D-day for Drogheda and League structures
THE Louth Convention may have passed off peacefully last week, but GAA chiefs and club officials will be bracing themselves for some crucial, and potentially explosive, meetings in the new year.
Another financial surplus coupled with precious few changes at the top table, made for a quiet evening in Darver last Tuesday.
In what must be some kind of record, there wasn’t even a single motion debated on the night, with only two elections taking place.
However, with a ‘very important meeting’ on the future of Drogheda’s Gaelic Grounds in the pipeline, and club league structures in line for another major shake-up at an adjourned Convention, it promises to be a busy new year for all concerned.
At last year’s Convention treasurer Aidan Berrill insisted: ‘If Drogheda isn’t closed this time next year for redevelopment work then we will all have failed in our responsibilities.’
And the Naomh Mairtin man’s frustrations over the now infamous county grounds crux were clear to see when he declared that real and significant progress had stalled when the proposal was passed on to solicitors.
County chairman, Des Halpenny, elaborated on the status of the redevelopment proposal in his address later in the evening, but hinted that, one way or the other, the end was in sight.
‘A Convention wouldn’t be a convention in Louth over the past 40 odd years or so without a Chairman having to address the County Grounds issue,’ he began. ‘We have put a significant outlay in relation to our designs, plans and the legal side. A planning application is ready and waiting to be submitted.
‘We have worked closely with Louth County Council regarding the development and they have been supportive.
The Drogheda Gaelic Grounds Company has been stood down and the Grounds are being transferred into the control of the Louth Co Board. Funding is in place at provincial and national level.’
But crucially, the John Mitchels clubman added: ‘The legal matters are remaining, that is currently with the GAA and club solicitors who are working on behalf of the GAA, County Committee and club.
‘Is there progress being made since last Convention - yes. Is progress slow - unreservedly yes.
‘A lot of the work being done has gone on in the background and in a quiet fashion and it has to be that way. I realise that it can be frustrating for all concerned on the County Committee, however I feel we are almost at end game.
‘We have nearly taken it as far as we can as a county committee, and we are awaiting a very important meeting with all the parties, legal sides included. We will have a very clear picture of where we are going after this meeting.’
January’s adjourned Convention, meanwhile, also promises to be a key meeting, with several similar motions relating to League structures set to be debated and voted upon.
A number of Division 3 clubs want to reverse the 2015 vote to open up the leagues into six divisions, which
has seen the first teams of a number of Division 3 clubs relegated, with the second string teams of bigger clubs taking their place.
Proposals to revert to the old ‘first’ and ‘reserve’ team league set up have been submitted by Lannleire, Dowdallshill and Wolfe Tones, but are believed to have the backing of other Junior and Division 3 clubs too.
And they will be expecting some degree of support from intermediate and senior clubs. The new structures have only impacted Division 3 clubs so far, but the second teams of very strong clubs could potentially climb further up the grades, sending existing Division 2 clubs down to Division 3, and beyond.
As the motions concerned only relate to competition regulations they will only require a simple majority to succeed.