TUARISC AN RUNAI 2025

TUARISC AN RUNAI 2025

Ar dtús ba mhaith liom mo fhíor buíochas a ghabhail do gach duine a chabhraigh le gníomhaiochtaí Comhairle Chonnacht i rith na bliana. Bhí bhlain an mhaith againn sa bhlian seo.

Ba mhaith liom freisin comhgairdeas a gabhail do na foirne a bhuaidh craoibh na hEireann i 2025.

National titles came to;

Roscommon -Nickey Rackard Cup Hurling Winners

Galway – All Ireland Senior Camogie Champions

London – Christy Ring Cup Winners

New York – Lory Meagher Cup Winners

Mayo – Allianz League Division 3 Hurling Winners

Crossmolina Deel Rovers – All Ireland Intermediate Football Final

An Cheathru Rua – All Ireland Junior  Football Final

Roscommon CBS – All Ireland  Schools Senior B final

St Clares ,Manorhamilton – All Ireland  Schools Senior C final

St Cuans,Castleblakeney  – All Ireland  Schools Senior D final

University of Galway – Ui Mhaolagain Cup Final

ATU,Galway – Ashling Murphy Cup Final

Kilkerrin Clonberne – All Ireland Ladies Club Senior Champions

Unsuccessful in National Finals were;

Mayo – Nickey Rackard Cup Hurling Runners Up

Mayo – Allianz Football League Runners Up

London – Allianz League Division 3 Hurling Runners Up

Tynagh Abbey Duniry – All Ireland Intermediate Hurling Final

St Colmans College,Claremorris – All Ireland Schools A Football Final

Presentation College,Athenry – All Ireland Schools A Hurling Final

Calasanctius College,Oranmore – All Ireland Schools C Hurling Final

Caltra Cuans – All Ireland Intermediate Club Ladies football Final

St Dominics – All Ireland Junior Club Camogie Final

Congratulations to Cathal Mannion (Galway) on winning his second Hurling All Star award.

Champion 15 Award winners were, Enda Lawless,(Roscommon),Mark Ward (Roscommon), Conor Cosgrove (Roscommon),Sean Canning (Roscommon),Oisin Greally (M),Daniel Huane (Mayo),and Liam Lavin (Mayo). Congratulations to Conor Cosgrove (Roscommon) on winning the Nickey Rackard Cup Hurler of the Year award.

Dara Curran (Roscommon) and Ben Holmes (Mayo) were selected on the Electric Ireland Minor Star football team of the year.

Hugh O Loughlin and Darragh Beirne (Mayo) were selected on the Dalata Hotel Group U 20 Football team of the Year.

Ladies Football All Stars were won by Nicola Ward, and Olivia Divilly (Galway).

Camogie All Stars were awarded to 8 Galway players, Sarah Healy, Shauna Healy  ,Dervla Higgins ,Ciara Hickey, Aoife Donohue, Ailish O Reilly, Niamh Mallon,  Carrie Dolan. Aoife Donohue was selected as PWC GPA Senior Player of the Year with Manager Cathal Murray being named as Camogie Manager of the year.

Presidents Awards recipients were Joe Reapy,Davitts GAA Club Co Mayo and Ballyhaunis native Martin Grogan (Roger Casements,Coventry) received the International Award.

The McGrath Family Sarsfields GAA,Galway were presented with the Dermot Earley Family Award.

Congratulations to McNamee Award winner Billy Coss the Tuam Herald – Noel Tierney R.I.P Interview.

Congratulations to All Ireland Scor na Nog Champions Claregalway who took the Ceol Uirlise title.

Connacht GAA had the honour of hosting the All-Ireland Scór Sinsir Finals on Saturday 26^th April in the T.F. Royal Theatre, Castlebar. Our competitors gave splendid performances to a packed auditorium and the sense of occasion was palpable for all in attendance. The West was surely awake with three titles remaining in the province, Amhránaíocht Aonair, Nuachleas & Ceol Uirlise. This was a fantastic achievement, and we congratulate all our winners on the day.

2025 proved to be an outstanding year for the Inter County referees from the province. Congratulations to the following who refereed National Finals Liam Gordan ( All Ireland Senior Hurling final), Shane Hynes (All Ireland U 20 Hurling Final), Liam Devenney (Tailteann Cup Final), Thomas Murphy ( All Ireland U 20 Football Final), Paddy Neilan ( All Ireland Club football Final). Their appointments are a testimony to the work being undertaken by our Provincial Referees Development Committee.

Taking all things into account from the loss of the Dome to Storm Eowyn to the wonderful Football Championship at Club and County Level combined with another outstanding Hurling Championship 2025 was a good year for the Association in the Province.

SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

The introduction of the enhanced Rules by the FRC brought a new vibrancy to our games in 2025 with high scoring encounters being brought to life by the excitement of the 2 pointers. Games were never over when there was the chance to score 2 pointers.

Roscommon and London commenced the Championship in Ruislip where a sizeable travelling support saw Roscommon run out easy winners by 2.26 to 0.13.

The following day Mayo welcomed Sligo to Hastings Insurance MacHale Park and after a close affair held on to win by 2.20 to 2.17.

That evening all eyes turned to Gaelic Park in the Bronx where a large Galway contingent travelled to see their team win on a scoreline of Galway 3.28 New York 0.20

In the semi Finals Mayo travelled to AvantMoney Pairc Sheain Mac Diarmada and after a very entertaining game pulled away in the end to defeat Leitrim by 0.20 to 0.13.

In the other semi final played at Pearse Stadium Galway defeated Roscommon by 1.24 to 0.18

This led to what proved to be an exhilarating edge of the seats encounter between Galway and Mayo at MacHale Park. In a game which ebbed and flowed all day and which saw Mayo encamped in the Galway half of the field for the final few minutes trying to get a winner but Galway held out to take the Nestor Cup for the 4^th year in a row on a scoreline of Galway 1.17 Mayo 1.15.

In the All Ireland Series Galway, Mayo and Roscommon qualified.  Galway were grouped with Dublin, Derry and Armagh  with Mayo in a Group of Tyrone, Cavan and Donegal while Roscommon were pitted with Kerry Meath and Cork.

In Round 1 Galway were defeated by Dublin 2.14 to 1.18 ,Cavan defeated Mayo by 1.17 to 1.14 and Roscommon lost to Kerry by 0.17 to 3.18.

Round 2 saw Galway defeat Derry by 4.14 to 2.20;Mayo defeat Tyrone 2.17 to 1.13 and Roscommon draw with Meath 2.15 to 0.21.

In the Final Round of Group games Galway defeated Armagh 2.22 to 0.27;Mayo lost to Donegal 0.19 to 1.15 and Roscommon lost to Cork 0.17 to 0.19.

Mayo and Roscommon exited the championship at this stage and Galway qualified to meet Down in the Preliminary Quarter Final where they qualified for the Quarter Final after winning by 2.26 to Down 3.21 in a very close exciting game

In the Quarter Final Galway excited the championship by the narrowest of margins Meath 2.16  Galway 2.15

In the Tailteann Cup  Sligo and Leitrim   were paired in Group 1 where Sligo defeated Tipperary 2.15 to 2.10, and Leitrim 2.19 to 1.18  after a brilliant game at Pairc Sheain and were defeated by Kildare 1.24 to 4.19. Leitrim were defeated by Kildare 0.11 to 0.36 and had a victory over Tipperary on a 3.9 to 0.10 scoreline.

London were in Group 3 where they suffered defeats to Limerick, Westmeath and Antrim.

In the Preliminary Quarter Final New York were defeated by Offaly 2.25 to 1.12 while Sligo were defeated by Fermanagh on a 0.21 to 1.16 scoreline.

Preparations for the 2026 Connacht Championship are at an advanced stage with counties having completed a substantial block of training.

Stephen Poacher and Padraic Joyce remain as Leitrim and Galway managers with new management teams in Mayo, Andy Moran, Roscommon Mark Dowd  and Sligo Eamon O Hara and Dessie Sloyan.

The new senior Football Championship Format thankfully gives teams a break between the League Finals and the commencement of the Championship.

Mayo travel to London in the Championship opener with Roscommon travelling to New York and Sligo and Leitrim meeting in the quarterfinals. The semi-final pairings sees Galway play the winners of Sligo/Leitrim in Pairc Sheain/Pearse Stadium, The other semi-final sees the winners of London and Mayo meet the winners of Roscommon/New York   in Hastings Insurance MacHale Park/Dr Hyde Park

The Semi Final winners will again compete in what we hope will again be an exciting Connacht Senior Football Final for the Nestor Cup.

U-20 CHAMPIONSHIP

The U 20 Championship was played on a Round Robin Basis and proved to be an exciting competition with qualification for the knockout stages in doubt right up to the end.

The championship, which guaranteed each team at least 5 games, commenced on the 19^th March with victories for Galway over Leitrim and aMayo over Roscommon   in Round 1.

Round 2 saw victory for Roscommon over Sligo and a victory for Mayo over Galway.

Round 3 saw Leitrim defeated by  Mayo and Galway being defeated by  Sligo

In Round 4 Galway welcomed Roscommon to Tuam Stadium where both sides fought a hard earned draw while Sligo defeated  Leitrim at Drumshanbo.

Round 5 was the deciding round with Sligo being defeated by Mayo at MacHale Park and Roscommon being victorious over Leitrim at Dr Hyde Park.

After the Round Robin Series Mayo had qualified for the Connacht Final with Roscommon and Sligo in the semi Final. Galway and Leitrim qualified for the Philly McGuinness Final

In the Semi Final, played at The Connacht GAA Centre, Roscommon defeated Sligo on a 4.12 to 1-18 scoreline.

In the Philly McGuinness Cup Final Galway were defeated by Leitrim   on a 5-123 to 4-12 scoreline.

The Connacht U 20 Final was an exciting affair with the end result in doubt all through before Mayo took the title on a 2.17 to 4.8 scoreline.

Mayo were defeated in the All Ireland Semi Final by Louth by the narrowest of margins 2-12 to 0.17.

Hopefully the 2026 competition, which sees the beginning of the 1^st year of a 2 year cycle, will again be a huge success with the outcome going right down to the wire

MINOR (U- 17) FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

The U-17 championship was again organised in a Round Robin format in 2025. The top team qualified for the final with the 2^nd and 3^rd placed teams qualifying for the semi-final. The 4^th and 5^th teams qualified for the Shield Final.2025 saw the first year of a 2 year cycle commence.

The format guaranteed each team a minimum of 5 games in the Connacht Championship.

In Round 1 Roscommon defeated Sligo by 0-20 to 0.8 at Dr Hyde Park   while Leitrim had home advantage at  Cloone where they suffered a 3.19 to 2.11 defeat to Galway In Round 2 Leitrim were defeated by Mayo 0.15 to 0.10 in Ballina with Galway defeated by  Roscommon 0.15 to 0.12 at Tuam Stadium

In Round 3 Sligo  0.8 were defeated by Galway 1.17 at Tubbercurry. In the other game of the round  Roscommon defeated Mayo by 4.15 to 3.9 in Dr Hyde Park

Round 4 saw Mayo have a 3.19 to 1.10 victory over Sligo at MacHale Park with Leitrim being  defeated by Roscommon by 2.15 to 1.16 at Drumshanbo

In Round 5 Sligo lost to Leitrim 2.12 to 4.11 with Galway defeating Mayo by 3.14 to 3.12 at Tuam Stadium.

After  the 5 rounds Roscommon   had qualified for the final with Galway and
Mayo  meeting in the semi-final.,

In the semi final Mayo overturned the result of the Round 5 contest by defeating Galway on a 3.15 to 0.15 scoreline at MacHale Park

In the Final, played at MacHale Park Roscommon took  the title on a scoreline of Roscommon  2.14. Mayo 1.15 after a most exciting Connacht Final.

In the Shield final Leitrim took the title following a hard fought victory over Sligo at Tubbercurry.

In the All Ireland Quarter Finals Roscommon defeated Louth by the narrowest of margins

1.19 to 2.15 with Mayo defeating Offaly on a 3.13 to 4.7 scoreline.

In All Ireland Semi Finals Tyrone defeated Roscommon by 2.12 to 1.8 while Mayo were defeated by Kerry 1.19 to 3.10

The Round Robin format at this level and the  3 Tiered structure at National level has been a huge success and we look forward to London and New York participating at U 17 level in 2026

Decoupling

Decoupling is at the heart of our ability to provide games, and to minimize the negative impact on the adult games programme.

There appears to be moves afoot at the upcoming Congress to move the Minor Age from U 17 to U 18 which does not take into account the reasons that we changed to u 17 in the first place. Decoupling was brought in to completely separate the under age and adult grades and to have no clashes between U age and adult fixtures. If we are to move the minor age to U 18 is there an appetite to decouple at 18 which in effect will prove to be a huge problem for many small clubs who will have problems fielding at adult level without U 18 players. We must be careful what we wish for by moving to U 18 with the bottom line being that Decoupling MUST be a part of any option to avoid the problems of the past (overtraining / overuse / fixture planning etc)

In my opinion the coming year will see some challenges with the calendar which has been produced by the Development CCC. The Academy dates do not take fully into account the issues on the ground in having Academy Squads ready to play so early in the year. I am concerned that not all of our counties will be able to meet all of the dates in the early part of the year. We must remember that most of our counties will not have a full panel for the U 17 championship comprised of all 17 year olds. Many of our counties will pull from 15 and 16 year olds and one can see many of these issues highlighted in the recent Report of the Demographic Committee.

FBD INSURANCE LEAGUE

For some reason Ard Chomhairle in their wisdom decided that the pre season competitions would not be held in 2025. In a year when the FRC brought forward their enhancements of the Football Rules the lack of a structured competition before the Allianz Football Leagues denied our counties and players an opportunity to experiment with the new enhancements in a less pressurised situation pre season. Unfortunately it did not happen and led to some changes mid League which was not ideal and could have been avoided. The view of the GPA that the FBD League and other Pre Season Tournaments in January had implications for Player Welfare and that players would have to return to training at an earlier date. The Return to collective Training Date for all Senior Inter County Panels for the 2026 season was fixed for  Friday, November 21st. As in other years this has been a notional date and in my opinion the majority of counties have ignored it. By this date I would hazard a guess that the majority of Senior and some U 20 Inter County teams were 60% fit by this time. The policing will never happen.

There is a proposal in the Inter County Review document that again wants to remove pre season competitions out of the calendar from 2027. I have spoken to several Senior Inter County Players from Connacht who got their first chance in the FBD league and I have yet to meet anybody to suggest it should be discontinued. I think its discontinuation is an insult to emerging players, our supporters who look forward to the games at this time of year and who begin to look forward to the real action at the end of January. We must also recognise our sponsors, in our case, FBD Insurance, who have been very loyal to our province.

While it has been suggested by some that it is all about Finance this is not the case but in a Province the size of ours the gate receipts from the FBD Leagues has gone directly back into  Games Development ,with enhanced Coaching initiatives at all levels and in particular at Club and Academy Level. Having to live off 4 Inter County Senior Football gates leaves very little room for manoeuvre and the FBD Leagues has given Connacht the opportunity to at least compete. Hopefully delegates will see the advantages of the preseason competitions and vote to retain them.

I wish to thank FBD for their continued support for the games and look forward to January 2026 with a renewal of the preseason competitions. It would be a travesty if the competitions are again discontinued at the upcoming Congress both from a team and player preparation point of view and from a financial point of view for the provinces and consequently for our clubs who may have less access to the Coaching and Games Development programmes we undertake in our clubs in the future.

I have further comments on the preseason competitions when referring to the Review of the All Ireland Final dates and the operation of the Split Season.

This years FBD has a new format for 2026 with Roscommon, Galway,Mayo,Sligo,Leitrim and London participating in a novel mini league format. Regulations have also been adopted to allay the fears of those who see the Preseason Competitions as having a detrimental effect to Player Welfare. In the 2026 FBD Insurance League, in an effort to alleviate any player welfare issues, the following regulations shall apply:

Third Level Students

1. 1. Players will be ineligible to participate in a preseason senior intercounty game within a minimum of 48 hours (between starting time of matches) of playing in a third level championship game (Sigerson/Fitzgibbon/Trench/Ryan Cups).
2. Players submitted via 3^rd Level Championship Declarations will be ineligible for mid-week games in the Provincial Pre-Season Competitions (defined as games on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays).

Exception: if their 3^rd level team has been eliminated from the relevant championship.

(Note: 3rd Level institutions are currently obliged to make Championship panel Declarations by Dec 1^st  annually, where they submit their panel of players for the Sigerson and Fitzgibbon Cups).

Additional player welfare measures

Match day panels will consist of 26 players. All players will be allowed to play subject to the following:

Once substituted a player shall not be allowed to return to the game (unless as a blood or head injury sub)

A maximum of 6 substitutes allowed during the second half of a given game.

Preseason games to last 60 minutes (30 minutes a half)

The Pre Season Competitions are not the Allianz League, they are not the Senior Championship but are simply a way for players to ease themselves into the really competitive competitions which commence in late January and give county managements and county committee a structured introduction to the playing season.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIPS

Last year’s Connacht Club Football champions Coolera Strandhill  (Senior) qualified for the All Ireland Club Semi Final where they were defeated by eventual winners Cuala (Dublin)

Congratulations are due to Crossmolina Deel Rovers  (Intermediate) and An Cheathru Rua (Junior) both of whom made it all the way to victory in the All Ireland Finals.

The 2025 Senior Club championship saw new champions being crowned in Sligo , Leitrim Galway and Roscommon . The Champions of Mayo and London retained their titles.  Moycullen (Galway) St Brigids   (Roscommon), Ballina Stephenites (Mayo) Leitrim Gaels (Leitrim) Shamrock Gaels  (Sligo) and North London Shamrocks  (London) won their respective County Senior Football Championship.

In the Connacht Championship, in a repeat of last years quarter final, Ballina Stephenites had a hard fought victory 0-15 to 0-10 victory over North London Shamrocks at Connacht GAA Centre.

In the other quarter final Moycullen   travelled to Kilcoyne Park,Tubbercurry   where they defeated  Shamrock Gaels 1.20 to 1.9

In the semi-finals Ballina Stephenites travelled to Dr Hyde Park   to play the Roscommon champions St Brigids   with the local side having well-deserved victory, by 1.21 to 3.8

Leitrim Gaels  travelled to Pearse Stadium  to play Moycullen but were defeated 4.13 to 1.9

The AIB Connacht Club Final St Brigids  and Moycullen  played at Dr Hyde Park  was a tight  affair with the outcome  in doubt right up to the final whistle. A late goal by St Brigids saw them wrest the initiative from Moycullen to take the Connacht Title  on a 1-16 to 1-14 scoreline.

St Brigids  now play Ulster  Champions Scotstown at Cavan  in the All Ireland semi-final early in the New Year… We wish them the best of luck.

At Intermediate level Kilmeena (Mayo), Allen Gaels (Leitrim) Strokestown (Roscommon) Coolaney Mullinabreena  (Sligo) and Caltra (Galway) won their respective County Championships.

In the quarter final Kilmeena travelled to Tuam Stadium to play Caltra and after a brilliant game emerged victorious by 1.21 to 0.21 after extra time.

In the first semi-final Coolaney Mullinabreena travelled to MacHale Park where they were defeated by Kilmeena  on a 0.22 to 1-9 scoreline

In the other semi-final Strokestown defeated Allen Gaels by 2.16  to 0.16  in a in a well contested game which could have gone either way at Dr Hyde Park

The final was played at MacHale Park with Strokestown taking the early initiative against Kilmeena and proved much too strong for the Mayomen to take the Gene Byrne Cup by the 4.11 to 0.14

Strokestown have now qualified for the All Ireland semi-final where they will play the Derry  and Ulster  champions Glenullin, in Ballyshannon  early  in the New Year. They are wished the best of luck in their endeavours.

At Junior level St Croans (Roscommon) Carna Caiseal  (Galway) Kiltimagh (Mayo) Aughavas (Leitrim) and Cloonacool  (Sligo) qualified for the Connacht Championships.

St Croans defeated Cloonacool by 2.12 to 1.7   in the  quarter final at Dr Hyde  Park

In the semi-final Aughavas  had a home venue at Ballinamore  where they defeated Carna Caiseal  by 1.10 to 1-9 in a game that could have gone to either team.

In the other semi-final, which was a brilliant contest played at Ballyforan between St Croans and Kiltimagh, the sides could not be separated at full time and after extra time before Kiltimagh eventually qualified for the Final by winning 4-3 on penalties.

The Final which was played at Pairc Sheain Carrick on Shannon  Kiltimagh proved to be much too physically strong for a young Aughavas team and took the Frank Reynolds Cup by 0.16 to 0.8

They now go on to play Clogher Eire Og  (Tyrone ) at Pairc Sheain Carrick on Shannon, in the All Ireland Semi- Final and are wished well.

Hurling Competitions.

In Hurling last year’s champions Loughrea  (Galway) Tooreen (Mayo) Four Roads (Roscommon)), St Gabriels (London)  Easkey (Sligo) Cluainin Iomaint (Leitrim) retained  their respective Senior Hurling titles. Meelick Eyrecourt  won the Galway Intermediate title while Ballinasloe retained   the Junior title. The Mayo Junior Title was won by Moytura.

Loughrea qualified directly into the All Ireland Senior Hurling Semi Final where they were unlucky to lose to Dublin and Leinster champions Na Fianna who advanced to take the All Ireland title.

Loughrea again retained their Galway Title and have qualified for the All Ireland Club Final v Ballygunnor having defeated Derry and Ulster Champions Slauightneil  in the semi Final. They are wished well in the final

In the quarter final of the Intermediate championship Tooreen again overcame Four Roads on a 3.21 to 1-12 scoreline at Dr Hyde Park

Tooreen travelled to Ruislip to play St Gabriels and by virtue of an outstanding first half display Tooreen again qualified for the final on a Tooreen 3.21 St Gabriels 0.8  scoreline.

Tooreen and Meelick Eyrecourt played a tight hard fought game which ebbed and flowed before Tooreen took the initiative and  took the title on a 3.21  to 2.12 scoreline.

In the All Ireland Series Tooreen   have qualified for the All Ireland Final by virtue of a magnificent All Ireland Semi Final victory over Tyrone and Ulster Champions Eire Og,Carrickmore by 1.28 to 1.17 victory

They are wished well in the All Ireland Final against Munster and Tipperary champions Drombane Upperchurch.

At Junior level Easkey defeated Cluainin Iomaint by 2-22 to 2-6 in the semi final to qualify for the Connacht final while Ballinasloe defeated Moytura by 1.18 to 1.7 in the other semi final.where they had a 0-18 to 1-11 victory over Ballinasloe.

In the Final Easkey defeated Ballinasloe by 2.17 to 2.15 after a brilliant Final.

In the All Ireland Semi Final Easkey have defeated Burt the Donegal and Ulster champions by 4.23 to 1.21 after extra time.

They are wished well in the All Ireland Final  against Kilbrittan (Cork)

Hopefully our 3 Connacht representatives in finals can bring home the All Ireland titles.

At Senior Inter County Level Galway qualified for the Leinster Hurling Final by virtue of victories over Offaly 2.25 to 1.14;Wexford 1.29 to 2.16;Antrim 6.27 to 1.14;Dublin 0.29 to  3.15. Kilkenny defeated Galway in the Leinster Final by 3.22 to 1.20.In the All Ireland quarter Final Galway were defeated by eventual All Ireland Champions Tipperary.

In the Nickey Rackard Cup Roscommon, Mayo and Sligo competed. Roscommon defeated Mayo in the Nickey Rackard Cup in an all Connacht affair while Mayo took the Allianz Division 3 Hurling title by defeating London in the Final.

In the Lory Meagher Cup Leitrim and New York participated with New York having an historic victory over Cavan 4.17 to 2.17 in the final.

At U20 Level Galway had victories over Laois and Offaly but exited the championship following a 2.18 to 0.17 defeat to Dublin.

At U17 level Galway participated in Tier 1 of the Leinster Championship. The defeated Dublin 2.17 to 1.13 in Round 1. Subsequently they were defeated by Kilkenny 2.22 to 2.18  and qualified for the Leinster Semi Final by defeating Wexforsd  by 3.24 to 1.18. In the semi final Galway again were confronted by Wexford and again defeated them by 2.20 to 1.19 in a much closer affair to qualify for the Final. . Kilkenny took the Leinster title on a scoreline of 4.11 to 1.18.  Eventual All Ireland Champions Clare defeated Galway in the Quarter Final by 2.21 to 2.13.

Damien Curley in his comprehensive Hurling Development Report has outlined the various competitions that our counties participated in at Tain Og and Academy levels.

Coaching & Games Development.

2025 has been a very busy year for our Coaching and Games Development Committee.

Our Coaching and Games Development Committee, under the chairmanship of Padraic McGourty  and Provincial Games Manager Cathal Cregg has overseen and supported a Games based approach in all of our activities around the 12 priority areas.

Nursery Programme

This has been a tremendous success being the first introduction to Gaelic Games for children aged 4 to 7 in clubs. At least 4,957 participants from 153 clubs took part in the nursery programme.

This year, the national schools coaching program , thanks to the success of our CDO Scheme has seen 426 schools receive in person face to face coaching sessions with 35,764 participants.

The teacher led initiative under the Skills for Schools programme enables us to coach in schools all year long by empowering teachers  to  bring live football and hurling practices to National Schools from the Connacht GAA centre, hosted by one of our GDCs and a county player Currently 85 teachers are involved in the programme..

At Second Level 68 Schools have received support from our Coaching Staff with 3,512 participants from all levels.

Cúl Camps

A total of 22,938 boys and girls participated in the Cúl Camps programme this summer throughout Connacht. While there has been a slight reduction in numbers we must keep in mind that Cul Camps are a vital promotional activity and not necessarily a fund raising activity.

Coach Education

Our coach education system through our full-time staff and body of Connacht/County GAA Coach Developers have delivered a total of 82 formal (Introduction to Gaelic Games, Award 1 & Award 2) GAA Football and Hurling Coaching courses throughout Connacht. Our Award 2 course for 2025/2026 has seen a total of 45 participants in total from Football and Hurling and from each of the counties. All modules will be delivered by our Connacht GAA Coach Developers.

Go Games

There is a lot of discussion in some quarters about the value of Go Games. In my opinion those who are not in favour ,because they do not see the value of it being non-competitive, fail to see the bigger picture. If the argument is about plaving versus winning then there can only be one winner i.e if we don’t play and learn how to play at this age cohort then we cannot win. As usual the highlight of the Go Games calendar has been the Connacht GAA Go Games days in Croke Park when clubs are chosen on a rota basis from all of the 5 counties with each club fitting into the rota every 3 or 4 years  in what has proven to be an incredible experience for the children, their parents and for many their grandparents. In 2025 over 2 days in April 64 clubs, 87 teams and 1,411 kids participated in hurling and football from all Connacht counties. Everybody got to play 3 games and enjoyed a Museum Tour.

Other areas of responsibility for our Coaching and Games Development Committee has been

Super Games Centres:  Involving 58 Schools having 2370 students involved in 111 Blitzes – 138 Clubs had 1,387 players involved in 104 Blitzes.

Youth Games: From an examination of our Fixtures Analyst reports in the 5 Counties from U 13 to U 18 there were 1,286 Hurling and 4,653 Football officially organised in our province making an impressive total of 5,939 games in total.

Academy Squads:5 Hurling and 5 Football Academy days were organised very successfully. At U 14 Football Level there were 3 days of 7 a side games and 2 days of 15 a side games which were a huge success.

Club Development Officer Scheme (CDO)

The Club Development Officer (CDO) project has become one of the most important Coaching initiatives ever initiated by the Council. In 2025 a total of 91 clubs took part over 20 weeks with 102 clubs signed up for 2026. There has been an increase in participation year on year.The aim of the project is to assist clubs in growing their membership and becoming more self-sufficient. The initiative involves clubs receiving a 3^rd level student to help assist club volunteers to carry out the key national Coaching and Games programmes such as  primary schools coaching, establishing and coordinating an excellent club nursery (U4-U6), coordinate an excellent club Go Games programme (Under7,9 & 11`s), organising and running of club camps & Cúl camps, provide extra opportunities for young players i.e. youth super games, athletic development program for youth players and promotion of all club activities through social media platforms through the club PRO.

This year the project finished in June and a full review was conducted which included surveying all teachers, clubs and CDO`s. Feedback was positive  and number of changes from the review were recommended and approved by the Connacht C&G Committee to improve the project in 2026.  I want to particularly thank Oran Hester for the huge volume of work  he undertakes in sourcing the Students, allocating them to the various clubs and organising the training before the start and the follow up with all of the stakeholders during the year. It as the jewel in the crown of what we are currently doing in Coaching and Games Development.

Overseas

Connacht continues to have positive engagement with our twinning Partners  London,New York and Asia and in particular with the Development Officers in those regions Cormac Duffy, Eamon Fitzgerald and with our Third Level Student Tristen Diskin who spent 20 weeks coaching and developing the game in Asia this year.

Connacht Hurling Plan

 2025 saw the publication and launch of the Connacht GAA Hurling Plan 2025–2028, which has received high praise from Uachtaran Jarlath Burns. It is a live document which has a vision to increase the number of clubs playing the game and consequently increase participation. There is no doubt that the Connacht Hurling Plan 2025—2028 is the one that most outlines what is best for the promotion of Hurling in Connacht at the present time.

The major cornerstones of the plan are outlined in Damien Curley’s Hurling Report are;

• Tain Og Competitions
• Cuchulainn League
• Planning & Review
• Development Initiatives
• Events and Roadshows
• Academies and Coaching
• Governance and Strategic Actions
• Gear Distribution

Much progress has been made since the launch of the Hurling plan.

All Counties involved with  the plan have designated Wednesday and Sunday as Hurling Days in the province

There was a very successful U18 Blitz .

There has been positive recognition at National Level when the 3 Clubs from Connacht that participated in the U 18 Blitz in Abbotstown were invited to the All Ireland Hurling Semi Final and Introduced to the crowd at half time.

The establishment of new hurling hubs which has seen a huge increase in participation in what can be described as non traditional hurling areas has been an outstanding success with the delivery of starter packs a most welcome and necessary development.

There has been a very positive participation in the U 15 Academy and the Celtic Challenge.

As with any initiative there have been challenges with availability of facilities for games  and at times player availability for academy games.

In the coming year the focus must be in at least the following key areas;

• Increase the number of new hubs in the winter indoor hurling programme
• Provide equipment to more hubs

Great credit is due to our Connacht Coaching staff Cian O’Toole (Mayo), Gavin Connolly (Sligo), and Proinsias Killion (Roscommon) for their commitment to the promotion of hurling under our Connacht Hurling Plan.

On behalf of the Council I wish to thank the following;

• Our Coaching Committee under the Chairmanship of Padraig McGourty and our County Coaching Officers, Seamus Smyth (Mayo), Padraig O Griofa (Galway), Niall Murray (Roscommon), Joe Brady (Sligo) and Brian Breen (Leitrim).
• Our Coach Education Committee under the chairmanship of Brian Henry.
• To our Games Managers, Thomas Keenan, Padraic Mitchell, Billy Mc Nicholas, Denis Carr and Liam Og Gormley.
• Special thanks is also due to the late Padraic O Conaire and his staff for their work under Clar na gCluichi Gaeltacha.
• To our Hurling Head of Games Damien Curley.
• Also to our Third Level Officers, Michael Harte (ATU Sligo), Damien Coleman (ATU Galway) for their efforts throughout the year.
• Danial Forde our Strength & Conditioning Officer has been working with clubs and development squads in rolling out Fitness Testing, Training Programmes and Video Analysis. Cian O Dea has also given valuable support in this area,
• I also wish to thank Oran Hester who is doing outstanding work with our CDO Scheme.
• I wish to pay tribute to the National Coaching and Games Development Committee, under the chairmanship of Micheal Martin and the guidance and direction of Shane Flanagan and his Coaching & Games Development staff.
• Finally I wish to pay tribute to our Provincial Games Manager Cathal Cregg for his continued commitment to the promotion of our games within the Province

SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

Cumann na mBunscol,T he Post Primary Schools Committee  and The Third Level Committee as can be seen from their  Calendar of Fixtures had, in the main, a very successful year in 2025.

The Connacht Post Primary Schools Committee organises the  Mezzino Post Primary School Championship on a Provincial basis. 80 schools competed in the Connacht competitions with 265 teams involved.

In what proved to be a hugely successful year at Post primary level 6 Schools competed in All Ireland Finals with three schools talking the ultimate honours

All-Ireland Success

The records will show that four of our senior football teams competed in the All-Ireland finals at A, B, C and D with 2 Schools competing in the the All Ireland Hurling A and B Finals.

Congratulations to Roscommon CBS (B), St Clares Manorhamilton (C) and St Cuanms,Castleblakeney (D)  who were deserving winners of All Ireland Titles.

At A level St Colmans, Claremorris were defeated in the Hogan Cup Final by St Pats Maghera.

In the Croke Cup, a stunning late comeback saw Thurles CBS break Presentation Athenry hearts and pinch Croke Cup by bare minimum.

Calasanctius College Oranmore were unlucky to lose out to Cross & Passion College, Ballycastle in the All-Ireland ‘B’ Final.

An examination of the Fixtures Analysts report shows that 531 Schools Football games were scheduled with 446  (83.9%) played from Senior down to First Year while in Hurling 207 were scheduled with 158 (76.3%) played. The Connacht Post Primary Schools Competition Regulations sets out clearly the dates for our competitions and the final dates for games to be completed. Unfortunately some schools had not completed their games before the competition was due to finish and felt that they should appeal the penalty  of being  excluded from the competition. The Regulations are the same for everybody and in fairness to all they are consistent and logical. Hopefully the 2025/2026 calendar will be adhered to in full.

 I wish to thank our Second Level Schools Committee, under the Chairmanship of Joe McCabe, for their great cooperation during the year. Hugh Rudden continues to do tremendous work to ensure that Second Level games are organised and promoted at all times. Hugh in his report, gives a comprehensive account of the winners and losers of the competitions.

I also wish to thank the teachers in the schools for the huge amount of work they put into promoting Gaelic Games and I ask our county committees to give them their fullest support also.

The  Third Level sector, in the promotion of our games, has a huge role to play in our Association.. It gives an opportunity to students to integrate into college and by joining any of the Gaelic Games clubs they are given the chance to meet and play with players of different standards and improve their skills at a different level that they are used to heretofore.

The past year was extremely busy with the highlight of the year the hosting of the Fitzgibbon Cup , Sigerson Cup and the Ashbourne Cup knockout stages at the Connacht GAA Centre in conjunction with the University of Galway.. I wish to thank all involved in the organisation of those competitions which proved to be a mammoth task following the destruction of the University of Galway Connacht GAA Airdome. The competitions were an outstanding success. I wish to thank the officers and members of University of Galway Camogie Club ,Hurling Club and Football Club and especially Galway of University Development Officer Michael O Connor for their cooperation during the competitions.

The Third Level Bursary Scheme in 2025 was a huge success. . 62 bursaries were awarded in January 2025 and in January 2026, as we enter our 16^th year, the Scheme will see a further 62 bursaries awarded. A key component of being granted a Bursary is the recommendation from ones college and without this a Bursary cannot be awarded.

Unfortunately all applicants cannot be awarded a Bursary and the scheme is designed not only for top class Gaelic Football, Hurling, Ladies Football and Camogie players in the colleges but also for up and coming young administrators who play an important part in the college clubs and may be future administrators at Club, County, Provincial and maybe National Level.

I wish to pay tribute to our Third Level Committee, under the Chairmanship of Padraig McGourty. They have done trojan work over the years and are a valuable part in promoting Gaelic Games.

I wish to thank our Third Level Development Officers, Damien Coleman (ATU Galway), Michael Harte (ATU Sligo ) for their co-operation and dedication to promoting Gaelic games in their colleges.

I wish to thank our Cumann na mBunscol committee under the Chairmanship of Declan Kirrane, secretary Aodan O Caoimh and Connacht Delegate Gerry O Gara who work closely in the promotion of Gaelic Games in conjunction with our games managers, coaches and GPO’s. I wish to compliment them and thank them for their efforts.

During the year all of our Games managers have brought hordes of Primary Schools children to their county days at the Connacht GAA Centre which, even without the University of Galway Connacht GAA Airdome, has been a brilliant experience for the children and also the teachers.

Finally I wish to pay tribute to the representatives of the Educational Sector on the Council, Padraig McGourty (Third Level), Hugh Rudden (Secondary Schools), and Gerry O Gara (Cumann na mBunscol) for their contribution to their respective sectors and also to the overall work of the Council.

On behalf of the Council I wish to thank all of those who promote Gaelic games in each sector and I look forward to working with them in the future.

Integration

As we move towards the suggested date of 2027 for the integration of the GAA,the Camogie Associations and the Ladies Football Association into one GAA I feel that it is time to critically evaluate whether the time schedule can be met or whether it is wise to strive to meet the 2027 deadline.

In my opinion the apparent preference to have the associations amalgamated at all levels in the next year is probably a bridge too far and seems like putting the foundations and the roof on a house at the same time.

I feel that it is time to reevaluate the time lines and put a sustainable process in place which will see all of the associations amalgamated from the bottom up.

Currently in the Associations we have the following models

The One Club Model catering for all Codes played within a club

One Club model for Gaelic Football and Hurling

Exclusive Hurling Clubs

Exclusive Gaelic football Clubs

Exclusive Camogie Clubs

Exclusive Ladies Football Clubs

In the affiliations of those clubs the Football and Hurling clubs are under the auspices of the County GAA Board.

Camogie Clubs are under the auspices of the County Camogie Board while the Ladies Football Clubs are under the auspices of the County Ladies Football Board.

Even in the One Club model in many cases Club members are affiliated to 3 different county committees. The county committees are affiliated to different Provincial and National bodies. Not something that will be jelled together overnight.

There are huge financial implications involved in the Integration into one Association.

In particular there is a multi-million Euro infrastructure investment required to accommodate lady and men players. Well over 90% of our club and indeed county facilities were built to accommodate male players only. The GAA motto of “Where we all belong” and the Respect initiative presupposes that we are all equal. While our changing facilities, by today’s standards, are not fully suitable for males when integrated the ladies will not nor should they accept what is currently available. Consequently there will be a need to upgrade our Dressing Room facilities which will require considerable finances to bring them up to standard. Government sources seem determined to have One Association and there is an urgent need for urgent financial assistance from Government for the required infrastructural developments.

Other financial considerations for Integration involves the eventual costs around Inter County teams in the new GAA. Presently GAA costs are exorbitant for preparation of Gaelic Football and Hurling teams without taking into account the future costs of Inter County Camogie and Ladies football teams in the new GAA. There is a need for a forensic examination of the additional costs of Inter County teams before the final bell is rung.

Other considerations which must be ready to go day 1 include;

Governance

Fixtures Scheduling – Work has been ongoing

Culture Change – How do we accommodate the members who do not agree with Integration

Taking all of these issues into account I feel that it is time to re-evaluate where we are at. In my opinion the logical place to start is at Club Level. We must get the foundations right before we can proceed further. All 3 Associations have voted to amalgamate and in my opinion the logical steps are;

Club—County— Provincial —- National Level

The Steering Group on integration under Mary McAleese as Chairperson has done tremendous work to date in examining all aspects of having a unified club, county, province and national structure and seem determined to proceed as planned. However I pose the question

Is the timeline for full integration too tight? There are still too many questions to be answered.

This integration process is both ambitious and complex. While momentum is strong—with high-level support and a roadmap in place—it will only succeed through sustained resources, transparent planning, and genuine club-level commitment.

We must remember that when Integration is fully delivered the main drivers of its success will be our volunteers at club level. Our County Committee and Provincial Councils are dependent on the support and willingness of our clubs to make it work.

What is needed now are measured intentional steps to achieve the goal of Integration ensuring effectiveness and thoroughness in our actions.

As the Romans say “ Festina lente”

Review  of All Ireland Final dates and the Operation of the Split Season.

The Committee to review of All Ireland Final Dates and the operation of the Split season was established to analyse the current inter-county season schedule in the context of the split-season structure, considering both the promotional needs of the Association at both club and county level and the time available for inter-county players to participate in competitions with their clubs.

Following on from the work of The Calendar Review Committee of 2021 which introduced the Split Season and separated club and Inter county in a move that has worked well for all sides there has been concerns expressed in some quarters about the apparent lack of the promotional benefits of inter-county activity for the Association in August and September.

Consequently the Split Season Review Committee has recommended 3 proposals to Congress:

• Amend Rule 6.15 All Ireland Finals (T.O 2025) to read as follows: “The All Ireland Finals shall be played in Croke Park. The finals shall be played on or before the 32nd Sunday of the year on dates determined by the Central Council. In exceptional circumstances, the Central Council shall make other arrangements”
• Add a new part (c) to Code 11.5 Organisation (Provincial and All Ireland) “(c) Clubs from Counties that reach the All Ireland Senior Hurling and Football Finals will receive a Bye from the opening round of competition in their respective province in the same competition year”

• Enact a new Rule for inclusion in the Official Guide to the effect that: “No inter county competitions will be organised before the 4^th Sunday of the year annually.

I have no doubt that there will be more opportunities to promote our Inter County players in August and going into September but in reality the totality of our Inter County Players only make up 2% of our playing population. Have the 100% of our players who play at Club level  any promotional value to our Association.

The current GAA split season offers clubs greater certainty, access to players, and a more structured calendar, enhancing participation and planning.

The advantages of the Current Split Season includes the following amongst others;

In reality, the split season has empowered clubs with more autonomy and visibility, while also promoting player welfare and grassroots development.

Finally what has the poor auld pre-season competitions done to continually come up for discussion with another method of finding a way to bury them? In my opinion they play a very valuable part in our association as a whole in a number of ways;

• Gives fringe players an opportunity to play in a structured competition without the pressures of League and Championship. Looking at the team lists that counties have submitted for this year’s FBD it is very obvious that all of our counties are using the competition to give fringe players a taste of inter County Competition.
• The current League is now so important for grading teams that the opportunity for new and emerging talent is limited.
• Does it matter when the agreed return to play date is set for? Most counties are almost fully fit before this date
• If the Association is so concerned about burn out at this time of the year I would pose the question is June not the most manic month of the year for preparation and games and we don’t appear to be concerned with that.

CLUB DEVELOPMENT/INFRASTRUCTURE/LIABILITY

In 2025 the Council and Ard Chomhairle has provided grant aid of €510,000 to clubs in the province to supplement the great works they are undertaking in very difficult times. A further €200,000 has been committed under the Strategic Club Grant to assist St Marys, Kilotoghert Leitrim  who are undertaking a  large scale project in a growing  urban area to provide further playing facilities.

Every year I have highlighted the process that must be undertaken at club and county level, in all Property matters and because of its importance I have no apologies to include it here again.

I have a worry that in some counties the procedures under 2 below are not as diligent as they should be. It is vital to get this element right and in the coming year applications which do not adhere to the below process, which must be undertaken before any development and not afterwards, cannot and will not be entertained. The process is for the protection of everybody.

1. Clubs propose their plan at a Club meeting, which must be approved and minute.
2. Once approved by club the notice is sent to County Facilities & Safety Committee for approval/refusal. If approved decision sent to County Committee for ratification
3. County Committee, on approval, sends on decision to Provincial Council for examination and approval/refusal
4. Provincial Council, on approval sends on decision to NFMC for examination and approval/refusal

5. Decision of the NFMC communicated to the unit involved within 10 days of the meeting.

Club Property Ownership

During the summer every unit of the Association was informed of the Changes to Property Trust Structure for GAA Units.

From 31st December 2025, all individual Provincial Trustees will retire from their role as Trustees on behalf of Clubs and will no longer sign legal or financial documents for clubs (e.g. leases, sales, loans, grant agreements, etc). To ensure every Club property remains correctly vested in the GAA, each club have been asked to review and, if necessary, update its trustee structure in line with one of the two approved options below:

The important point for all clubs and their Trustees to understand is that ICCLG does not affect the ownership of the property and in effect is holding the property in trust for and on behalf of the club .Over 50% of Clubs in the country have now transferred to ICCLG.

During the past couple of months the Connacht Planning and Physical Development Committee has held face to face meetings with Clubs, in each of the 5 counties, to explain the procedures to be adopted in the transfer. These meetings have been very worthwhile and much appreciated by those who attended. The County Safety and Facilities Officer has a vital role in this whole process and hopefully all will be fully engaged in the process for 2026 and beyond.The important point that we have emphasised is that from 31^st December 2025 the Provincial and County Trustees will retire and from that date they will not be able to sign the following documents as Trustees;

• Disposal of Property Agreements i.e sales,
• Loan agreements with Financial institutions,
• Grant Agreements, with Sports Capital, Leader, County Councils etc

What they will be available to sign are legal documents which will transfer property into the ICCLG

Failure to update trustees may result in complications regarding property ownership, loan agreements, and funding applications.

Major developments have been undertaken at the various Inter county grounds in Connacht.

All of our counties have enhanced their facilities during the year as listed below.

Galway-          Floodlights in Pearse Stadium

Leitrim-           Pairc Sean MacDiarmada- New playing surface and Pitch Perimeter fencing

Mayo-             Upgrade works at MacHale Park

Roscommon- Perimeter fencing

Sligo-              Markievicz Park- upgrade on playing surface

All-weather Astro turf pitch in the County Training Centre in Scarden.

This year  Galway  €63K for upgrade Works at Pearse Stadium and Sligo €83 K For Works at Markievicz Park have been Grant Aided under the 2025 Tier 4 County Infrastructure Grant for County Grounds and Centres of Excellence.

This is an excellent scheme for infrastructural developments at our county grounds. Unfortunately The Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence , as the only Province with a  Centre of Excellence, currently does not qualify for funding under this scheme or indeed any GAA Infrastructure Scheme and I ask the National Finance Committee and Infrastructure Committee to consider ways and means to redress the imbalance.

A number of projects are planned at county level for 2026

• Sligo- Upgrade works in Markievicz park(Pitch & Toilet Block)
• Galway- Upgrade works at Pearse Stadium
• Leitrim- New Boundary entrance at Pairc Sean MacDiarmuida
• Mayo- Upgrade of Training pitch to 4G Pitch

At the Connacht GAA Centre the following, non-storm related, improvements have taken place in 2025.

• Replacement  the current Pitch fencing on all grass pitches
• Replacement of the floodlights on Pitch 1 and Pitch 6 with LED Lights
• Additional Dressing Room facilities

There are murmurings in the air that the next round of Sports Capital Funding may be open for applications in Q 2 of 2026. This may not involve the LSSIF at this time and I encourage our units to be aware of its impending announcement and prepare for the application process in time.

In addition to Sports Capital there are several funding streams available to sporting bodies such as  the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, Clar Funding, Community Recognition Funds, SEC Funding, County Council Funding, Climate Action Funding; Funding through the Regional Waste Authority etc.

With State funding and the inherent Governance Reviews that all units will be subject to a Strategic Plan will be an inherent part of all future Sports Capital and LSSIF Funding and indeed all funding

All of the funding which is available to our units comes with a significant cost to the unit. It is vital that all of our recipients have a robust financial plan to see the project to fruition and most importantly have factored in the future maintenance and running cost of their projects. All infrastructure has a shelf life and we must plan accordingly to secure the future of our facilities.

The National Infrastructure Committee, has previously highlighted there are significant infrastructural funding challenges facing the Association into the future. Many of our county facilities, in particular, are coming to an age when their safe shelf life will be limited. As an Association I think that we need a Strategic National Infrastructure Plan which will prioritise where facilities are necessary and strategic. We cannot continue to spend millions on team preparation and facilities at the same time. Something is going to have to give.

Risk Management

An area of our activities in our association which cannot be considered as best in class is in the management of the risks involved in our property management.

Most of the personal injury claim which arise are claims which even if a very basic risk management system had been  adopted by our units both at county and club level who show little if any control nor have they documentation to show over activities and use of their property. There is a process in place to help minimise those risks and I ask all units to follow the proper procedures going forward.

The recent Storm Eowyn saw over 165 claims reported with a consequent pay out by our insurers of up to €13 million which I am sure will, as a consequence, give rise to increased premiums for all of our units.

For many years insurers have been seeking the Association to provide accurate underwriting data on property assets held by Clubs.  The number and type of property assets e.g. no. of Pitches, Building, Stands etc per location and the value of these assets. This time last year the Association decided to update Foireann to capture this information annually. I am sorry to say that to date there are still 60 clubs in Connacht that have not provided this information which leads me to think that we may be insuring the properties of non vested grounds.

Unless there are improvements in the management of GAA property and activities and the provision of property and facilities for Non-GAA Activities we will not be able to continue to secure Insurance cover in the future .

The Players Injury Benefit Fund  is a fund, funded entirely by GAA funds  by its members and for its members. It is not an insurance Scheme. Just over 6,700 claims are made each year and subscription rates are now banded for different categories.

A concern I have is around the new species of Adult and U 20 Development Inter County Squads who appear to have slipped under the radar in recent years and for whom there appears to be a Laissez Faire approach taken . I ask

• Are those Squads covered by the Injury Benefit Fund
• Is there an Injury Benefit Fund Premium assigned for  those squads If not I feel there should be
• Is there a timeline as to when the Squads exist similar to regulations for return to Train and play for Senior, U 20 and Under age squads.

If not I feel that they are an accident waiting to happen.

DEMOGRAPHICS

The recent publication of “ No One Shouted Stop-Until Now”  the GAA’s response to Irelands Demographic shift is one of the greatest publications produced by Cumann Luthchleas Gael. I wish to compliment the National Demographic Committee members under Chairperson Benny Hurl and Secretary Peter Horgan for the magnificent report published and for the roadmap which they have put before us. Mile Buiochas.

Even though the population of Connacht has increased from the 2016 Census, the issue of demographics is the greatest single threat to the Association and is particularly important for the GAA in Connacht which is predominately a rural province.

• An examination of the 2022 Census identified that the population of the counties of Connacht was just short of 600,000 (591, 363), only 8.4% of the population of the island of Ireland.
• Almost half of this population is within Galway (277, 737 – 46.9%).
• The imbalance is seen in the fact that the total population of Mayo, Sligo, and Roscommon only slightly exceeds that of Galway (278, 697 vs 277, 737).
• Leitrim accounts for just 5.9% of the provincial population.

There are just 17 settlements in the province with a population of more than 2,500.

The above chart shows the population of my club area Ballyhaunis as 2773. What it does not show is this is made up of a significant non Irish cohort many of whom do not participate in Gaelic Games. In fact my club are unable to field under age teams and have aligned with our neighbours Eastern Gaels in a very successful St Jarlaths under age structure.

The Report highlights the major challenges facing our Association as;

• A shift eastwards nationally, and a shift from Rural to Urban across all Counties leading to;
• Rural Depopulation
• Smaller Primary School numbers
• Little or no Rural Housing Development
• Once separate Clubs now having to form Independent teams
• Lack of viability or necessity for existing facilities
• Growing Urbanisation leading to

• Huge rise in membership of Urban Clubs and the consequent need for increased coaches, volunteers
• Lack of facilities to cater for increased numbers
• Huge cost of facilities in Urban Areas
• Lack of game time for many children leading to drop off
• Clubs becoming bigger than some counties.

The big problem with this shift in population is to be found in the fact that the Association is weakest where the population is rising and strongest where there is massive decline.

The real challenge  to the Association in Connacht will be in the attempt by our counties and clubs to compete and stay relevant as can be found in the following charts which compares the population of 0-5 year olds with the current 6—11 cohort and which shows the challenge that lays ahead in the next 5 years

Another chart shows the numbers playing Gaelic Games , at all levels in our Counties which shows that of the total Male and Female ,adult and U age  playing population 44.5 % of which are in Galway;23.9 % Mayo, 10.8 % Sligo ; 8% Leitrim and 12.9% Roscommon.  A telling comparison is that both Dublin and Cork have almost as many players available to each of them as are in the total of Connacht.

The Report has set out a three-pillar response to the situation we find ourselves in.

Internal reform

• Redefine the definition of a club
• Change competition formats to allow us adapt to the situations before us
• Look at County Bye Laws to allow solutions to be found for challenged clubs
• Create an Association facilities strategy

External Engagement

An even more important action in my opinion is in the External Engagement with Government and Local authorities. This time last year the Association was buoyed up by the report into the measurement of its Social Value and Social return on investment.

This independent analysis of Gaelic games activity by international experts has found that the Social Value of Gaelic games is estimated to be worth at least €2.87 billion to Irish society.

The Social Return on Investment study shows that for every one euro invested in Gaelic games, the benefit returned to society is at least €2.30 and could be as much as €3.96.

It is now time to leverage this Report with the different agencies to help the GAA in what has the ability to become a crisis.

The heartbeat of the GAA is people and I ask the question

• Why do Local Authorities and by extension Government policy make it so difficult for young people to build a house in their native area?
• Do they not realise that forcing people to live in clusters, mainly, in or near our towns that they are depriving our rural areas of the lifeblood to exist.
• Many of our elected representatives are committed GAA people who have given huge support to our clubs heretofore. Do they fully realise that 78% of our clubs are rural and in their constituencies and the current move from the land /local villages eventually will be detrimental to their constituencies and country as a whole.

Data Driven Planning

This will aid us in future planning and participation trends

Unless the Association acts decisively the consequences of Rural Depopulation will be catastrophic and irreversible.

Inaction is unthinkable. We must act now otherwise

• Rural GAA Clubs will disappear leaving behind brilliant facilities many of which were funded by Government Schemes.
• Urban Clubs will be unable to cope with the numbers with no possibility of adding to their facilities
• The GAA is a proud Association populated by volunteers. If there is no club what happens to the thousands of people who gave their heart, soul and money towards the Pride of the Parish, The local GAA Club.

Thankfully, through the work of the National Demographics Committee we have now shouted stop. 

Connacht GAA Centre

No report on the happenings of 2025 would be complete without a reference to the loss of the University of Galway Connacht GAA Airdome due to Storm Eowyn. Many people have asked me what the loss of the Dome meant to Connacht GAA. The answer I feel is best answered in trying to explain what the loss of the Dome meant to the GAA in general.

• It was the primary full sized GAA Indoor facility for teams from all over the country and overseas
• As the world’s largest indoor GAA air-dome, this facility attracted teams from across Ireland and abroad; its loss has wider sporting consequences.
• The dome’s unique design made it iconic
• The loss of the Airdome has had far-reaching operational, financial, community, emotional and strategic impacts for Connacht GAA and the region’s wider sporting calendar.
• Since then a lot of our efforts have been taken up with putting a plan in place to replace the Dome and the plan is to have the new Dome operational by April 2026

Accepting the Dome 2025 has been a difficult year for all at the Centre of Excellence.

The year commenced with the discontinuation of the FBD League. During the year several high profile events have taken place at the Centre including;

• Regional Feile na nOg  Competition
• Regional Feile Peil na nOg Competition
• Ashbourne Cup Ladies Third Level Championships
• Fitzgibbin Cup Third level hurling Championship
• Sigerson Cup Third Level Football Championships
• Hurling Skills Challenge
• Football Skills Challenge
• Inter County training for various Counties

Unfortunately many more events had to be cancelled or postponed.

Daniel Forde as Connacht GAA Strength & Conditioning Officer has continued offering a wide range of services to all schools, clubs & counties in the areas of:

1. Fitness Testing
2. Movement Screening
3. Injury Screening
4. Conditioning Programme Design
5. Match Analysis

Daniel has also rolled out 5 Strength and Conditioning courses across the 5 provincial counties. A total of 66 coaches took part in the courses and will now work with club and county teams across the province. The course covers many aspects surrounding the physical preparation of our teams with modules including Physical Demands of Gaelic Games, Basic Science Theory, Fitness Testing, Warmups, Recovery, Conditioning for Gaelic Games and Supervision of a Resistance Training Programme.

The idea behind such a course is to build a volunteer led module for clubs so that they can implement a safe and cost-effective physical fitness programme in place within their own club under Daniel’s supervision. This course will again be offered out to all clubs around the province in 2026. 

The UPMC Institute of Health, is a brilliant facility to have onsite. Year on year people from the local community and further afield, without any necessary connection with the GAA, avail of the various services being provided on site. UPMC delivers various medical programs and expertise.

Our pitches have continued to deliver quality games and availability to our clubs, schools and counties, the maintenance programmes delivered is ongoing and throughout the year under the stewardship of Prunty Pitches who have have ensured pitch availability all year round.

A comprehensive list of the many services at the Centre is accessible on our website www.connachtgaa.ie . Those services such as Fitness testing etc are available to clubs at a most competitive rate.

Due to the amount of activity on site there has been a large increase in the volume of work for our maintenance staff.

I wish to thank the RSS, CE and Barnacaroll Scheme without whom we would not be able to deliver the daily schedules and up keep of the centre. I’d like to take the opportunity to thank both the scheme and also the workers themselves.

Finally I wish to thank our Facilities Manager, Michael McGarry, for his dedication to the Council during his time with us and wish him well for the future

The Connacht GAA Centre belongs to all of our units in Connacht and I look forward to all club and county teams at all ages continuing to play and train there long into the future.

COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Our Pro Hugh Lynn, in his final Convention Report has highlighted the huge amount of work undertaken in promoting the activities of Comhairle Chonnacht during the year. Unfortunately his first task after last year’s Convention was to deal with many early morning phone calls on  January 21^st concerning the devastation of the Dome. After that everything had to be better news.

The Championship Launch was a great success with all counties and London on site with the New York representative available by means of Microsoft Teams. Much valuable content was garnered by the media and used afterwards to promote the championship.

This year Connacht GAA went completely cashless for all games and the communication of this was expertly handled.

I wish to thank Brian Mangan who managed our media communications. Brian has done tremendous work in promoting all aspects of the Council and a number of items have received particular traction,

• Connacht GAA GO Games days in Croke Park,
• Puc Fada
• Scor Finals
• Bursary Awards
• Match Day Promotions
• Regional Feiles Féile
• Third Level Championships in Bekan

Among the major items that were highlighted by Brian in his PR & Media Report are;

• The Launch of the Connacht Senior Football Championship live on GAA+
• Revamp of the Website connachtgaa.ie
• Dedicated areas on website for Ticketing
• Dedicated area on website for Streaming
• 30 games live streamed
• Promotion of Coaching and Games Development initiatives.
• The Availability of a Full Colour programme for the Connacht Senior Club Final between St Brigids  and Moycullen
• Senior Championship tickets available on Ticketmaster in selected shops.
• All tickets sold on line. No Match Day Sales. Tickets available on Universe.
• Tickets being bought on your phone on the way to a game
• Tickets available on Ticketmaster for concluding stages of our club championships
• Scanning of all tickets for entry
• All match Programmes, available online

Streaming has been a huge success with a total of 30 games streamed including New York v Galway   from Gaelic Park in Connacht Senior Football championship,

Also streamed were all U 20, U17 championship not on TG4 and Schools games.

I wish to thank Rory O’Brien and his team as well as our commentators John Lynch, Mike Finnerty and Martin McGowan for providing a consistent television quality production.

Live television coverage again enhanced the availability of our games to the general public and with the advent of live games on TG4, RTE and GAA+ most weeks throughout the year sees some type of game shown on television.

TG4 and RTE Radio has given tremendous coverage to the Club Championships in the Autumn and they are to be commended for their support.

In the Connacht Championship games televised live on either RTE , GAA+ or RTE streaming service. I wish to thank all of the TV stations and their staff for their co-operation during the year.

Into the West, the Council’s bi-monthly magazine has been revamped and continues to produce excellent coverage of our activities. Our thanks to all the contributors and photographers who combine to provide the material for each edition.

On behalf of the Council I wish to thank the media for their support in 2025. The local radios, newspapers, Radio na Gaeltachta, RTE Sport, Newstalk and Today fm have been most cooperative.

I wish to thank DBA for the production of our Senior Championship Programmes and also Padraig Corcoran for the production of the other programmes and also Into the West magazine

From a Media and Public Relations point of view 2025 was a very successful year.

On behalf of the Council, I wish to thank our Communications Committee, under PRO Hugh Lynn, for their endeavours during the year .I also wish to thank Alan Milton and Siobhan Brady from the Communications Department in Croke Park for their help.

CHANGES TO THE COUNCIL

This Convention sees a number of changes to the Council.

Tonight sees Hugh Lynn come to the end of his term as PRO/Communications Officer. Hugh has been a huge influence on the Council and has been a pleasure to have worked with. I wish Hugh well in the future and thank him for his work on behalf of the Council.

Hugh  is being replaced by Sean McGoldrick (Leitrim). Sean has vacated his role as Leitrim delegate to the Council and his replacement will be chosen in the New Year.

This Convention also sees a number of County Representatives come to the end of their term of office.

Roscommon delegate John Carty sees his term end. John has made a very significant contribution to the workings of the Council. I wish to thank him for his contribution and influence on behalf of Comhairle Chonnacht.

Mayo delegate Paul Cunnane sees his term of office come to an end. Paul has made a valuable contribution to the workings of the Council on a number of Committees. I wish to thank him for his contribution and influence on behalf of Comhairle Chonnacht and wish him well in his new role as Mayo Communications Officer.

Padraic Clancy, Sligo Delegate, has also come to the end of his term of office. I wish to thank him for his most valuable work on the Planning & Physical Development committee in particular

I wish to thank all of the Officers and members of the Council for their guidance and support during the year.

Also to all of our sub committees who have done trojan work on behalf of the Comhairle Chonnacht. Mile buiochas 

SYMPATHY

Sympathy is expressed to the many GAA families who suffered bereavements in 2025

The past year saw the passing of many people who gave a lifetime of service to our Association   in various ways;

Former Council President Gerry McGovern sadly passed away during the year.

In recent weeks the death of our esteemed colleague Padraic O Conaire, Stiurthoir Clar na gCluichi Gaeltacha has hit our Coaching and Development staff very hard. Padraic was a great colleague and a brilliant footballer who won Minor All Ireland and National League football titles with Galway. His greatest trait was his ability as a Coach, his attitude to the playing of our games, his empathy with the young people who came under his care  and his love for the work he undertook in “ County Conemara”. Ni beidh a leitheid an aris.

Sadly former inter county referee and UCG official Seamus O Grady also died during the year.

Leitrim also lost former player and long-time Principal of Mountbellew Agricultural College Br.Tony Dolan who had a lasting influence on the Association.

Former Roscommon player and recent Manager to the Maigh Cuillin Senior Football team Don Connellan sadly passed away during the year after an illness bravely borne

Eamonn Carney St Pats Sligo, former delegate to the Council also passed away during the year. Sligo also lost former goalkeeper Noel Mullaney and former Referee and official John Lee.

Former Galway players Billy Joyce, Tommy Keenan,Tom Cloonan and Frank Evers also passed on to their eternal reward.

Former Mayo President and inter county player Jim Fleming  also died during the year. Sympathy is also expressed with the family of former Garrymore and Mayo footballer Danny Dolan who passed away recently

On behalf of the Council I wish to extend deepest sympathy to all of the families of the bereaved.  Go ndeara Dia Trocaire ar a n-ainmneacha.

Buiochas

On my own behalf and on behalf of Chomhairle Connacht it is a pleasure to record our gratitude to the many groups and individuals who have ensured the smooth running of the Council over the past year;

• To the members and representatives on the Council and its various subcommittees, CCC, Coisde Iomana, Planning & Physical Development, Coaching and Games Development, Scor, Games for All Communications, Marketing and our  Schools bodies.
• Our Referees Co-ordinator, Sean Martin, and his committee and to his Tutors and Assessors who have had a busy year.
• To our Audit and Risk Committee under the Chairperson Lauri Quinn and Secretary Mary Judge and its members.
• To the members from the Province who are representing us on National committees.
• To the five County Secretaries, for their assistance and help, and to all of the County Board officers and members. Thanks to Roscommon Chairperson Brian Carroll who has reached the end of his term of office.
• To the members of the various Development and Park Committees and in particular to our Event Controllers for their assistance at the many major games we have hosted this year. To our voluntary workers, ticket collectors, Ticket Scanning personnel, stewards, stiles men and medical personnel.
• To the Gardai and Services for their co-operation, at all times.
• To the media in its various forms for the continued excellent reporting and previewing of our games.
• To University of Galway who have the naming rights of the Dome and also our Foundation Sponsors GAA, O Neills, FBD, Elverys, Smyths Toys, Canon Kirk and our various Hoarding sponsors.
• To our competition sponsors Eir, AIB, Supervalu, Bord Gais Energy Centra, Allianz Littlewoods Ireland, for their immense contribution to our affairs.
• To the many players, referees and officials who have given many hours of pleasure and enjoyment a special word of gratitude is due.
• I want to thank Accountant Michael McHugh and Auditor Ciaran Loftus for their advice and professional assistance during the year.
• I wish to thank Ger Mulryan, Stephen Lohan, and the members of the National Finance Committee, with whom we have worked very closely during the year.
• I want to record our sincere thanks to Ard Stiurthoir Tomas O Riain and all of the staff at Pairc an Chrocaigh for their continued valued advice, courtesy and assistance.
• To Uachtaran Iarlaith O Broin I say mile buiochas for his advice, support and help during his the year.
• To our CE Scheme and RSS Scheme workers I say a sincere thanks for how they have maintained the full facility at all times. Special thanks to Tom Hickey,Gary Slattery and Pete Finn for all of their help around the Centre
• I wish to thank Coaching and Games Manager, Cathal Cregg for his tremendous work in the area of Coaching and Games Development.
• To our Hurling Manager Damien Curley who has produced our Hurling Plan
• I also wish to thank our Operations Manager, Adrian Hassett for his work and cooperation
• To our Facilities Manager, Michael McGarry, in his first year, I thank him for his management of our facilities in a very challenging year
• I pay tribute to Brian Mangan who looks after our various information and Media platforms and does a tremendous job.
• To Danial Forde, Strength and Conditioning Officer, for his Trojan work in the Connacht GAA Centre.
• To Oran Hestor , who is looking after the CDO Scheme,
• To Cian O Dea for his contribution to our S & C Programmes
• To Michael O Connor for his cordinatiion of the underage fixtures and also for his contribution to the various publications we issued during the year.
• To Stephen & Shirley Mooney for all of their help.
• Also A special word of thanks is due to Amanda Diskin, Attracta Hunt and Catherine Walsh in the office for the way that they have undertaken their duties. Also thanks to caretakers John Clancy
• Finally I want to thank my fellow Officers, Vincent Neary, Tommy Kelly, Dermot Gannon  and Hugh Lynn for their major and unselfish contribution to the workings of Comhairle Connacht in 2025

In conclusion I look forward to 2026 with success for our units in all facets of the Association.

Rath De oraibh go leir.

Sean O Pronntaigh, Runai.