Murphy: GAA simply cannot compete with a professional sport

KERRY GAA chairman Tim Murphy has told club delegates that while the attraction of professional sport is a huge challenge for the Association officials in this county are doing as much as they can to keep young footballers in the county and away from the lure of the Australian Football League (AFL).

Speaking at Monday night’s Convention in Tralee, Mr Murphy said recent initiatives are in place to at least give young players an attractive option to stay and play in Kerry rather than leaving for a professional sport elsewhere.

The chairman’s comments were clearly referencing the recent moves by Stefan Okunbor and Mark O’Connor to the AFL on ‘Rookie contracts’ while only a fortnight ago Kilcummin’s Paul O’Shea and Colm Moriarty from Annascaul took part in an AFL ‘combine’ in UCD, which assessed 20 young Irish footballers with a view to

MURPHY ON CURRANS

OUR new Centre in Currans became operational in January of this year.

The huge amount of time, effort and commitment by many people has now culminated into a state of the art facility second to none and something that we can be very proud of.

I’m happy to say that the development has been commented upon by all who have visited or used it as being one of the very best in terms of design, layout and quality of finish.

Our challenge now is to build upon what has been achieved to date and in this regard we will continue to ensure that Currans becomes a shining light of best practice in coaching, strength & conditioning, Medical, Physiotherapy and Nutrition.

Our vision is to foster and facilitate collective thinking and expertise in one location that will inevitably result in all our teams and players are given the very best chance of success.

We now have a state of the art facility where all our training and preparation can take place in one location.

In May, the fit out of the Gym was completed and we must acknowledge the Department of Sport who provided a Sports Capital grant which went towards paying for this equipment.

Over the course of the year to date we have been slowly completing the remaining parts of the project and while we need to be prudent with our finances will continue to complete and fully finish the development in a structured manner over the next number of years.

Quite a number of our Clubs have used the facility over the past

two a career in the AFL.

“The AFL and their scouts continue to be a challenge not only for us here in Kerry but for the GAA as a whole,” Mr Murphy said. “We are continuing in our endeavours to create as attractive an environment as possible here at home and convey to our players the benefits of remaining in Ireland while also assisting them with educational opportunities, career advice and enhanced employment prospects.

“In this regard [vice-chairman] Diarmuid O Sé and his task force deserve special mention in publishing the booklet ‘Stay, Play and Work in Kerry’. The committee specifically dealing with this issue will continue in their endeavours to ensure that all other players considering a move are given the benefit of choosing an attractive alternative to remain here at home.

“The lure of professional sport will continue to be a huge challenge for us - a voluntary organisation such as the GAA simply cannot compete with professional sport,” the chairman cautioned.

months in particular and I believe that over time this project will prove itself to be one of the best Strategic decisions taken by Kerry GAA in the promotion and development of Football and hurling in the County.

MURPHY ON THE FUTURE

In the year to date we have achieved most of the objectives set out at the start of the year:

• Communication links with our clubs have improved and the Chairperson and Secretary initiative will continue into the future

• Each and every one of our County Teams are given the best possible chance of success by providing all the resources necessary for success in a prudent manner

• Our medical, physio and S&C programmes have been further developed and streamlined to protect the future development of our players and coaches by having a fully functional highly motivated team irrespective of who happens to hold a managerial position

• Our three-year Strategic Plan was published and thanks to Joe Crowley and Willie O’Connor for their time and commitment in achieving this

• Our Finance Committee has developed further this year and constantly review both operational & capital requirements as well as strategically looking forward.

• We continue in our endeavours to maximise sustainable funding opportunities

• We have now put in place the necessary supports with particular emphasis on player development and progression together with strength and conditioning

• We continue to assist both the Austin Stack Park and Fitzgerald Stadium Committees in developing both stadiums in as far as possible but within our financial capacity