after all our registration, subs, teamer etc, and has also completed the child protection course as well.

Under 12 Football Mentors: Mark Hampson, Robert Doyle, Keith Murray League: Divisions 3 & 8 Sponsors: Pieta House

Football numbers are good with 40 on the books. We had two teams this season who competed well in their respective leagues(divisions 3+8). We are sorted for jerseys and equipment but will need new footballs for upcoming season. We had great help from Derek Murray this season and hopefully he can continue as our buddy for the next season as this has been a great help to all involved.

We will be going forward with the two teams and also be bringing in some new personnel on the coaching side. We will also be working hard on increasing player numbers to ensure all players have a team to play in. All is good in the under 12 football section and we have great plans going forward and good people coming in.

Under 12 Hurling Mentors: Robert Doyle, Keith Murray League: Division 5 Sponsors: Pieta House

At the end of the year we have 22 players, the same number that we started with. We finished joint second in the league along with 4 other teams. We lost out in a play off for promotion.

At the end of August we had a great day out in the Camaint. We lost in the semi final to St Sylvesters after extra time. They play in a league above us, so that showed us what the lads are capable of when they are showing their true form.

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Half of the players are in secondary school and the other half start in September 2016. It's a big step in their lives as they get more homework, have a longer day and some of them are involved in a lot of school sports teams which means they are tired coming to training with Towers. I feel we need to be aware of this and be careful of the demands we place on our players.

We look forward to 2016 as under 13 hurlers when we can play 15 players on an adult pitch, for 60 minutes. Cumann an Chloigthí abú.

Under 13 Football Mentors: Ed O’Malley, Eugene Garrigan. League Division 5 Sponsor: The Treetop Restaurant

We had a good year finishing mid table with some very fine performances versus the top teams with a couple of marginal losses. With a panel of 23 now we're looking forward to next year and hopefully promotion. We have two players on the Dublin development squad. Adam Byrne and Garreth O'Brien

Special thanks to team assistants Helen O'Meara, Michelle Walsh and Anita Barry without whom we could not have functioned again this year.

We'd like to wish Eugene a speedy recovery and look forward to his return. A huge thanks also to Richie Harney who came on board and has been a marvelous help in Eugene's absence.

Under 13 Hurling Mentors: Mick O'Meara, Philip Quinlivan, Paul Bevan, Helen O'Meara(Admin) League: Division 4 Sponsor: Canteen Ireland

Round Towers under 13 Hurling Team currently has a panel of 20 players, training takes place on Thursday evenings from 18.45 – 19.45 Monastery Rd.

2015 has been relatively successful for this group of players, we competed in D4, finishing the year in 3rd place on the back of a 7 match unbeaten run. We had 3 players represent the club on the Dublin U13 Hurling Development squad, 2 currently still on the panel.

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Under 14 Football Mentors: Mick Broderick, Denis Kelly, Paul Whelan, Dean Alford. League: Division 3 Sponsor: Mooney’s Cars

The core objective for the management was to continue to develop the proficiency and skill levels of the players. We also set ourselves a target of promotion at the start of the year.

We maintained a panel of 23 players. We worked hard with panel to ensure they played to the best of their ability and as a result had a very successful year. Promotion was achieved as well as claiming the league title. We also represented the club in the Feile this year. We were graded to division 2 for Feile and we held our own at this level, winning one match, losing one match & narrowly conceding the 3rd Game. Thanks to the players and their parents who continuously support and attend the matches regularly. Also a special thanks to all the Round Towers members who travelled and supported us in our league final play off. The passion and support from the side-line was brilliant and long may it continue. We look forward to the year and challenges ahead and playing U15 football in Division 2 which is an extremely competitive league.

Under 14 Hurling Mentors: Eric Byrne, Paul Whelan, Mick Jordan. League: Division 2 County Rep: Alex O Neill , Joe Murray Sponsor: Mooney’s Cars

A good years hurling from the lads. We finished third place in division 2 and had a great run in Feile. We got through the group stage and lost out in the semi final but earned a place in the All Ireland Feile in which we won two matches and lost one in County Offaly. Five U13 hurlers boosted our numbers during both events and are a credit to Mick O Meara and his management team. A huge following and club support were present during both Feile weekends. The teams parents were fantastic as always. Special thanks to Sean McNamara and Liam Mc Loughlin for constant support throughout.

Our numbers are holding steady at 21 and hopefully this will increase over the winter months. Great to see so many juvenile and senior teams competing in both championship and league in both codes at a very high standard. Towers Abú! Eric

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Under 15 Football Mentor: Mark Casey, Kevin Bermingham, Richie Harney League: Division 6 Championship: C Championship Sponsor: None

The under 15's had difficulty getting numbers at start of season but this improved as more players joined or came back. League season started poorly but the team finished strongly and finished 3rd. With the addition of some under 14's the team reached the semi-finals of the championship eventually losing to Craobh Ciaran(who won final) in a hard fought match. The mentors would like to thank the under 14 management for all their help during season.

Great credit goes to all the players who worked hard in improving their skills and fitness during season. Mark, Kevin and Richie were delighted with attitude shown by all the players and they also wish to thank the parents who gave us great support during season.

Under 16 Football Mentor: Gary Behan, John O’ Malley League: Division 4 Championship: B Championship Sponsor: None

For the Under 16 football team, 2015 started with a good win in the St Annes tournament at Bohernabreena, with wins over St Peregrines and St Annes at the end of January giving Towers a taste of early season silverware.

The team kicked off the league campaign with a comprehensive victory over Craobh Ciaran at the Community Centre. This was followed by a narrow defeat away to St Finnbars. The following series of matches were to prove difficult with player numbers low due to a combination of injuries and the loss of some players. The first round Championship match played against St Peregrines saw a depleted team narrowly loose out to St Peregrines in the last kick of the game.

This meant a run out against St Maurs in the Shield at the community centre. A fantastic match, going to extra time saw Towers move to the semi-final with a great win with stand-out performances by Robert Butler in goal, Sean Casey, Lewis Fagan and Adam Behan with Conor Flannery and Eoin Murphy controlling midfield in a tough battle. In the semi-final, on a fine afternoon at the community centre, Naomh Oliver Plunketts won out by a single point but a great performance by all from Towers involved and a goal by Conor Flynn followed by great points from Conor Flannery and Killian Byrne. Conor Flynn embarked on a fine scoring run in the next few games, scoring 5 goals in 3 games and taking a big step forward this season. The season finished with victories over St Annes and St 28ú Samhain 2015 Page 22

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Finnbars offering encouragement for the group going forward to the minor team next year.

During the year, numbers were supplemented by the Under 15s with Sean Casey, Liam O Connor and Lee Moran putting in some great performances.

Particular appreciation is due to Mark Casey, Kevin Bermingham and Richie Harney who were a great support all year. A big thanks to Martina Lyons, Sean Flynn and John O Malley who put in a huge effort over the last few years as part of the mentoring team as well as to all parents who supported us with lifts and side line shouts. Best of luck to Sean Flynn, moving to the Under 9 coaching team, they are lucky to get you! I would like to take this opportunity to wish the very best of luck to all players moving to the minor team. This is a strong group of players with great potential and it has been a pleasure to work with you all over the past five years.

Gary Behan

Juvenile Ladies Football

Under 8 Girls Football Mentor: Alice Dodrill, Linda Keogh, Aoife Lawler, Carol Cryon (Admin) League: Go-games Sponsor: The Irish Fairy Door Company

The mentors had to work hard at the start of the year because half the girls had to play for the u9s due to their date of birth. However we dug deep and now are working with a squad of 26.

The year commenced with a Football blitz held on Sunday 08th March 2015; This was a joint event organised by U9s & U8s Mentors. In all, 8 Clubs participated (18 Teams); approx. 140. U8 girls were mixed in with the new u9s as we thought a farewell blitz would be a nice way for them to split into their new teams .

On the 05th June the squad turned out for the respective schools during the very successful mini league day at Monastery Rd.The U8 mentors went up to support the current GPO James Clancy. We have had the pleasure in having James facilitate a couple of our sessions and both the mentors and players have benefited immensely through the wealth of experience James has. We have got 3 new players from the GPO’s coaching programme in the schools. Thank you to the GPO and the Club's respective officials for their continued support in this area.

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Participation in the Go-Games U8’s South side league followed from March through to October with a one off blitz organised by the county board in November and hosted by Kilmacud Crokes.

This is the 2nd year running that the U8’s & the U9’s mentors pooled their resources to man a stand for the Club's family fun day.

Currently the U8’s Girl Footballers share the astro at Monastery Rd with the U8 boys and U9 girl’s footballers every Thursday at 5:45; with the numbers continuing to grow for each team it is acknowledged that space on the astro is getting tighter.

The U8’s Girl Footballers coaching sessions are designed in accordance with the GAA Fun do programme in order to ensure that the basic skills of Gaelic Football are shown., addressing the key teaching points of each skill with fundamental basics being taught. The Girls have also been given their own football skills booklet to bring home and practice the various skills; this will insure the kids are keeping active while getting an opportunity to practise their technique. This also will improve movement quality and help the players strive towards personal achievements. The U8 girls and their families are fully engaging and having a lot of fun while they are at it.

Girls Football U-12 Mentors: Marie Crotty & Ken Barry, Fiona Morley & Michelle Meehan (Admin) League: Small-sided games Team Sponsor: Thermal Insulation

Our games started mid-March and we had matches every Sunday up to October. Our panel gets bigger & bigger every month. Congrats to Aoife Kennedy who made the U-12Dublin development. We are delighted with the turnout of the players every week at training. The girls are making great progress and most of all at this age enjoying it.

We are in a league next year and it’s looking like Div.3. It’s a big ask as we are a young team with a lot of the girls only going 12 next years but I think we are ready for it they all can play football.

These kids are a joy to work with and I can only see good things ahead. I would like to thank all the parents of the U12 for your support over the year and looking forward to working with you and your children in 2016.

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Ladies Football U-14 Mentors: Annette Harrington, Gwynne Fahey, Carol Condon League: Division 5 League, Championship and Feile Team Sponsor: Caddens Pharmacy

We started the year with approx. 18 players we now have 23. Our Captain Emma O Malley represented Dublin this year. Highlights of the year: Feile 2015, Championship Final which we were runners up and runners up in the Division 5 league.

We had the pleasure of hosting Coatbridge Davitts from Glasgow with the under 14 boys which was a huge success and resulted in some of our girls being chosen to play at half time in Croke park for the All Ireland Semi Final.

We also hosted Belfast Sarsfield in a friendly match on Ladies All Ireland Final Sunday; this again proves that our girls represent Round Towers Clondalkin on a local and inter county/country level and did so proudly.

We would like to extend a huge thanks to Alice Dodrall from the under 8 girls who came on board to help us out throughout the championship campaign it was much appreciated.

The Mentors, players and parents of the U 12 girls who took part in feile and also some of our championship matches too we couldn’t have done it without them.

All our of parents who stand on the side lines at every match and always on hand to help out when asked from first aid to team photos.

We have a great team who always set up the pitches, goals etc Kevin, Eamonn, Paul and Austin again couldn’t do without them. Jessica O Malley is also a huge part of the running of our team. Tommy Keogh as always for great pics. There was a huge support from the club as a whole during feile from the u14 boy’s parents to Paddy Delaney lining the pitches. Again thanks to everyone.

Juvenile Camogie

Under 8 Camogie Mentors: Angela Quinlan League: Go-Games Team Sponsor:

Under 8 camogie started the season off with a squad of 10 girls. Manager Angela Quinlan was helped by Sue Kelly, Bernard O’Sullivan and recently by James Sullivan and Maebh Milton. Sue Rafferty took on the

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demanding job of taking the subs. Fiona Walsh has been a great help throughout the season, as she turned up at all training sessions and at some cluster blitzes and the girls responded really well to her.

We focussed throughout the season on our basic skills whilst trying to maintain a fun element and a strong sense of playing with a team. We played in 10 cluster blitzes over the season and the girls made great progress with each blitz. As the season continued numbers grew from 10 girls out training on the first night to a regular group of 28.

At the start of the season Round Towers were entered into the one team league however after the summer break we re-entered into the two team league. The girls are from a range of schools with the majority coming from Gaelscoil Cluain Dolcain and Clonburris. Parents were a great support to the mentors and were always willing to help and there was plenty of cheering on the sideline.

Out of the 28 girls playing with us, half of them will move on to become under 9 next year while the others will remain at under 8 level which not only fills the gap in regards to years but will give us a great starting point for next season. Our aim next year is to continue our progress and to increase our numbers so that the following year we can continue to fill the age gaps. We have a great bunch of girls who are enthusiastic and very welcoming so to anyone with daughters or nieces etc make sure to get them down to training!

Under 10 Camogie Mentors: Claudia O'Flynn, Veronica Morris League: Go-Games, Cluster Blitz Team Sponsor:

This group is going from strength to strength and has, as a result, expanded to a panel size of 26. With an average team turnout of 12 at a match in the first half of the year, this number has increased to 18 in the second half.

For 2015, we had registered only one team; however, the increase in panel size has enabled us to enter 2 teams to participate in some cluster blitz competitions in the latter end of the year and translates into more match time for all players.

It is planned to register two teams in 2016. Mentors Claudia O’Flynn and Veronica Morris are doing an excellent job coaching the girls to Go Games skills and rules. This year’s focus was on air hurling skills and fun. There will be a skills assessment at the end of this year or early next year to ensure all ground hurling skills including proper grip are reinforced (especially for the newer players) and newly acquired air hurling skills are executed correctly by each player. Much done but always more to do!

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Under 12 Camogie Mentors: Colm Kelly, Declan Gregg, Yasmine O’Neill League: Go-Games Team Sponsor: EP Mooney

As of November 2015, we have grown our panel now to 26 players, with an average attendance of 20 players at each training session and at our matches. The U12 team have been participating in the U12a one team league. Admittedly we probably could have stretched to 2 teams, but we were not quite sure at the start of the season on our numbers, as the switch to Saturday proved problematic as some of our girls had pre-existing commitments. Thankfully, all of the girls have come on board now.

Unfortunately for us, our high numbers meant that we were playing other teams who maybe only had 9-12 players for each match. With our policy of making sure that all players get good game time, it meant that some of our results suffered. Our ambition though is to follow the player pathway strategy and this is starting to bring positive results with some notable wins in our last few league games, challenge matches and blitzes. We also have 3 of our girls have made the Dublin School of Excellence squad.

Under 15 Camogie Mentors: Les Clarke, Niamh Kearney League: Division 2 League Championship: B, Gp 1 Team Sponsor: DVP Vegetables, JJ Young Meats

Following a fantastic season at U14 the team were promoted to Division 2 of the league and found ourselves in a very tough Championship group. We had little luck in the Championship. However, the girls did very well in the league, managing to hold their own in some very tough and competitive games. We have a panel of 18 players now, 1 of whom Hannah Clarke plays on the Dublin Development U14 squad. It is worth noting that most of the panel could play at U14 (two could play U13) if we had enough players for one team at each age group.

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Adult Football & Hurling

Minor Football Mentor: Kevin Gilligan, Colm Halpin, Tony Delaney. League: Division 3 Championship: B Championship Sponsor: Bill Griffin

The minor football season started with a trip to play Erins Isle. We were a little off the pace and were well beaten on the day. The player's responded in the right manner to this defeat and worked hard in training to ensure we beat the eventual league winners St. Anne's in a physical game in Monastery Road.

This improvement continued for the next two games where some great football was played in overcoming St Finbarrs & St Peregrines. A mid season blip away to Clanna Gael and at home to Ballyboden meant we couldn't win the league but after a long layoff we returned to finish the league strongly with a win against Na Fianna.

The season broke for exams and we returned at the end of the summer to compete in the championship. We were put in a strong group with Thomas Davis, Cuala & Craobh Chiarain. We travelled to Kiltipper for the first game and played some of our best football of the year. Unfortunately, a break in our concentration for five minutes in the second half let Thomas Davis overturn a four point lead. The players never stopped battling and we even hit the crossbar in the last couple of minutes which would have tied the game.

Cuala were a very big and physical side, playing some fast football, we never gave up but ended up losing the game. Craobh Chiarain conceded the last game disappointingly as we were looking forward to finishing the season on a strong note.

Overall the season was very positive for both players and management. The players reacted well to the training and were always willing to put in 100 per cent at all time. The season was a little disjointed but the commitment from the players never waned. Numbers were strong throughout as was the effort.

A big thanks to all the parents for their help and support and all other members who came to the games.

Thanks also to Bill Griffin for sponsoring a set of jerseys.

Finally, best of luck to all the second year minors who hopefully will go on to represent the club at adult level and if they continue to show the same commitment, energy and skill level the club is in a good place. We are now looking forward to moving on with a new group and

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hopefully continue on with a successful season in 2016.

Minor Hurling Mentor: Kevin Gilligan, Andy Wynne, Ivor Williams, Pat Lawless. League: Division 3 Championship: C Championship Sponsor: South Dublin Autos

Our Minor hurlers played Div3 league and gave a good account of themselves finishing mid table.

We were not as fortunate in the championship group as we failed to qualify for the semi final spot.

These are a very hard working group of young men and hopefully will represent our club at adult hurling level.

To parents and Supporters a big THANK YOU.

Under 21 Football Mentors: Paul Lanigan, Willie Kennedy, Alan Milton, Michael Mc Glynn Championship: B (last 16)

We faced up to a very tough draw at the first hurdle of the B Championship, lined up against Whitehall Colmcille. Our lads were extremely competitive but unfortunately fell short against a strong opposition. There were plenty of positives to take from the short campaign. The team will lose only two members of the panel for next year’s championship, with the team consisting of minor and junior footballers, and some having already made a breakthrough to Senior Football. Another year playing adult football will stand to this group of players.

Under 21 Hurling Mentors: Paidi Stapleton ,Shane Byrne, Podge Mc Geever Championship: B (last 16) Sponsorship: Red Cow Hotel

Our U21 hurlers played Castleknock in the B championship and were narrowly beaten by 1 point. This was a great performance by a very young team that are all u21 next year bar one player.

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Senior Football Mentors: Mick Hyland, Eamonn Connolly, Simon Owens, Stephen Leonard (Strength & Conditioning) League: Division 2 (2nd Place - Playoff) Championship: B (Semi Final) Sponsorship: EMBAR Construction

On a personal level, although the outcome in the semi final of the league was disappointing, I cannot express enough, the satisfaction that I got from being involved with a dedicated and committed bunch of men. On behalf of my management team I would like to say it was an honor and privilege to be in their company.

I took over reasonably late in the year where we suffered our only defeat in the league, to the hands of Lucan Sarsfieds on a wet miserable day. After that encounter we all decided to knuckle down and give Division 2 a real go, with the expectation of getting promoted to Division 1. This was very much in our sights when we more or less demolished most of the "favoured teams". Unfortunately it wasn't to be, as we suffered a defeat ( against the odds ) to Skerries Harps in the Semi Final play off.

The A Championship seemed to run on the same vain with an unfancied St Annes beating us then. After a great run in the B Championship we fell to Cuala in the semi final, who were eventual winners of the Senior B championship.

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my management team for the way they conducted themselves the whole year with professionalism and expertise. I am very grateful for all their help, understanding, and know how. I would truly recommend them to be involved with any team in the future.

Thanks so kindly to Billy Passmore and Jason Joyce who worked tirelessly to get our lads fit again and ready to play football at the highest level. I would also like to thank Frank Costello and Louise O Connor for looking after the Jerseys and making us look clean and professional on match day, not forgetting Frank for the welcome cups of tea in the winter months. To one of the most dedicated supporters and my "Water Girl" Niamh Joyce thank you, as you were great, and you're words of encouragement were always taken on board. To the umpires and Linesmen that offered their services, a hearty thank you also.

Without a good Chairman and Committee there wouldn't be a good team. So thanks to Niall Connaughton, Shay Clifford and Ed O'Malley for taking the endless phone calls to make the pitch and astro available to us when they could.

Last but not least I want to thank the supporters for travelling far and wide to follow their beloved Round Tower team. I have been involved with a lot of teams over the years, and I have never seen anything like it before 28ú Samhain 2015 Page 30

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"Cubby", Gerry Murphy and Richie Harney to name but a few. I want you all to know that even though the team might not show it, they are very proud and honored to have you as "friends".

I have no doubt that things are looking good for the future of Round Towers and that success is only around the corner.

Yours in sport, Mick Hyland.

Inter Football Mentors: Graham Hall, Liam Keighery and Barry Gavin (Mid-Season) League: AFL 4 Championship: Jnr A Championship 2nd round Sponsorship: Kelly's Pharmacy

A little disappointing season to be relegated from AFL4. The lads that made themselves available for the first seven games put in a great effort. I would like to thank all of you for your help and support. I would also like to thank Ciaran Delaney who came on board to help during the season.

After the first seven games Barry Gavin came on board as mentor and we all pushed together as a unit.

Hopefully we will have a strong panel for the coming season and with Barry’s help get back in AFL4 by the end of 2016.

Junior A Football Mentors: Willie Kennedy, Mick McAdam League: AFL 7 Championship: C Championship1st round

Frustrating year for junior football. From the beginning numbers were an issue with a few lads leaving the panel and not as many replacing. However it still did seem as if we had a good panel to work with however with work, college, injuries and with a few dropping off numbers were poor at training and at matches. It was to be like this throughout the year and only having 1-2 subs and sometimes none at all was difficult to deal with. However the lads that were there proved to be a resilient lot and they managed to get some great results with often their backs to the walls.

Championship came early and unfortunately heading out to an away trip to St.Pats of Donabate with 3 subs-1 injured, 1 first time minor and 1 lad who hadn't trained all year but togged out and in his own words "he wouldn't see us stuck". However an early exit was the outcome. League finished up with a respectable mid table finish. As I said the lads that were there proved to be a great bunch and played some quality football considering the off field difficulties. If squad numbers had of been available a push for 28ú Samhain 2015 Page 31

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the league and certainly the promotion playoffs could of been a reality. Hopefully it's something that can be addressed over the closed season.

I'd like to thank the lads that were involved this year and to fellow mentor Mick McAdam and to physio Billy Passmore.

Junior B Football Mentors: Paddy Delaney, Bernie Cronin and Robbie Smyth League: AFL 11 South Championship: D Championship1st round

All in all while it had a disappointing finish it was a good year for the second junior team. A positive note was it enabled a number of this year’s minors to make their debuts in adult football.

The team went unbeaten through the 15 game league only dropping a single point in a draw with Ballyfermot. This then led to a semi final playoff with Clann Mhuire from the North side last Saturday night in Monastery Rd. Unfortunately, with some first choice players unavailable we were beaten 3-12 to 1-9.

In the championship we also fell foul to the same opposition, Clann Mhuire, 2-12 to 2-7.

Management and team are grateful to Colin Nugent and Frank McKenna who undertook training throughout the year.

Senior Hurling Mentors: Emmet Carroll, John Hoolan, Pat Lawless League: AHL3 Championship: Senior B Championship Sponsor: Red Cow Hotel & EMBAR

The Senior hurling team started the year with the same Management team of Emmet Carroll, John Hoolan and Pat Lawless. Targets for the year were set with a strong performance in both league and championship the main objective.

In the League the team had an eventful season managing to secure a playoff place with a victory in their last game. In the playoff semi-final we played Ballyboden’s 2nd team but unfortunately lost following a big effort from the lads. Target for the 2016 league has to be promotion to AHL2.

In championship the team once again competed in Senior B. This year’s championship turned out to be very competitive with some extremely close games. We came second in our group and beat Naomh Barrog in the quarter final. In the semi-final the team played Oliver Plunketts but lost

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out in a game where the lads never gave in and showed they can compete strongly at this level.

Overall we operated with a panel of 24 players having lost 7 players from the previous year. Again one of the big pluses for the year was the emergence of the minor hurlers who stepped up to play in important games and this augurs well for 2016.

The Management and team would like to thank all our loyal supporters who supported us throughout the year.

Junior Hurling Mentors: Fergal McDonagh, Declan Rafferty, John Weafer League: AHL9 (Winners) Championship: Junior E Championship (Semi Final) Sponsor: Avon Ri

At the start of the year we struggled to get a team together but came good as the year progressed with up to 30 players togging out at one stage or another. This lead to a successful year achieving ambition of AHL9 win and securing promotion unbeaten, 14 wins, 1 draw...... unfortunately beaten by Ballinteer in semi-final of championship.

Big thank you to our Jersey sponsors, Avon Ri and all who supported during the year. Also thanks to our team selectors Declan Rafferty and John Weafer along with Martin Sheehan and John Quinlan who gave a huge hand during the year.

Big push next year to be league and championship contenders

Camogie

Senior Camogie Team Mentors: Declan & Brian Gregg League: Senior 6 Championship: Senior 6 Sponsors: PKF Developments Ltd

The start of 2015 was a tough beginning for the senior camogie section with the departure of our manager Eoin Ryan. His dedication and sportsmanship lead the Camogie section to numerous league, cup and championship titles. We would like to thank Eoin for all the time and effort he has put in over the years.

With the end of one era another one began, with the arrival of new management Brain and Declan Gregg. Brain and Declan had a good first year in management leading the Camogie team to a championship semi

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final. The senior camogie team fell short at the last hurdle and narrowly missed out on the final.

Camogie Section Summary The juvenile section within the camogie section has come on leaps and bounds within 2015. With the U8s, U10s, U12s (sponsors EP Mooney) and U15s thriving in each of their divisions.

We would also like to send our congratulations to our very own Jenny Byrne. Jenny referred the All-Ireland intermediate final between Wexford and Kildare in Croke Park in September. We wish Jenny the best of luck for 2016.

The camogie section looks forward to a prosperous 2016. With the arrival of new players and the support of our new sponsors PKF Developments LTD we hope to make 2016 another memorable year.

The camogie section are always looking for new players anyone interested please do not hesitate come join the team. Please contact Ciara Ryan on 0876246425 for any information.

Ladies Football

Chairperson Report – Marie Crotty

2015 did not start off great for the ladies football with the news that we could not field an adult team due to players retiring and emigrating. We had 4 Adult players that still wanted to play football so we decided to put the girls out on loan to another club for the year with the agreement that they would came back to Towers in 2016. On a brighter note in 2015 we had two new age groups U9 & U12's. So at juvenile level we have U-8, U-9, U-10, U-12, U-14 & Minor. I can safely say with continued work at all levels the future of Ladies Football looks very bright.

Early in the year we ran a blitz with the local schools in the area, which was a great success and there was a big increase with the girls playing football after that. We also hosted the Feile this year. We had 8 teams. Apart from the weather that day ran smoothly.

I would like to thank everyone involved with teams for your commitment and endeavor throughout the year. Congratulations to our club players who were chosen to represent the county this year. They did themselves and the club proud.

I want to take this opportunity to thank Dave McCabe (county board delegate & Leinster delegate) for all his support and help during the year. A big big thank you to Jessica O’Malley who does all the correspondence

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with the county board and for her endless work, time and continues support over the past two years.

So as the curtain draws on a busy & exciting one for ladies football, I would like to wish all our members and supporters a happy & peaceful Christmas & prosperous 2016

Yours in sport Marie Crotty

Gaelic4Fathers Mentors: Frank McKenna Captain: Michael Broderick Number of Players: 45 Training Days: Tuesday at 8.30pm & Friday at 7.30pm at Monastery Rd Average player attendance: 20 - 33 Games played to date: 9 Homes & Away Teams played: Maurs of Rush, Fingallians, Maynooth, Colmcills of Bettystown, Peregrines Junior A Team, Truagh Gaels, Scotstown, Oram, Round Towers U16's

Highlights: Attended annual tournament held by Truagh Gaels, Round Towers were in the final and won the ' Peadar Treanor Memorial Cup'. A competent squad of 22 players played and overnight celebrations took place in Glaslough, Co Monaghan.

With our training standards so high we had strong represtation on the Junior B team which won all games this year but deafeated in the semi final.

Our Training has involved players from U16's and Junior B. Gaelic for Dads contributes to the social aspect in the club,we feel we now are an active part of the club which we very much appricate. Of our players 60% of them are actively involved in juvenile coaching/ mentoring from Nursery level to Under 16's and Intermediate.

I would like to thank the players for their commitment all year and we look forward to 2016 with the view of new players joining. Regards, Frank McKenna .

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Sponsorship

The sponsorship received by the club from various contributors is greatly appreciated and vital for the ongoing development and running of our many teams. However a special word of thanks is due to our main sponsors.

 The Red Cow Moran Hotel Group  McElroy’s Funeral Directors  Clondalkin Credit Union  Ethiad & Clondalkin Travel  The Irish Fairy Door  The Maldron Hotel

Lotto Committee Report 2015

Members: John Ryan, Ray Verso, Gerry Banks, Sally Gilligan, John Whelan, Eugene Garrigan, John Mulholland (R.I.P)

As always the Round Tower lotto is the main regular fundraiser for club activities. Average weekly sales vary between 650-750 which is below last year's figure due to drop off in Friday Night sales. A great thanks is due to Sally Gilligan and Frank Sherwin for continuing to maintain the Friday night sales when available.

The Mill sales continue to be very successful thanks to the great work of Jessica O’Malley and her rota committee and the bar sales which include Age Active Retirement are very healthy also thanks to Jimmy Lee.

These are the names of the people who are on the lotto rota in the Mill Centre: Jess O'Malley, Gerry Banks, Ed O'Malley, Frank Sherwin, Frank Soady, Carol Lombard , Jackie Packenham, Ann McCarthy, Martin O'Shea, Fiona O'Shea, Annette Harrington (Sligo), Linda Halpin, Des Morrow, Michelle Walsh, Phil O'Connor , Kay Hoban We would also like to thank Tuthills Newsagents who keep the table, chair & sign from week to week which makes things a lot easier for us.

The following is a rough breakdown of monthly income from various sources:

 Bar Sales €800-1,000  Mill €700-750  Village pubs €300-350  On-line €300-350  Direct Debit €600

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There is room for improvement in sales in two particular areas. Friday night in village pubs, this has the potential to generate revenue in the region of 300+ euro per week if the proper teams and infrastructure were in place. Online sales, these are steadily increasing and has made it hassle free to purchase tickets, maybe some of the various teams within the club could form syndicates and purchase tickets in bulk on-line. Yvonne Doyle and GAA FOR MA’S have successfully done this, many thanks to Yvonne.

There are various other members of the club who have helped out with lotto whether as sales persons or who give their assistance on a Monday night, Gerry Mccabe, Janet Hazel, Ciaran Delaney, Tom Brady, Dick Keane, Billy & Phil O’Connor, Gemma Carr, Brian Douglas. We extend a very sincere thanks to you all.

Unfortunately one of our most committed and hard working members passed away this year, namely John Mullholland and he is greatly missed by his colleagues in the Members room on a Monday night.

The lotto committee would also like to send best wishes to our colleague Eugene Garrigan who is recovering from illness at present.

Apologies if I have omitted anyone in the above report.

Media Coverage

PRO Report by Mick McGlynn

The success of the Dubs and our very own Jim Gavin provided yet another valuable opportunity to promote Gaelic Games and our club to wider community and further beyond. In the week building up to the All-Ireland the club website ran a series of features that promoted Jim’s involvement as a Clondalkin native and Round Tower Member. RTE’s Six One News visited Monastery Road ahead of the final. Community organisations, including schools and community groups, were engaged to assist in creating positive PR ahead of the final. Our social media accounts spread the word and gained high volume traction – over 70,000 hits were received on our Facebook page. The homecoming of the All Ireland Champions enabled us create positive PR and the hundreds who turned out on the streets were testament to the popularity of the Dubs and Gaelic Games in our area.

Arising from the All Ireland win, Sam Maguire visited all local schools and GPO James Glancy continues to promote our nursery and juvenile teams within our schools with club promotional material. Thanks to James for his ongoing engagement throughout 2015. He is reporting great

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enthusiasm within schools for our Games that should bring benefits on our playing pitches in years ahead.

On a weekly basis we engage with local media to promote the club. The Gazette and Echo newspapers are provided with bountiful material - match reports, pictures and club news. Through good engagement with both outlets the club receives significant coverage that places our club to the fore within local media. Thanks to both newspapers for their interest in the club.

Team reports and pictures provided by Mentors are regularly featured within local media and are promoted on our website and social media pages. Thanks to Maria Shannon, Angela Quinlan, Ken Byrne, Pat Byrne and John Quinlan to name a few who provide such reports. All teams are encouraged to send reports or pictures that can be featured on our website and Facebook page.

Social media provides an instantaneous means of communicating with Members and the wider public. Our Facebook page has 7,000 followers and combined Round Tower and Round Tower Matchtracker accounts have circa 3,000 followers. Thanks to Ger Hickey and The Hutch for their ongoing assistance in providing instantaneous match scores via the Matchtracker account. Our Flickr account continues to host pictures from matches, celebrations and club launches. It provides an online platform for people to view pictures of Towers present and past.

Club updates are mailed to a mailing list of 400+ persons on a twice- weekly basis. Early in the week clubnotes are circulated to inform of club news from the weekend and for the week ahead. These are featured in local media and also The Herald GAA Supplement. Ahead of weekend, the ‘Weekend Activity’ mailing informs of upcoming fixtures and events taking place in the club over the weekend.

This year we sought to resurrect Between the Posts following on from Tom Brady’s resignation as Editor in Chief. Issues were successfully launched before we ceased production. This was due to resourcing issues, with the time required to design and bring together the editorial for a monthly publication proving insurmountable. It is hoped the publication can be resurrected and consideration is being given as to how it can be progressed. Any members that may be in a position to assist with publication of the newsletter can contact me.

Thank you to all who have supported the promotion of the club during year 2015.

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Playing Fields

We are as always indebted and thankful to the Marist Brothers PJ, Nicholas and Coleman, as well as Moyle Park Bord of Management for the use of their facilities in Moyle Park for our underage activities. We are also grateful to Colaiste Brid who accommodated some of our younger teams and to South Dublin County Council for use of the Community Centre and Corkagh Park pitches.

Financial Position

Treasurer Ed O’Malley will give a detailed analysis of this year’s financial figures.

Sponsorship has greatly improved in the past year, however Fundraising continues to decline and is proving ever difficult to ascertain. The reduction in Lotto sales in the past year is a concern going forward that as a whole could be addressed if every member bought and sold a Lotto ticket per week! The day to day running costs of our club are not declining but with expanding numbers are ever increasing. Therefore our reduced revenue needs to be addressed.

We are extremely grateful to all our Sponsors and it's great to see fresh sponsorship on board this year in addition to our ever reliables! A more centralised approach to sponsorship is proving effective and reaping dividend. Therefore teams/mentors are reminded to keep the Executive abreast of any possible sponsorship for their respective team for de- confliction purposes.

The introduction of online payment options for membership, Club Lotto, Club Fundraisers has had a positive result and continues making payments much easier.

The Land Sale on Monastery Road and the realisation of some €400,000 will go a long way to reducing our crippling debt and putting us as a club in a much more secure financial position going forward.

Membership

We have 391 Adult members a reduction of 21 from 2015. Not having an Adult Ladies Football team this year reflects a proportion of this reduction however a growing club like ours should be increasing membership year on year. Having analysed our membership for the past 3 years it would seem we have a "floating membership" of circa 150 persons. This is an area for us to concentrate on going forward in addition to attracting new members. We also have over 400 Juvenile members.

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There is different cost for registering juveniles with the respective organisations. The Exec has decided instead of having different registration fees for Juvenile Boys & Girls to introduce a moderate increase of €10 across the board to €40 for Juvenile Registration. This increase will also be reflected in the Family Membership Subscriptions.

All adult members continue to receive a smart card that allows them avail of member’s prices in the bar. Please alert a member of the executive if you need a replacement card. The online payment facility introduced last year now accounts for nearly 80% of membership subscriptions received.

As the club continues to grow particularly at Juvenile level it’s an ideal opportunity to increase our membership numbers and therefore this year's reduction is disappointing.

Ticket Distribution

Ticket distribution in both codes was overseen by a team including John Ryan, Niall Connaughton, Ed O'Malley & Martin Ryan in what is always a busy operation particularly when Dublin reach the All Ireland Final. The loaves and the fishes worked again and many thanks to Alan Milton in supporting us in our hours of need! The Give Respect, Get Respect campaign continues to provide a great platform for young members attending All Irelands and championship games all Summer. Thanks to all who participated and again to Alan for assisting in providing such an opportunity.

Golf Society

The golf society held a number of outings throughout the country this year and continue to offer a great source of entertainment to members. New members are always welcome.

Fundraising:

Thanks to all who assisted in the running of our fundraising events and indeed those who support the events by selling tickets, etc. Whilst all of the events were a relative success certainly greater funds would have been raised if more members would get behind the events either through assisting in the organisation or in anyway. This year we ran less events in an effort to maximise return but support levels remained low.

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Dog Night: Organising committee: Jimmy Lee, Pat Lawless

This was a most successful fundraiser and an enjoyable night was had by all that travelled to Harolds Cross. Much credit must go to Jimmy Lee who seems to organise such a large fundraiser so effortlessly. Teams could use this event as a group night out and support a club fundraiser at the same time.

Flag Weekend Bucket Collection:

Many thanks to all who helped with our bucket collections over various weekends in September. Members collected in the village churches, pubs, supermarkets, and Long Mile Road/Naas Road Juction to name but a few venues. Money raised and volunteers was well down on last year for this event. Numbers is key to the success of this fundraising activity particularly on the main roads. Larger collection teams at the Long Mile Junction would have multiplied the collection in what is a fundraiser that requires minimal effort except giving up your time.

Family Day:

Again this was one of the better organised fundraisers this year and great credit must go to the Juvenile Section and all team mentors for organising what can only be described as a great day out. Great imagination, ideas and effort were shown by all mentors in developing each individual stall, game, shope, etc. This event was largely attended by the wider Clondalkin community and not one complaint was to be heard on the day or after despite the weather! Such a showcase event for the club must be developed and nurtured further and the executive have every intention of having annual Family Days. Plans to possibly have the Family Day in May or June are to be discussed by the incoming executive.

Golf Classic: Organising committee: Ed O’Malley, Tony Delaney, Bren Cronin, John Ryan

A great day was had by all in Newlands Golf club in what was a well supported fundraiser. Team entries were considerably up on last year. Having the classic on a Friday increased interest and playing a quality course was positively received in all feedback as teams returned to the clubhouse.

The Senior Footballers also ran a successful Golf Classic and there initiative in this regard is to be complemented. Between both Golf Classics somewhere in the region of 60 teams took part. This leaves large scope going forward.

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Remembrance / Na Mairbh

To all club members and families who lost loved ones during the year the club extends its deepest sympathies and prayers. A special thanks to Kitty Egan for her continued diligence in acknowledging bereavements on behalf of the club. Ar Dheis Dé go raibh anamacha ár mbaill go leir a déag i rith na mbliana.

Annual Club Mass for Deceased Members 2015:

There was a great turn out again this year of over 100 for the Clubs Mass for deceased members in what is always a special night in our club calendar.

It remains an opportunity for old members who due to health reasons and old age are unable to attend the Club as often as they might like, to renew old friendships and relate stories from the past history of the Club to the younger members.

Fr. Damian PP celebrated the Mass. In Fr. Damian’s Homily he praised the club for its involvement in Clondalkin over the years. A word of thanks to Tommy Keogh for his overall organising of this event annually and our great catering team for the work that they did again this year at the mass. A word of thanks also to John Ryan who represented the executive due to unavailability.

Social Committee:

Members: Phil O Connor, Annette Harrington, Carol Condon, Mary Douglas, Mark Hampston, Catherine Moran, Betty Ward, Martina Lyons, Amy Clifford. Anita Barry and Lorraine Kinsella help out at the discos.

We have run 7 discos so far this year for 3rd/4th/4th & 6th class, the start of the year our numbers we low but the 2nd half the number have almost tripled. We held a night for 1st & 2nd year students (which we felt was a gap) we had bingo and general knowledge quiz; although numbers were low those who attend really enjoyed it and said they would like to attend another if we had one.

We were please to host Laurie Hartz 3 time to the club this year which sold out on all occasions.

We had a county colours night also during championship season were we had DJ Dave; we also have had Colm Gavin, Farmer and Friends in on many days throughout championship. We had the Blackguards on the festival weekend.

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A big thanks to Robbie Moore for being DJ at the kids disco and a big thanks our all our teenager helpers who do the shop etc. Couldn’t run the discos without them.

Catering Committee:

The club’s catering is organised by Catherine Moran, Betty Ward & Jessica O’Malley. They are always on hand, sometimes at very short notice, to cater for various events in the clubrooms. A special thanks must also go to McLoughlins Butchers in the Mill Centre who provide the excellent quality meats for the events and to Jim Chapman of Chapman’s Superstore, Monastery Road, for all his help throughout the year.

Facilities Committee:

New upholstery in the main hall and a refurbishment of the gents toilets in an attempt to attract more parties to the club were the main upgrades this year. Thanks is due to the team of people who keep the Clubs facilities in working order and the main pitch in tip top condition. They are Ed O'Malley, Tony Quinn, Rory Dunne, Keith Graham, Frank Costello, Willie Kennedy, John McCormack , Jamie Cuddidhy , Paddy Delaney and Frank Cosgrove.

Bar Staff:

On a personal note I would like to thank Jimmy, Sally, and Dermot for their efforts throughout the year. Special thanks to Frank Sherwin who is a constant support to the staff. Tireless time and effort is spent in the early mornings and late evenings keeping the place in order between meetings, parties, bingo, age active and members using the facilities.

Club Shop

A big thank you to Betty Ward, Catherine Moran and Jessica O'Malley who continue to stock the shop and provide members with an outlet from which to buy club merchandise. Their willingness to help our members and call to the clubrooms or members houses at short notice to provide shorts, socks and other items to members is very much appreciated. I would urge our members to use the club shop for their training, match day and supporter clothing and equipment needs.

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Conclusion

Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas ollmhór a ghabáil le baill an chlub a chuidigh liom an tuairisc seo a chur i gcríoch agus mo bhuíochas faoi leith a ghabáil leis an choiste riaracháin atá tar éis a chuid ama a thabhairt ar mhaithe le riarúcháin an chlub le bliain anuas.

I wish to apologise for any errors or omissions, and to thank everyone for their contributions to the report and for your work throughout the year.

I would also like to acknowledge all my outgoing executive colleagues and thank them for their time and efforts throughout a sometimes difficult but very much rewarding year. In particular I wish to take the opportunity to thank our outgoing Treasurer Ed O'Malley for his tireless efforts and selflessness during his term as Club Treasurer. Congratulations on your election as Vice Chairman which I have no doubt through your continued dedication is a role you will revel in. Matthew McCormack has decided to "take a break" after the recent birth of James Jnr. Congratulations to yourself and Siobhan and I have no doubt we will see you actively involved in fundraising and club activities this year as always.

As secretary for the past 3 years I’m grateful to all my executive colleagues for their support, guidance, assistance and general can do attitude. It has been a great honour to serve as an Officer and member of the executive of this great club. The role of Secretary whilst at times challenging I have found to be very rewarding and an opportunity to give back to the club that has given me so much! I wish Mick McGlynn the very best of luck in his new role as Secretary, and as your new assistant I look forward to working closely with you in the coming year. If I can be half the assistance you have been to me I will be happy.

I wish to congratulate Niall Connaughton on his first year as Chairman and wish him the very best in steering the ship going forward. Andrew Cronin steps up to Treasurer and like Mick McGlynn is to be commended for taking on this challenging and often time consuming role. I would like to thank Andrew for his assistance throughout the year in processing membership.

The Adult Games committee under the stewardship of Bernie Cronin, and with Shay Clifford performing the role of Secretary have made my life and last year as Secretary a great deal easier. On behalf of the executive I wish to thank this committee for taking charge of Adult Games and providing a crucial link between the executive and the teams.

Juvenile Secretary Sean McNamara again this year has eased the burden on the Secretariat of the club through his pragmatic and efficient approach to Juvenille matters.

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To my wife Marian I must thank you again for your patience, and support throughout the year.

I look forward again to the year ahead and the challenges it may present to all of us. As an executive we can only hope for the continued support and goodwill of the membership.

Ní neart go cur le chéile!

Is mise le meas,

______

Máirtín Ó Riain Rúnaí

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