Devereux looks back on tenure
Finances have been steadied
WEXFORD G.A.A. Chairman Diarmuid Devereux looked back on his final year in office, having completed a five-year term that saw much change in the Association in the county.
Informing club delegates at last week’s County Board meeting that his five-year term will be complete at next month’s county Convention, Devereux expressed the view that five years is sufficient for anyone to be in office given the hard work involved, and the amount of time and demands now placed on a County Chairman.
He told delegates that progress had been made over the five years both on and off the playing fields, progress which they, the club delegates, can take much satisfaction from.
He said that in each of his five years in office they have had silverware on the top table, winning three successive provincial Under-21 hurling titles, along with two Leinster Junior football titles. That is no mean achievement, he added.
When he took office he stressed that there was much talk about finance, and much to do, with the issue unfortunately taking up so much of his time as he endeavoured to bring the Association in the county back on a strong financial footing.
‘We have steadied the finances but there is still much work for the incoming officers to do,’ he told delegates.
He said there is still a €1.2m debt to be cleared but this is some distance from the €3.4m debt facing the county when he took office. Progress has been made, particularly in light of the problems faced with both Glenbrien and Ferns.
‘When I took over I was told that Ferns was a “no-go” but we moved on, brought about the necessary work, and now we have the Ferns Centre of Excellence with two fully-floodlit pitches, along with two other full-size pitches.
‘We are now ready to move on with the final phase the completion of the upstairs of the clubhouse, for which we have a €200,000 sports grant. I may have spoken to you in the past about having Ferns debtors added to the loan, but that is now no longer needed,’ he said.
‘Not alone is it not needed but we have reduced the debtors which will be further reduced by year’s end. Also we will hopefully be in a position to have sufficient funds left to floodlight a third pitch to the highest standards, which would enable us to meet the demands on the Centre of Excellence for all our inter-county teams along with camogie.
‘We are moving in the right direction as we also paid off the remaining balance on the Wexford Park development loan. We now own every blade of grass in Innovate Wexford Park. Innovate Wexford Park is our own,’ he added.
The improved finances, he said, were brought about through increased sponsorship which is now running at €300,000 per annum, while gates are up €100,000 per annum towards when he took office five years ago.
‘While the whole five years, sadly, has ben about money, we have still achieved a lot. We generated the cash to develop the Ferns Centre of Excellence which was developed with the aid of grants and their very own funds. The whole toxic atmosphere around Glenbrien and Ferns is no longer,’ he said.