Slane delegate Peter Mooney expressed his disapproval at a section of secretary Mairead Delaney's report to convention.

It was in relation to a letter sent out to all clubs in the county by Slane GFC following the nomination of former chairman Peter O'Halloran to the position of assistant secretary.

In her report Delaney said: Our management committee have been accused of not acting with integrity and good governance particularly in relation to nominations for positions on management. A letter was sent to all clubs highlighting this but it was not sent to management. When nominations were forwarded from clubs for positions I wrote to all nominees and asked them to confirm in writing if they wished to put their names forward. All people named on the nomination sheet confirmed they were standing for election. The management committee cannot and should not make the decision to not allow a paid up member stand for election. It is up to the clubs to nominate personnel for positions on management. 

However the Slane delegate said that his club wanted it noted that they took exception to the remarks that were contained in the secretary's report. He maintained that his club were well within their rights to send out the letter to clubs to express their concerns at the nomination and said that under bye law 33 the county committee was required to examine all nominations.

Elsewhere in her report Delaney hit out at the 'keyboard warriors' for their vile and abusive comments in the aftermath of the Leinster final defeat to Dublin.

She was scathing in her criticism of the so called supporters following the 21 points Leinster final hammering at the hands of the Dubs.

'Unfortunately, for the second year in a row we were badly beaten,' Delaney said. 'The score was 3-21 to 0-9. We played our championship games behind closed doors and I think we were all thankful to be travelling home on our own that night. Our team went out to win the Leinster Championship but it was not to be. Everyone, players, management and officials are so disappointed with the way the year finished. However, we all have to pick ourselves up and try again next year. We do not deserve the abuse and vile comments from keyboard warriors and so called supporters. People need to remember that our players and management are human beings who all have families who don’t need to hear the abuse.'

Much more memorable on Leinster final day was the Bloody Sunday commemoration.

'It was an honour to be there on the night and I would like to congratulate the  committee who looked after the ceremony. Well done to the Dublin team who laid a wreath after the game. Well done also to Tipperary who did likewise last week. They both represented the two teams who were playing in Croke Park on 21st November, 1920.' 

Reflecting of Dublin's continued dominance Delaney stated: 'We all know the arguments and conversations going around the country about the Dublin football team. We cannot take away from a brilliant team and must compliment them on their achievements. We are not at their level yet but we are working hard with coaching in clubs and schools. We have 20 coaches employed who work in 43 clubs and 90  (out of 115) primary schools on a weekly basis. We do need more resources to keep this going. We also need to get more involved in our secondary schools. At present our coaches are periodically involved with 10-12 post primary schools during the year. This includes Transition Year Programmes, Super Games Centres, Go Games Referees Courses and Blitz Days. The 43 Clubs mentioned above are currently part of the East Leinster Scheme. We must remember that five years ago we had less than half that amount of coaches in Meath.'  

The secretary highlighted her concerns for some rural clubs who are struggling because of a lack of numbers and said that unless planning permission is allowed in rural areas it will have a negative effect on clubs. She said that the county committee had made a submission to Meath County Council to ask them to consider amending their draft County Development plan. 

The secretary remembered a number of former county footballers and hurlers who passed away during the year and also wishes Graham Geraghty a speedy recovery from illness.

'As we all know Graham was a superb player on the pitch and fought with great  determination for the cause of Meath football. I know he will fight his illness with the same determination now and be back at games before long.' 

 

 

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