There was no firework display like the one that greeted the dawn of the new millennium on December 31st but nonetheless the Leinster Council celebrated its 100th anniversary in style at its Centenary Convention at Croke Park in late February. Current Chairman Seamus Aldridge of Kildare unveiled a new flag which features a centenary logo and the occasion was further enhanced by the presence of former incumbents Tom Loftus, Paddy Buggy, John Dowling, Jack Boothman, Jimmy Gray, Albert Fallon, Jim Berry and former secretary Ciaran O'Neill. Three of these former chairman, Paddy Buggy, John Dowling and Jack Boothman, also served as presidents of the GAA. A total of eleven Leinster officials have had that honour bestowed upon them. The others were: James Nowlan of Kilkenny (1901-1920), Daniel McCarthy of Dublin (1921-1923), P.D Breen of Wexford (1924-1925), Sean Ryan of Dublin (1928-1931), Bob O'Keeffe of Laois (1935-1937), Michael Kehoe of Wexford (1949-1951), Dr. J.J Stuart of Dublin (1958-1961) and Hugh Byrne of Wicklow (1961-1963). As for General Secretary (or Director General as it is known today), seven men from the eastern province have occupied this position, including of course, Liam Mulvihill. The others were: John Wyse Power of Kildare (1884-1887), J.B O'Reilly of Dublin (1885-1887), James Moore of Louth (1887-1888), Patrick Tobin of Dublin (1891-1894), Richard T.C Blake of Meath (1895-1898) and Luke J. O'Toole of Dublin (1901-1909). During the past century five secretaries have served Leinster Council. Current custodian of the position is Michael Delaney of Laois who has been there since 1975 while prior to that the Wexford father and son duo of Martin and Ciaran O'Neill filled the post from 1927 to 1975. John Shouldice preceded Martin O'Neill and the inaugural holder from 1900 to 1917 was founding secretary Walter Hanrahan. Also at the Convention, renowned Kilkenny GAA historian Tom Ryall launched a specially commissioned book of Leinster hurling and football records from 1884 - 1999. Senior, Intermediate, Junior, U21, Minor, Club (county by county), Colleges, Railway Cup and All Stars were all covered in Ryall's extensive research. An array of photographs, spanning the last 100 years, compliments the Kilkennyman's fine work. As you would expect Dublin and Kilkenny top the charts in senior football and hurling respectively. The Dubs have claimed 43 Leinster football titles while Meath are their closet rivals with 19. The Cats boast 57 hurling equivalents with Dublin coming in second with 23. Kilkennymen Noel Skehan and DJ Carey share the number 1 position as Leinster's biggest winners in the All Star scheme with seven. In football that honour lies solely with Dublin's John O'Leary who has five to his credit. Martin Furlong, Paddy Cullen, Robbie Kelleher, Tommy Drumm, Martin O'Connell and Tommy Dowd all have four. The Leinster Council was established in 1900 and was the first provincial organisation affiliated to the GAA. Since its foundation Leinster Council has made a massive contribution to the development of the nation's largest sporting institution. Its formation was in response to a need to prevent the possibility of the GAA's demise due to deficiencies at Central Council level. The fledgling provincial organisation introduced grants for injured players and loans were made available to weaker counties. The Council also introduced a fund to assist with the purchase of sites for pitch development and at various times assisted Central Council financially. The establishment of the Irish Handball Council in 1925 was a Leinster initiative and in 1925 the Leinster delegates proposed inter-county leagues which have subsequently evolved into the current NFL and NHL competitions. Delegates at the Centenary Convention considered the 1999 financial report which revealed gate receipts of £3,220,017 for all championship games and the 2nd of August Leinster football final between Meath and Dublin was the top earner, generating £590,974 at the turnstiles. Wexford Park was the only county ground which received substantial funding (£100,000) while a total of £197,650 was allocated towards club grounds in Leinster with Wexford (£52,700), Westmeath (£43,300) and Dublin (£37,000) the main beneficiaries. Leinster Council Chairmen 1900-1904: James Nowlan (Kilkenny) 1905-1908: James Fitzgerald (Kildare) 1909-1910: Dan McCarthy (Dublin) 1911-1918: John Hogan (Dublin) 1919-1921: Dan McCarthy (Dublin) 1922-1923: Patrick D. Breen (Wexford) 1924-1935: Bob O'Keeffe (Laois) 1936-1938: Sean Robbins (Offaly) 1939-1941: Seamus Flood (Louth) 1942-1944: Michael Kehoe (Wexford) 1945-1947: Fintan Brennan (Kildare) 1948-1950: Tom Walsh (Kilkenny) 1951-1953: Jack Fitzgerald (Meath) 1954-1956: Dr. J.J Stuart (Dublin) 1957-1959: Hugh Byrne (Wicklow) 1960-1962: Brendan Breathnach (Westmeath) 1963-1965: Liam Geraghty (Kildare) 1966-1968: Bob Aylward (Kilkenny) 1969-1971: Jack Conroy (Laois) 1972-1974: Tom Loftus (Dublin) 1975-1977: Jimmy Roche (Wexford) 1978-1980: Paddy Buggy (Kilkenny) 1981-1983: John Dowling (Offaly) 1984-1986: Peadar Kearney (Louth) 1987-1989: Jack Boothman (Wicklow) 1990-1992: Jimmy Gray (Dublin) 1993-1995: Albert Fallon (Longford) 1996-1998: Jim Berry (Wexford) 1999-present: Seamus Aldridge (Kildare) Leinster Council Secretaries 1900-1916: Walter Hanrahan (Wexford) 1917-1926: John F. Shouldice (Dublin) 1927-1969: Martin O'Neill (Wexford) 1970-1975: Ciaran O'Neill (Wexford) 1976-present: Michael Delaney (Laois) Tweet

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