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The Annual General Meeting of Cumann na mBunscol was held in the Meadowlands Hotel, Tralee, Co. Kerry on Saturday, 28^th. February. The meeting was chaired by Jim O’ Reilly and he welcomed all the delegates and especially Lorcán O Ruairc, Margaret Delaney, Pat Morrissey, Brian Tobin, Mairéad O Callaghan and Gerome Conway. He thanked Kerry and in particular Paddy Keane and Muiris O Mathúna for their hospitality. He also thanked the committee for all the excellent work that they had done over the year. Apologies from Seán Ó Ceallaigh, Catherine Byrne, Liam Mulvihill, Pat Daly, Seán Walsh, Moira Graham and Helen O’ Rourke.

Standing Orders were proposed by Cyril Mannion ( Galway ) and seconded by Muiris O Mathúna (Kerry).

The adoption of the GM minutes was proposed by Gerry O’ Meara (Leinster) and seconded by Jim O’ Riordan (Wicklow).

Ø A letter from Allianz concerning Public Liability insurance and Personal Accident insurance. Schools affiliated to Cumann na mBunscol are covered for all Cumann na mBunscol activities including attendance at AGM etc. A B.O.M. is insured for supervision by non-teaching staff once the latter is approved by the B.O.M. This approval has to be minuted in the B.O.M. minutes.

Ø A letter from Allianz explaining the increase in insurance premiums. Also the London Schools’ Board when affiliated to Cumann na mBunscol could be insured for £100stg + 5% Government levy.

Ø A cover letter and application form from O’ Neills concerning their Gaelic Games project for Primary Schools.

A discussion arose concerning insurance and Máiréad O Callaghan ( Cork ) wondered whether school teams would have to pay €200 per team. Mairead was informed that this insurance was optional and not mandatory. Also a motion was passed at our AGM two years ago that “Cumann na mBunscol have no part or act in collecting insurance levies in schools”.

Jim O’ Reilly said that it was his third year as cathaoirleach and it was a great honour for him to be able to serve Cumann na mBunscol.

Ø He congratulated Cumann Camogaiochta na nGael on their centenary celebrations.

Ø He wished Kerry well on their tenth anniversary on being re-formed. Over 140 schools are taking part in their activities.

Ø This week John Prenty, Secretary of Connacht Council, echoed his main reservations about funding from the Irish Sports Council. The FAI and the IRFU receive much larger funding than the GAA as they are going into developing areas. The GAA are being penalised as they are already developed. Nearly 3000 schools are playing football while just over 2000 schools are playing hurling/camogie.

Ø Mc Donald’s “Catch & Kick” and “Lift & Strike” strengthen the link between club and school as outlined in the “Underage Strategic Plan” as adopted by management of the GAA. This year sees the launch of the “Lift & Strike”. All counties should make sure that this scheme is launched and developed in a proper manner. 2000 schools should receive hurling equipment before Easter. Equipment will be delivered to a central venue in each county as it cost €30,000 last year to deliver equipment directly to the schools.

Ø Other bodies just go into strong areas of their particular codes and provide coaching for a privileged minority. Playing fields should be equalled.

Ø Thankfully Allianz are back on board again. However, each unit ( County & Provincial ) must make the effort of including our sponsor’s name and logo on all PR material. A meeting for PROs will be held sometime after the AGM.

Ø The Roadstone Awards continue to be a great success. All counties should submit at least one project for this year’s Awards. In the last two years we’ve had high profile guests of honour. With these guests a strict protocol has to be observed. I would appeal to all guests to respect this protocol.

Ø O’ Neills and Cumann na mBunscol have come together for a major sponsorship deal. O’ Neills will be sending out details to schools in the near future.

Ø Mini-Sevens and Handball are progressing at a high level. He thanked everybody involved in these competitions as they gave of their free time willingly.

Ø Jim concluded by thanking all his fellow officers for their great dedication over the last 12 months. He also thanked officers at provincial and county level and also those people at the coalface, the primary school teachers of Ireland who promote Gaelic Games in our schools.

Its adoption was proposed by Robert Hanley ( Limerick ) and seconded by Donal Mc Carthy ( Tipperary )

Matters Arising

Ø Allianz Sponsorship was discussed in great detail and Gerry Grogan advised each Provincial Council to nominate one person in each province to collect Allianz projects and forward them to Slattery’s PR Company in Dublin. Liam Weir ( Munster ) felt that Slatterys should be doing more on the promotional side for Allianz but delegates felt that we were receiving the sponsorship money so it was up to Cumann na mBunscol to make more of an effort. Marett Smith

( Longford ) said that the meeting with Slatterys, Allianz and the PROs should resolve this matter after the AGM. Donal Mc Carthy ( Tipperary ) congratulated Cumann na mBunscol Náisiúnta on securing sponsorship for another year.

Ø Mc Donald’s Sponsorship was welcomed by all but some delegates had reservations about the effect that it could have on our promotion of a “Healthy Eating Policy” in our schools. Many felt that it was a great asset in promoting more liaison between school and club.

Ø Handball: Every county should forward details of handball schools in their county immediately to Malachy or Margaret. Paddy Corbett ( Mayo ) suggested that there should be a Handball Officer in each county as the Handball Association were holding inter-schools competitions without notifying Cumann na mBunscol. Gerry Mc Donnell ( Munster ) felt that the Handball Association should be putting more coaches into Primary Schools instead of funding competitions for Over 70s.

Ø Buntús: P.J. Fitzpatrick ( Clare ) raised the matter about no GAA equipment in the Buntus bags and he wasn’t at all happy with the Irish Sports Council’s explanation in relation to this matter. He also queried the fact that his motion on the Buntús Programme had not been included in the AGM Booklet. Margaret informed him that the closing date for motions was 30^th. January, 2004 and he had not submitted anything in writing before that date. Gerry Mc Donnell ( Munster ) suggested that all County and Provincial AGMs be held in January so that they could forward their motions to Margaret in time. Delegates were also informed that negotiations were taking place between Croke Park and the Irish Sports Council and hopefully this matter would be resolved in the near future.

Ø O’ Neills: Delegates wondered if there were retail prices for equipment such as fottballs etc. Tom Ryan said that he would make enquiries in relation to this matter.

Gerry Mc Donnell ( Munster ) queried the difference in price of tickets from last year. The price varied because all tickets cost €50 this year whereas some tickets last year cost less than that. Blank cheques should be forwarded to the national secretary in September for All-Ireland tickets.

Ø Roadstone covered the cost of postage for the Roadstone videos. Robert Hanley’s school in Limerick didn’t receive any video. Pat said he would make enquiries about this.

Ø Allianz. Grants would not be forwarded to county secretaries until Pat had received the treasurer’s report from each county.

Ø Liam Weir requested more details about the Allianz grants that each county received.

Ø Pauric Daly suggested that the statutory grants should be allocated to each county according to the nos. of schools participating in each county.

Ø He welcomed Lorcán Ó Ruairc from Croke Park to the meeting and sympathised with Lorcán on the death of his mother.

Ø The 31^st. December was the closing date for the county finals although some counties played them at a later date.

Ø Congratulate Monaghan on their first time taking part in the handball competitions.

Lorcán thanked Margaret for inviting him to the AGM and he appreciated our expression of sympathy. He praised Malachy on his tremendous work over the years. It can be a difficult job contacting counties and getting a response from them. Cumann na mBunscol should get Handball Boards to help out with facilities, referees and competitions. He also commended those people who help out on National Handball days. The children receive a free pass to the museum and a tour of Croke Park. All provinces should apply in time for medals for provincial competitions. Very little equipment is required for playing handball. Schools don’t need handball courts to play handball as any wall in school will do. Former Cumann na mBunscol pupils have won world titles in handball.

Ø Éamon Mullen thanked St. Pat’s College and Tom Fitzpatrick for storing the Roadstone videos and the people power to distribute these videos. He also thanked Roadstone for supporting this venture. The Roadstone Awards provides opportunities for counties to display their work and they receive tangible rewards for their efforts. The Roadstone Banquet enables counties to meet with other counties and it’s gratifying to see 300 guests in attendance at these awards. He pleaded with each county to enter at least one project as this coming year was Cumann na mBunscol’s last year in association with Roadstone.

Ø Coaching Games & Development: Every county should have a rep. on the County Board and on the Coaching Games & Development Committee.

Ø If any county has a template on coaching and club/school links in their county, could they forward it to Eamonn so that he can make it available to other counties. If material doesn’t come to him, it’s hard to be creative. It would be great to have an overall view on how coaching is taking place throughout the country.

Ø Eamonn thanked members of the National Executive and sub-committees for all their help. He said that it would be his last year on the Coiste Náisiúnta. P.J. Fitzpatrick thanked Eamonn for all his hard work and he asked Eamonn if he would reconsider stepping down.

Ø P.J. also wanted to know if there was a letter explaining how the €10,000 grant money should be used. Jim informed him that Pat Daly had already sent such a letter out to every Senior Co. Board in the country.

Ø Timmy Maher said that it was his ninth year as co-ordinator and he was still enthusiastic about the Mini-Sevens simply because of the positive response from parents, teachers and pupils.

Ø The Mini-Sevens have been in operation for 20 years and there is no chance of it becoming stale as we have a different group of children participating every year.

Ø We don’t sell it half enough and we are leaders in society catering for children’s needs. We can also be proud of the Primary Game, the Mini-Games and the Exhibition Games.

Ø He would also appreciate it if counties would return some interesting snippets about the children involved eg. maybe their parents or some relation had played for their county. This would enable Gerry to include it in the programme for the day.

Ø It’s no good giving Timmy this information on the day of the match. He would need it a few weeks in advance of the match.

Ø We have a full page in the programme devoted to Cumann na mBunscol and we are very grateful to the INTO and Croke Park for their contribution.

Ø A motion was passed at the INTO Congress last requesting more All-Ireland tickets. This matter should be addressed at our own AGM and not at an INTO Congress.

Ø Timmy thanked everybody for their huge contribution to the Mini-Sevens and Jim thanked Timmy for all his marvellous work.

Ø Jerry welcomed Lorcán O Ruairc and he informed delegates that Lorcan’s father was a former chairman of Cumann na mBunscol Ath Cliath.

Ø He apologised for the Dublin content in the Scoilsport magazine but this was due to a poor response from most counties.

Ø County PROs should send details to him on a regular basis. He would be delighted with anything of national significance. He needs a lot of material for the following:

Ø Jerry pleaded with County Secretaries to send on details of Co. Final dates to Margaret as Allianz wanted these dates so that they can liaise with counties and arrange publicity etc. for finals.

Ø Jerry congratulated Vincent Keating on his retirement and everyone wished Vincent well.

Election of Officers

Uachtarán----------------------------------------------Malachy Mc Geeney ( Armagh )

Cathaoirleach-------------------------------------------------------Jim O’ Reilly ( Cork )

Leas Cathaoirleach--------------------------------------------------Tom Ryan ( Dublin )

Secretary-----------------------------------------Margaret Cunningham ( Waterford )

Assistant Secretary--------------------------------------------Richard Bowles ( Galway )

Treasurer-----------------------------------------------------------Pat Trainor ( Antrim )

PRO----------------------------------------------------------------Jerry Grogan ( Dublin )

Development Officer-------------------------------------------Éamonn Mullen ( Sligo )

Delegate Central Council--------------------------------------Timmy Maher ( Dublin )

Motions

Malachy Mc Geeney (An Coiste Náisiúnta ) proposed that we accept the Constitution as drafted.

Address of Invited Guests

Chuir Gerome fáilte roimh gach einne and he apologised for the absence of his chairman and secretary due to other engagements. Gerome wished to thank Primary School teachers without patronising them. Children learn all their skills at Primary School eg. winning and losing. He was very critical of the Minister for Education & Science, Mr. Noel Dempsey, and the way in which the minister was trying to undermine teachers. His attitude could easily destroy the good will of teachers who gave of their time and energy willingly to promote Gaelic games in our schools. They give children their most valuable commodity which is time. Clubs have taken schools for granted for too long. Clubs should make their school team their first team. Thankfully times are changing as coaches are going into schools. However, it’s very important that teachers remain in charge of school teams as they teach pupils to respect others and to win and lose properly

Margaret thanked An Coiste Náisiúnta for inviting her to the AGM. Rounders was a sport for all from the age of 9 years to 90 years. The minimum amount of equipment is required to play Rounders and very few skills are needed. Male and female can participate on equal terms and so it’s ideal for mixed-games. It’s not a very physical game and not much tackling is involved. The Rounders Council would be willing to provide courses for teachers. They would love to have Mini-Sevens Rounders. They would love to become involved in the Mc Donald’s sponsorship where they could provide a Rounders pack. Hopefully this would take place in 2005.

Ø Cumann Camogaiochta na nGael would like to promote camogie. A sub-committee for Primary Schools was set up with two representatives from each county.

Ø Every club has been instructed to provide a club/school liaison officer. Cumann na mBunscol should ask for help from these liaison officers.

Ø Since it’s the centenary year of Cumann Camogaiochta na nGael’s foundation, it is hoped to have a centenary competition in each county. It can be a team of 7-side, 8-a-side or 9-a-side. The prize for the winning team is a set of ten jerseys. Contact your Co. Camogie Board about these jerseys.

Ø Every county should select one girl to represent their county at the All-Ireland Camogie Final Day.

Pat thanked everyone for making the London Schools’ Board part of Cumann na mBunscol. He thanked Margaret for all her help as she kept him well informed throughout the whole process. He looked forward to being part of Cumann na mBunscol.

Brian thanked Margaret for the invitation to the AGM. He has been dealing with schools for 30 years. He congratulated us on a lively AGM and he was flattered by the amount of air time Allianz received at the AGM. Donal Bollard, Ciaran Whelan and himself have strong GAA credentials. He cannot understand why insurance has become such a vexed situation within Cumann na mBunscol. Our organisation is very highly insured and Allianz ( formerly Church & General ) has never refused to indemnify a school, a teacher or a BOM. Cumann na mBunscol is covered for public liability wherever it participates in Cumann na mBunscol activities.

Muiris welcomed everybody to Kerry and hoped that they enjoyed their stay. Cumann na mBunscol Ciarrai was re-established in 1994, 10 years ago. 146 schools are involved in competitions in Kerry. The schools in Kerry are very spread out and it takes a lot of geographical planning to organise the leagues. Hopefully they will be able to continue for another 10 years even though they have a problem with getting personnel involved and in particular young teachers.

	CUMANN NA MBUNSCOL NÁISIÚNTA
National A.G.M.2005 (Armagh)