Valuing volunteers is vital

belong, that we are part of some place or something. It improves our self-esteem and keeps us mentally well.

‘Others volunteer out of their love for children and young people. They enjoy working with them, the fun and the laughter. Some of these children may well go on to play the games at adult level for their club and county. For another little fellah who came in the gate at eight with two left feet and two left hands, picking the sliothar up on the hurl may well be a major achievement.

‘Passion drives more people to volunteer with their local G.A.A. club. We have volunteers who can be very logical when it comes to planning the budget for the year or working out their rota for the pitches, dressing rooms, meeting room, etc.

‘But when the referee blows the whistle and throws in the football or sliothar, all of this mental logic disappears out through their ears and down their nostrils, and sheer raw passion rises up from the soles of their feet and the pits of their stomachs, to such an extent that their own mothers would not recognise them.

‘But regardless of what motivates, people volunteer with the G.A.A. We must be all very conscious of the fact that, that is what we are - volunteers. And we must support one another as best we can,’ she said.

‘So how can we do this?’ she asked. ‘We can begin by treating one another with dignity and respect. We can look at our volunteers in the eye, clap them on the back and say thank you from time to time - what you do around here is appreciated.

‘However being Irish, and being loathe to accept praise, this gesture may well be greeted with “sure I only..........”.

‘There is no sure, I only…every task matters. This Association is like a giant jigsaw puzzle with thousands of pieces. If Tom doesn’t park the cars, or Dick doesn’t wash the jerseys, then these pieces are missing from the puzzle, so the picture is incomplete.

‘All do contribute to the smooth running of the Association. When problems arise, as they invariably will, given that humans are involved, can we put these problems into perspective and deal with them accordingly?

‘Some people find the ever-increasing health and safety regulations and ever-changing Garda vetting procedures stressful, might we be mindful of their stress. Might we ensure that we have robust disciplinary procedures in place so that when any of our volunteers is abused, bullied or harassed, that the perpetrators can be dealt with. And might we encourage our volunteers to use these procedures if they are victims of such misbehaviour.’

Regarding outside commitments, she said: ‘We need to be mindful of the fact that we all have lives outside the G.A.A. We have our day-to-day jobs, families. We need to go to the butcher, the candlestick maker, get our cars serviced, mow our lawns. We have christenings, communions, confirmations, weddings and funerals to attend.

‘Sometimes the G.A.A. is not and cannot be our priority. So could we please all be patient, and more allowances for that fact. And should an error be made, might we just regard it as that, a human error. Would the person in this room who never made a mistake please stand up?

‘Might we reward our volunteers more. Coiste na nOg gets nominations from very few clubs each year for our clubperson of the Year award, so deservedly won by Michael Foley (Rathnure) tonight. Given the number of clubs in this county we should have 40 nominations each year.

‘Might you give similar award in your clubs? Might you have a small get-together at the end of the season, to say thank you to everyone?

‘I began tonight by calling you, the clubs, the foundation of this Association. The volunteers are the foundation of the clubs. If we lose our volunteers this Association crumbles, like every structure whose foundation is undermined.

‘So volunteers of Coiste na nOg Loch Garman, I applaud and salute you here tonight. I thank you for all your commitment, dedication, time and work

I hope you enjoy the next few weeks when there is little or no G.A.A. activity. I hope you have a happy and peaceful Christmas with family and friends. I wish you a joyous and prosperous new year.’