Cork GAA County Management Committee Bulletin 12/01/24
A meeting of the County Management Committee took place on Tuesday, January 9th in SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh. The following matters were discussed / approved. The membership of the County Management Committee for 2024 is posted here https://gaacork.ie/county-executive/ .
1. Games Administration
CCC Update
The following updates were provided by County CCC members.
Following the opportunity for clubs to comment on the draft version circulated in December, a final draft of the Master Fixture Plan has been posted online https://gaacork.ie/2023/01/12/masterplan/ A request by a number of teams to gain entry to the County Leagues was refused, with further consideration to be given to clubs who wished to field more teams to follow later in the year. All League Fixtures for 2024 for the fourteen County League Divisions are also posted here https://gaacork.ie/leagues2024/ . The 2024 Competition Regulations approved by County Committee are posted here https://gaacork.ie/competition-regulations-2024/.
A consultation and training process will soon follow with referees in relation to the use of an newly developed online application for the filing of referee’s reports. This will help in the efficiency of processing same within a 72-hour period.
All units are reminded that three dates are ringfenced from intercounty activity for the playing of knockout U21 Divisional Football competitions (February 4th, 11th and 18th).
The draws for the ‘Confined’ Junior B and C County Championships will take place at the February County Committee meeting on Tuesday, February 13th The deadline for entries is 9pm on Wednesday, January 31st .
With the return of County stages in the respective competitions, all Independent U21 teams must be approved by County Committee as per Rule 3.17 (n). Therefore, any units wishing to field Independent U21 teams must submit the following information before 1pm on Monday, January 15th. This is a strict deadline as all applications must be considered by County CCC in advance of the County Committee meeting on Tuesday, January 16th.
The deadline for general inter-club transfers is January 31st.
There are no Hearings or Appeals currently outstanding.
Club Developments
The committee were informed by the County Safety and Facilities Officer of impending applications with meetings taking place with the relevant clubs next week.
2. Management Committee
Communications Policy
The Cork GAA Communications policy for 2024 was approved. In line with County Bye-law, the Agenda for County Committee meetings in 2024 will be issued five days in advance, along with the Minutes of the previous meeting and monthly ‘Progress Report’. The full schedule of County Committee meetings for 2024 are posted online; https://gaacork.ie/county-committee-meetings/
In line with practice at National level, whereby the media attends Congress, they will in turn be welcome to attend County Convention as before. As the Agenda for County Committee has been reframed in 2024 to allow more open and transparent engagement with clubs, it is no longer appropriate for the media to attend. This is in line with practice at National Level, whereby the media do not attend Central Council meetings. After each Management Committee meeting (monthly), a bulletin will be issued by our PRO containing the main discussion points / decisions. Likewise, after each County Committee meeting (monthly), a bulletin will be issued similarly.
The Cork GAA website is currently being restructured with the SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh website to be fully integrated on the Cork GAA site and with restructuring allowing easier access to key information. Finally, Rebels Online will continue to evolve as a communications platform, building on the streaming of club games with a more integrated approach with our County teams. For all media queries, please contact the PRO at pro.cork@gaa.ie.
Subcommittee Reports / Membership / Terms of Reference (TOR)
The relevant TOR for County Subcommittees were recently updated in the County Bye-Laws. The proposed membership of all subcommittees will be brought for ratification at the County Committee meeting in February.
2024 Bye-Laws
The 2024 County Bye-Laws, as approved by County Convention have been reviewed by the National Bye-Laws committee. Some further communication is ongoing with regard to a few aspects. Once these details are confirmed the approved County Bye-Laws for 2024 will be posted online.
2025 Bye-Law Review
A Bye-Laws review committee was approved to consider particular Bye-laws for 2025, namely Bye -Laws 1 (Terms of Office) and 3 (Subcommittees). The independent membership is this group is proposed as Willie Ring (Uachtaráin), Kevin O’Donovan (Rúnaí) and Denis Calnan (Finance manager). A report is to be provided to County Management on February 20th with a view to holding a Special County Convention, if required, on April 2nd, before the County Committee meeting.
Motions to Congress
The strategy for promoting the Cork motion to Congress was discussed (motion outlined below).
That Rule 6.11, Official Guide Part 1 be amended as it relates to Inter-County Under 20 (Hurling) and Under 20 (Football) Championships by the deletion in both instances of the sentence ” A player may only play in either….. Thursday night)” and being replaced by the following;
In Hurling; ” A player is restricted from playing in both the Inter-County Senior Hurling Championship and the Inter-County Under 20 Hurling Championship within a 60-hour period and Committees in Charge of the latter grade competition shall make such allowance where necessary in its scheduling”.
In Football; “A player is restricted from playing in both the Inter-County Senior Football Championship and the Inter-County Under 20 Football Championship within a 60-hour period and Committees in Charge of the latter grade competition shall make such allowance where necessary in its scheduling”.
Rules Affected- Rules 3.30 (A) (ii) and 3.45 (b).
Upcoming Events
Representatives of the Management Committee were appointed to attend the All Ireland Club Finals in Croke Park on January 13/14th. Best wishes were extended to Castlelyons, St. Catherine’s and Cill na Martra.
The relevant officers were confirmed to attend County Officer Training in Croke Park on January 19/ 20th with registration taking place online.
The Cork delegation to attend Munster Convention at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh, January 12th was confirmed as follows: Pat Horgan (Cathaoirleach), Noel O’Callaghan (Leas-Cathaoirleach), Kevin O’Donovan (Rúnaí) and Diarmuid Gowen (Cisteoir) along with both Munster Council delegates and two Divisional representatives (Avondhu and Beara).
Various officers were confirmed to attend upcoming Club and Divisional functions.
3. Games Development
GDC Roadshows
A series of regional meetings for club officers is now underway to provide a briefing on the new Cork GAA Games Development structures, which will see one Games Development Coordinator (GDC) working with 10 clubs, on average, within a particular area. Officers were allocated to each event. The dates and locations for these regional meetings are posted online. https://gaacork.ie/2024/01/09/coaching-games-development-team-schedule-of-club-meetings-jan-2024/
4. County Teams
Upcoming fixtures in the Muster Senior Hurling League and McGrath Cup were discussed, including the re-fixed Hurling fixture versus Limerick. It was agreed that County Panels for the National Leagues in both codes would be officially announced later this month.
Team Liaison Officers were appointed to the County teams for 2024 as follows;
- Senior Hurling & Football – Pat Horgan and Noel O’Callaghan.
- U20 Hurling – Derek Connolly; U20 Football – Donal McCarthy.
- Minor Hurling – Ronan Dwane; Minor Football – Donal Mc Sweeney.
5. Finance & Governance
Various Audit and Risk Committee recommendations and actions were discussed including the following items: Code of Conduct (annual), Governance Checklist (annual), Strategic Plan and Organisational Review.
The appropriate method of distribution of the €1 million donation by the JP McManus Fund was discussed. This will be continued with County Committee members at the upcoming meeting and with County officers in Camogie and Ladies Football. Current-state Financials and inter-county budgets were also discussed.
6. Commercial
A commercial update was provided covering the following areas: Naming Rights, Premium Seats, Rebels’ Bounty, Rebels Online, Munster Rugby, Concerts and One Cork. Given the commercial sensitivity of most of the content here, a full briefing will be provided to clubs on such areas at next week’s County Committee meeting.
A number of recently announced partnerships were discussed, including:
PepsiCo https://gaacork.ie/2024/01/10/cork-gaa-and-pepsico-announced-their-official-positive-action-partnership/
Statkraft https://gaacork.ie/2024/01/04/pairc-ui-chaoimh-and-statkraft-announce-partnership-that-shines-a-light-on-a-renewable-future-in-cork/
McCarthy Insurance Group; Cork Club Football Leagues & Championships
7. Facilities
Members were informed that a six-month arrangement was now in place with Seandún in regard to the use of Ballinlough GAA teams by inter-county teams. The importance of appropriate maintenance budgets in both SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh and Páirc Uí Rinn was discussed.
8. Next standalone County Management Committee meeting:
Tuesday, January 23rd at 7pm
(1) Christopher Kelly (Eire Og)
1.Brion Saunderson (Midleton)
