Cumann Peil Gael Na mBan An Bratach Inis The Banner Ladies Football Club Ennis Cathaoirleach: James Costello, 7 Cahercalla Heights, Ennis, Co. Clare. Rúnaí: Dr. Paul McKenna, 30 Willsgrove, Ennis, Co. Clare. Feabhra 2007 Tuairisc An Rúnaí don Chrinniú Chinn Bhliana 2007 A Chairde, It gives me great pleasure to present the secretary's report of the Banner Ladies Football Club for the 2006 season. 2006 will go down as one of the most successful years to date in the history of our club both on and off the playing field. After a successful Club Annual Social last January, attended by the Mayor of Ennis - Cllr. Frankie Neylon, and special guest Clare Camogie All Star Catherine O'Loughlin, the club again held a successful AGM. A full compliment of officers for the year ahead was elected on the night and these included Chairman-James Costello, Vice-Chairman-Bríd Higgins, Secretary/PRO-Dr. Paul McKenna, Treasurer-Bernie Brennan, Assistant Treasurer-Thomas Barrett, Registrar-Maura Cavanagh, Children's Officer- Mary Daly, Cultural Officer-Louise Henchy. A club committee was also put in place on the night namely- Kieran Martin, Sonya Maher, Dervilla Moloney, Pat O'Driscoll, Michael Culligan, Jim McMahon and Ciara McMahon. All officers and committee members worked well together throughout the year to ensure the proper and smooth running of the club and the work of these members should be greatly appreciated by all players, parents and supporters of the club. In total there were ten club monthly meetings during 2006 and these were generally very well attended with a quorum (as per our constitution) present on all occasions. There were several sub committee meetings also, dealing with such issues as the club's trip to London in Easter, our participation in the Féile Peil na nÓg Finals in July, our trip to the All Ireland Club Sevens and Croke Park in September and our Clare Senior County Championship Final appearance in October. Our participation in these events was greatly enhanced by the level of preparatory planning by the various committee members involved. That we were successful in many of these competitions was in part due to the advanced organisational detail ahead of the events mentioned. Before a ball was kicked in 2006 the Club participated in the 2006 St. Patrick's Day parade in Ennis. We had over seventy members & players present & as such we were one of the largest groups on the day. Again thanks to all who assisted on the day & especially those parents who lent a hand. Our first endeavour on the playing field was to retain our Clare Féile Championship. This was achieved in fine style and our qualification for the national finals in Co. Wicklow was assured. The only unanswered question at this stage was at what level we would participate. This question was answered in early April when Uachtarán Cumann Peil Gael na mBan, Geraldine Giles was a special guest at a Civic Reception hosted by Ennis Town Council in honour of our successful 2005 All Ireland Féile Division Two winning team. The Uachtarán informed club officials that the Banner would be graded in the top division for the 2006 championship and would face such opposition as Kerry, Cork, Dublin, Galway, Mayo, Monaghan, Meath and Wicklow. At Easter our senior squad participated in the Tír Chonaill Gaels International Nine A Side Championship in London. This was an historic occasion for the club as it marked our first trip abroad. Great credit is due to all players, mentors and supporters who made the trip and congratulations to the team for winning the competition and in so doing securing our first senior club silverware ever. Congratulations as well to inspirational captain Louise Henchy who won the player of the tournament award. The weekend was an outstanding success and hopefully it will be the first of many overseas trips for the club. In May our U-16's reversed the disappointing trend of recent years by winning back the Clare A Championship with a tremendous final win over Cooraclare in a game played in Miltown. This helped set the club up nicely for the domestic season that lay ahead. The U-14's were by now training hard under the watchful eyes of Joe Reidy and Patricia Ryan. The U-10's were also kept occupied with a series of challenge games locally in Clare and in Galway. There is no formal U-10 Clare county competition. June saw the commencement of the U-12 Clare championships and also the final preparations for the Féile. Much work was done in securing essential finance for Féile participation. Sponsorship was negotiated with the Whelan Group and the club also organised a successful card draw and table quiz. Grant aid was also secured under the Ennis UDC's Community & Arts scheme and we were very grateful for this assistance. The entire travelling panel of players and mentors were presented with track-suits, kit-bags, club rain jackets and polo shirts for a small contribution from each recipient. Transport, meals and mentor accommodation were the main expenditure outlays in participating in Féile. Although limited to a playing panel of 24 players, the club succeeded in bringing 33 girls to the Féile weekend and each had a very enjoyable experience. In this regard I want to commend and thank the welcome and efforts of our host club Foxrock/Cabinteely. Féile 2006 was an outstanding success highlighted by our terrific victory over Galway champions Corofin in the All Ireland Final. Our girls also beat the reigning champions Foxrock/Cabinteely and three time's Féile winners Southern Gaels (Kerry) on their way to the final. This Féile Division One victory has elevated the status of our club to one of the foremost ladies football clubs in Ireland such is the high regard that the Féile Division One Championship commands nationally. Of added significance for the club is the fact that Setanta Sports Television transmitted this game to a national and international audience. I know of club members who watched the game in such places as Spain and Portugal- another first for underage ladies football in Clare. Following on from Féile our U-12's captured the Clare A Championship with a solid display against Wolfe Tones in the final. This was our third victory in a row in this competition. Worryingly though our B team failed to win a match in their grade and we had to withdraw our C team due to lack of personnel to supervise the team and transport them to games. With the onset of summer our Senior team and newly formed Junior squad commenced championship action. Both these teams had terrific seasons which saw both squads qualify for Autumn finals. Our senior ladies had great victories over Fergus Rovers and Miltown that saw them qualify for our first ever senior final. All at the club are very proud of this achievement and although lady luck deserted the team on final day when going down to Cooraclare, the team lost nothing in defeat & hopefully it will be a learning process for this year and other years ahead. Our Junior team was a sensation and defeated all before them before winning the Junior B championship with a polished performance over Kilmurry-Ibrekane in late September. Well done to captain Rebecca Coughlin on this achievement. The club wishes to acknowledge the contributions of our main senior team sponsors Supermacs for their assistance to the club in 2006 and also wishes to thank Greenacres Fruit & Veg for their support to us in the senior final. September also saw our U-10 team win the Lissycasey tournament and our U-11 team narrowly fail in their tournament final. Well done to both these teams and their mentors. The first weekend in October saw the club's participation in the inaugural U-14 All Ireland Club Seven A Side Championship. This was hosted by the Kilmacud-Crokes Club in Dublin and coincided with the TG4 All Ireland Ladies Finals in Croke Park. Our Club U-14 Sevens team played out of their skins and secured a thrilling final victory over a very strong Oldcastle team from Co. Meath. The following day over sixty club members attended the All Ireland Finals in Croke Park and a great weekend was had by all. Winning our second All Ireland title of the season was a truly magnificent achievement and the team must be commended for the high standards of football, commitment and fitness they exhibited throughout this championship. On the weekend prior to this championship the club held its annual flag day on the streets of Ennis. We thank all contributors for their generosity but the club committee was very disappointed with the number of club members and parents who turned up to assist us with the collection. Much badly needed revenue for the club was lost through this poor turnout. October was a hectic month for the Club. As well as our senior final our U-14's successfully defended their U-14 Clare A title and our Féile 2006 team was accorded a Civic Reception by Ennis UDC and Mayor Joe Reidy. Our minors also were at the concluding stages of their championship and they put up a great semi-final display in the A Championship before narrowly going under to reigning champions and eventual winners Miltown by a single point. Our girls went on to easily win the Clare B Championship and it was great to see captain Sarah Hoey graduate from the underage ranks by being presented with a championship trophy. At season's end could I also at this stage congratulate all club members who represented their county with distinction in 2006. At the Banner Ladies we are particularly proud when a club member pulls on the county jersey as it reflects well on our club and club ethos. Congratulations also to club members who received many and various awards for their sporting endeavours in 2006. Again these accolades bring great honour to our club. In this regard the club was delighted to be nominated as The Sports-star of the Month for July by the Clare People newspaper. All in all then 2006 was a very successful year for the club both on and off the field - however not everything is as it should be. The forced withdrawal of our U-12 C team and the poor collector turnout (as well as the relatively poor attendance at our quiz night & at a Dune Stores bag-packing day) demonstrates how stretched the current club committee and team mentors are when it comes to the running of the club. If we are to survive and prosper we must get more support from parents and families of players participating in our club. Parents will well realise that we have year round coaching for our U-10' & U-12's in the Coláiste Hall and Banner Field - very few clubs give this commitment to their players. Trips to such venues as Wicklow, Kerry, Galway, Tipperary, Dublin & London also stretched the personnel resources of the club in 2006 as did the organisation of sponsorship and fundraising events. We need more parental involvement with the running of the club if we are to keep going at the level we're at. Please consider putting your name forward for committee or sub-committee membership this year. I propose that the club should consider forming sub-committees in the areas of supervision & training, finance & fundraising and trips & social events. These committees would assist the club executive & committee in running the club and help ease the workload of the committed few who have being carrying the burden for a number of years now. Over the past number of years the club has produced a high quality yearbook. In general the support for this initiative is modest to say the least and was it not for advertising revenue this project would have to be scrapped. Members who have not already purchased a Yearbook should do so as it will be a great historical record of the club's achievements in the years ahead. Very few clubs in any sport produce such a high quality record of their annual activities and no other ladies club that I am aware of has ever undertaken such an initiative. The development of a club web site is nearing completion. Due to time constraints I have not been able to put the final touches to the project but hopefully all will be completed in the near future. If people have digital photos of games/teams/events pertaining to the club I would appreciate if these could be e-mailed to me or forwarded to me by disc. As club PRO I want to thank the local media who gave good coverage to club activities during the year. Thanks to The Clare Champion, The Clare People and to Clare FM. Thanks also to the Ladies GAA Website & the Clare GAA Website & the Hogan Stand Website. Finally I want to thank all members of the Club executive and Committee for their assistance throughout the year and wish the incoming executive & committees well for 2007. Hopefully our club will go from strength to strength in the year ahead. Go raibh maith agaibh go léir, _________________________ Dr. Paul McKenna, Secretary/PRO Tweet

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