Motion to prevent Minor mix up sweeps through
THE ongoing issue regarding the Minor football championship 2019 raised its head on several occasions throughout County Convention on Monday evening and led to a spiky retort from the floor from a Rathnew delegate after Coiste na nÓg Chairman Pat Dunne had apologised to the Éire Óg and Bray Emmets clubs when reading from his report.
The matter concerned the closing stages of the championship in 2019 when Rathnew objected to a play-off between four teams after teams had finished level on score difference, quoting a rule from the GAA’s official guide that took precedence over the verbally agreed competition rules stated at the beginning of the year by Wicklow’s Coiste na nÓg.
As a result of this, Éire Óg and Bray Emmets were dumped out of the ‘A’ competition with Rathnew and Baltinglass contesting the final which Rathnew won.
Delegates had read Wicklow Games Manager Hugh Kenny’s mentioning of it in his lengthy audit of the year’s activities prior to Pat Dunne’s address and the motion being brought forward by Bray Emmets in Motion 3.
‘It was with good intention and authority that Coiste na nÓg stated in their rules and regulations 2019 and passed by all clubs and discussed at various times during the year that score difference does not apply to our juvenile games programme and in the case of teams finishing level on points a play-off must be played,’ wrote Hugh Kenny.
‘However, this was brought to our attention by the adult board after Rathnew and Éire Óg Greystones had drawn the last round of the Minor championship group game that this did not affect Minor, it was only from under-16 down that this rule was in effect.
‘This led to major confusion and appeals from Éire Óg and Bray Emmets in which Coiste na nÓg were fully behind both clubs, and we stood by the rules that were agreed.
‘But, unfortunately, we were not in a position to rule on this matter as it was taken out of our hands by the official GAA rule book.
‘Human error and no prior notice of this rule change was the issue here and Coiste na nÓg wishes to apologies to Éire Óg and Bray Emmets for the recent events that unfolded,’ concluded Hugh Kenny.
Coiste na nÓg Chairman Pat Dunne, reading from his report to Convention stated:
‘The Minor football (championship) was running well up until the final group stages in the view of Coiste na nÓg. A play-off between four clubs was due next as per our match regulations. However, a rule in our GAA Official Guide deemed otherwise.
‘I wish to sincerely apologies to both Bray and Éire Óg over this matter and I’m still shocked by this decision,’ he added.
Following the Coiste na nÓg Chairman’s address Rathnew delegate Pat Doyle spoke from the floor.
‘We want to make a comment on that, Mr. Chairman. We’re dismayed, we’ve very disappointed with Pat’s comments there. Instead of being shocked at the decision, maybe next year he should learn the rules and we wouldn’t have been in the mess we were in,’ he said.
The issue was again raised when the Convention arrived at motion number three which was submitted by the Bray Emmets club.
The motion stated:
County Youth Committee Is set up under rule 3.20 (x) of the Official Guide in addition to the current Coiste Condae Cill Mhantain CLG Byelaw no 3 (i).
The youth committee shall have its own competition control committee (CCC) and a disciplinary committee (The members be approved by a full County Committee). It shall submit for approval to the county committee all its match regulations for any competition under its control on an annual basis for approval. Once approved these regulations shall not be altered throughout that year. Emmet Bhré
Jackie Napier described the motion as a ‘bit of housekeeping’ and that if the youth committee (Coiste na nÓg) have match regulations in future that they submit them to the full Coiste Chondae for approval and, secondly, that the Coiste na nÓg have their own disciplinary committee and their own CCC, ‘which they have at the moment,’ said Jackie, ‘but if it was enshrined in by-law it would be legally binding,’ he added.
Martin Coleman informed the Bray Emmets delegate that this motion being presented was ‘already in rule’. The Baltinglass man read aloud the rule to the meeting.
‘What about the first part of it, Martin?’ asked Jackie Napier. ‘Is there any harm in having it in our by-laws as well?’
Martin Coleman said that, as Jackie most likely knew already, that when the motion was brought to Croke Park they would say that it was already covered in rule so there’s no point in putting that in your by-laws.
Dr. Brendan Cuddihy of Éire Óg Greystones said that he would like to speak in favour of the Bray Emmets motion and that Éire Óg would be withdrawing Motion 4 as the issue had been dealt with in Motion 3.
‘The rules may cover it, but there’s something in here, the last sentence: ‘Once approved, these regulations shall not be altered throughout the year,’ he read. ‘That to me is the meat in the sandwich. And that to me would have dealt with the situation we had this year.
‘I’d like to pay tribute to the members of Coiste na nÓg for the work they did this year and to thank them for their apology. I don’t feel that Coiste na nÓg should have been apologising because I don’t think they were the authors of our misfortune.
‘However, this motion should be passed. And everyone who comes to a meeting for a competition and agrees to the rules at the start of the year should abide by those rules for the whole year. And if you don’t come to the meeting then you don’t have any say later on in the year, you can’t say, ‘I wasn’t there, I didn’t agree’. Absence from the meeting should be taken as consenting to the rules,’ added Dr. Cuddihy.
County secretary Chris O’Connor informed Dr. Cuddihy that ‘regulations didn’t change throughout the year’.
‘The Coiste na nÓg regulations only went up to juvenile. Juvenile is up to 16 (years of age), Unfortunately, the error was that it didn’t cover Minor. It should have stated ‘underage’, so there were no regulations changed during the year,’ she said.
‘The regulations as agreed verbally in this room by all the teams present and by Coiste na nÓg and members of the top table who were present and didn’t dissent at the time were otherwise than you subsequently said.
‘And this matter is still with the Central Appeals Committee and they’ve been chewing on it for two and a half weeks and the outcome of that we await with interest,’ replied Dr. Cuddihy.
Seamus Kelly from Baltinglass asked the proposer of the motion if this committee would have plenary powers (meaning complete and absolute power to take action on a particular issue, with no limitations).
‘It’s counterpart, the senior CCC, has plenary powers,’ said Jackie Napier. ‘I don’t know whether the youth committee CCC will have plenary powers or not, I doubt if they have.
‘At the moment we are operating a CCC and disciplinary committee in Board na nÓg and Fintan (Fanning) is the secretary of it and he can testify to that,’ added the Bray Emmets delegate.
County secretary Chris O’Connor, in answer to Seamus Kelly’s question said: ‘I don’t believe they have plenary powers, but we will check it out when we take it to the by-laws committee in the enxt five days, but I don’t believe they have,’ she said.
The motion was put to the floor and it swept through by a vote of 72 for and three against.