Minutes of General Meeting September, 25^th 2004.

The General Meeting of Cumann na mBunscol Náisiúnta was held in St. Patrick’s College of Education, Drumcondra  on Saturday, 25^th. September, 2004. Cathaoirleach Jim O’ Reilly welcomed all delegates. Apologies from  our PRO Jerry Grogan who was unable to attend due to illness. We all wish Jerry a speedy recovery.

v      WEBSITE PRESENTATION:

• It was decided not to have a launch for our national website. A ten minute presentation on the website was made by Eamonn Mullen.
• Eamonn explained how the various improvements to our website had made it less cluttered and more user friendly.
• Application forms and info on the various competitions ( Mini-Sevens, Handball, Roadstone Awards and O’ Neills ) were now available on our website.
• A few policies regarding the use of the website had to be developed.
• Eamonn appealed to counties and provinces to submit any relevant material to mgtcunningham@hotmail.com.
• Jim thanked Eamonn for his presentation and also for the use of his laptop and projector.

·        Jim also announced that most Cumann na mBunscol correspondence will be by e-mail from now on as it would save on time and postage.

The minutes of the AGM  2004 were distributed:  The adoption of the minutes was proposed by Jim O’ Riordan (Wicklow) and seconded by Joe Donnolly (Fermanagh ).

CHAIRMAN’S ADDRESS:

Ø          The chairman, Jim O’ Reilly, thanked Margaret for her comprehensive report on activities since the AGM in Tralee.

Ø          Our website was up and running. Jim thanked Margaret who updates it on a regular basis. It can be accessed at  www.scoilsport.org or through the GAA website. All application forms are available on site. While on the subject of I.T. all communication within An Coiste Náisiúnta is by e-mail. As from today it is hoped that all communication with County and Provincial secretaries will be by e-mail as well.

Ø          Today is the closing date for Allianz material to be handed in from counties. As our PRO Jerry Grogan is indisposed until the New Year, the committee will take care of all Allianz material. Any county that does not submit material today will not get a grant. It makes our situation in re-negotiating with Allianz much more difficult when some counties don’t play their part.

Ø          Today is also the closing date for the Roadstone Awards. This year Handball and Camogie are separate categories. Jim congratulated Cumann Camogaiocht na nGael on their centenary. It was a privilege to be present in Croke Park last Sunday and see over 2,500 children forming C100 on the pitch.

Ø          There has been a lot of criticism of the equipment distributed in the McDonald’s Lift & Strike scheme. At our last meeting we decided to set up a meeting with Pat Daly in relation to this matter. The main thrust of this scheme is a comprehensive coaching programme and greater club/school co-operation. The Provincial Game Managers have a very important role to play in this.

Ø          The Handball Exhibition Days continue to be a success. This year’s dates are included in the secretary’s report.

Ø          Tomorrow is the sixth day of the INTO/GAA Mini-Sevens. It will be Timmy Maher’s last day as Mini-Sevens national coordinator. Many thanks to Timmy and his family for all their hard work over the years. Many thanks also to Moira Graham, Austin Corcoran and the many Dublin based teachers who gave of their time freely every Sunday.

Ø          Congratulations to Meath Cumann na mBunscol who celebrate their 25^th. anniversary this year. We wish them well for the future.

Ø          Jim finally thanked his fellow officers along with every primary school teacher who promotes Gaelic Games in our primary schools.

Ø          He also wished Tyrone, Mayo and Kerry best wishes in tomorrow’s All-Ireland Football Finals.

SECRETARY’S   REPORT & MATTERS  ARISING

v      ALLIANZ:

• All delegates were grateful to Allianz for their generous sponsorship of €84,000 towards this year’s Cumann na mBunscol activities.
• The PR seminar for PROs was held in Croke Park on Saturday, April 24^th .

       and concern was expressed at the lack of material being sent to Jerry.

• Everyone was pleased that the Allianz projects could also be entered into the PR section of the Roadstone Awards.

• Delegates also appreciated the Allianz stickers for team shirts that were posted out to county secretaries. It was hoped that they would receive a greater amount of stickers next year.

• The National Executive felt that the labels should replace the photoboards. Paddy Corbett ( Mayo ) believed that this choice should be optional. Paddy was advised that Mayo should look into this matter themselves and maybe provide their own photoboards.
• Many thanks to Caroline Meany ( Allianz ) for supplying each county at the General Meeting with a ream of Allianz stationary. However members would require more stationary and envelopes to carry out their correspondence.

v    ROADSTONE AWARDS:

• The Roadstone Awards Banquet would take place on Saturday, November, 27^th. 2004 in the Berkeley Court Hotel, Dublin.
• Members welcomed the introduction of the Handball category and the Camogie Centenary Award.
• Paddy Corbett ( Mayo ) requested a new category on websites for next year.
• With regard to the large and small schools’ categories, a cut off point of 116 pupils for small schools had to be introduced to avoid confusion.
• Tickets for the Roadstone Banquet were  €60.00 and Jim urged counties and provincial units to send at least two representatives to the Banquet.
• Margaret urged members to give her their orders as soon as possible so as to facilitate matters for the Banquet.
• All members appreciated Roadstone for their generous sponsorship and wished Michael Grogan ( Managing Director of Roadstone ) well in his retirement.
• Jim thanked Ronnie Delany, David Roche and Marty Morrissey and his team of assessors for all their hard work.
• A special thank you was also expressed to Eamonn for his role as Roadstone national co-ordinator.

MC DONALD’S SKILLS PROGRAMME:

·          The “Lift and Strike” scheme was launched on March 30^th.  in Croke Park. At most County Launches, a demonstration was given on the Lift & Strike skills. The kit consisted of a bag, 5 hurleys, 6 sliotars, some booklets and posters.

• The coaching initiative was very disappointing. The McDonald’s Scheme was supposed to strengthen the links between clubs and schools and also provide extra coaching in the schools. Very few counties benefited from this. The success of the McDonald’s Scheme depended on the Coaching Games & Development Committee in each county. Some counties brought coaching into schools where it had been non-existent in previous years.
• It would be interesting to know about the level of club/school tie-up eg.

How many coaches were going into schools?                              

How many sessions?                                       Who conducted the sessions?

• McDonald’s Lift & Strike exhibition took place at the Leinster Final, semi-finals and quarter-finals. Most schools received the Lift & Strike equipment.

• The poor quality of the “Lift and Strike” hurleys and the apparent difficulty of the skills were a matter of concern.
• The skills that the children performed in Croke Park were completely different to the skills that they had performed at county level.
• McDonald’s should only make the sliotars and footballs available to schools.
• Booklets were excellent and should be made available to the grassroots of the organisation.

The above report on McDonald’s Skills Programme was discussed in detail and the following criticisms were made:

P.J. Fitzpatrick ( Clare ) questioned the quality of the hurleys and why they were so sub-standard.  The competitions took place but very little coaching took place. The coaching was supposed to improve links between club and school but this didn’t happen. We need quality coaches coming into our schools. The number of GPOs employed to run the scheme are insufficient.

Marett Smith ( Longford ): On principal we shouldn’t have McDonalds as sponsors as their food leads to obesity. We are being exploited by McDonalds and we are sending out signals to children that McDonald’s food is acceptable.

P.J. Fitzpatrick (Clare ): McDonalds themselves are not bad and we wouldn’t like to offend our sponsors. Children are not frequent visitors to McDonalds as they are only taken to McDonalds occasionally.

Jim O’ Reilly ( National Chairman ) accepted both points of view but this matter had been discussed at previous meetings and it was time that this discussion was laid to rest.

Seamus Fitzgerald ( Waterford ) said that the McDonald’s Skills’ Competitions added to an already overburdened workload  for teachers.

Gerry O’ Meara ( Leinster ) said that the children were lost in the middle of the field. It was sad to see the Mini-Sevens being demoted to half-time during the Minor Final.

Gerry McDonnell ( Munster ) had no problem with the sponsorship. The level of skills demanded during the various skills’ competitions was too high. The competition should be more participant friendly.

Breda Cleary ( Waterford ): Both competitions would be run this year but there was no need to use the McDonald’s equipment as the balls were too small and the hurleys were poor quality.

PRO:

Ø     No report was available as our PRO Jerry Grogan was absent due to poor health. Jerry will be unable to perform his duties as PRO until the New Year.

Ø     Everybody agreed that the Cul 4 Kidz magazine was a resounding success and it would be available once a term

Ø       Cumann na mBunscol material had appeared in the match programmes in Croke Park throughout the summer.

Ø       Four All - Ireland Football Final tickets will be made available as prizes for a competition that will be held in association with the "Cúlú 4" programme on TG4. The two winning children will be umpires during the Mini-Sevens game.

v      HANDBALL:

The national handball days were a resounding success and the catering was very satisfactory. The children also had the opportunity to visit the GAA Museum.

Application forms for the Handball competitions are now available on our website at www.scoilsport.org

• Handball Dates for 2005:
• County Finals to be played before 31^st. January, 2005
• Regional Exhibitions to be played before 26^th. February, 2005
• Girls’ Handball Day in Croke Park on Saturday, 16^th. April, 2005
• Boys’ Handball Day in Croke Park on Saturday, 23^rd.  April, 2005
• Completed application forms to be returned to Malachy McGeeney before March, 17^th. 2005.

Jim thanked  Handball officer Malachy Mc Geeney for all his hard work.

v      MINI-SEVENS;

• The representative nature of the Mini-Sevens made them very appealing and Timmy Maher believed that the Mini-Sevens were here to stay.
• All stages of the Mini-Sevens had progressed smoothly and excellently once again. Our appreciation was due to the county organisers, regional hosts and the co-ordinating national team under Timmy Maher.
• A lot of hassle was created by the following:

a) Notification going to the wrong schools

b) Incorrect completion of forms

c) Not enough details on forms eg. School address and phone nos.

• The re-appearance of players playing in Croke Park continues. Timmy had to inform county secretaries that certain players couldn’t play. The cut-off point should occur at school level. Schools should state on forms that child played in previous years and so child can’t be selected at Regional Finals.
• A review on the Mini-Sevens was due: a committee would be set up to report back to AGM. Timmy would act as chairman.
• A representative from each province would be selected.
• Submissions for changes in the INTO Mini-Sevens Rules to be returned by county secretaries before Saturday, 23^rd. October, 2004.
• Portable goal-posts were unsafe and would need to be replaced by a more stable structure.
• Enquiries concerning tickets should be referred to Moira Graham.

Timmy was stepping down after 9 years as national co-ordinator of the Mini-Sevens. Michael Weed ( Donegal ) congratulated Timmy on his many years as national co-ordinator. He praised Timmy for his unfailing courtesy and nothing was ever a problem to Timmy. Many adults had fond memories of Timmy’s  hospitality to them on their arrival in Croke Park. Everyone thanked Timmy for all his years of dedicated service.

v    O’ NEILL’S COMPETITION:

The response from schools all over the country to the O’ Neill’s competition was a resounding success and details of the winners were read out by Jim O’ Reilly. Jim thanked Tom Ryan for acting as national co-ordinator in this competition.

Ø     Cumann na mBunscol – An Mhí

Jim O’ Reilly congratulated Cumann na mBunscol An Mhi as 2004 was their 25^th anniversary. To mark this occasion a “Sport for All Day” was held on the 16^th of June at various venues throughout county Meath. Each school selected ten pupils to participate in a sport of its choice eg. Rounders, Camogie, Football or Hurling. Games were of a non competitive nature with children from different schools forming part of  the same team. Boys and girls were mixed in Rounders only.

It must  be said that each school entered into the true spirit of the “Sport for All Day” and  each participating school was presented with a commemorative plaque on the day.

All the schools that participate in  Cumann na mBunscol  An Mhi competitions will be represented in a special parade in Páirc Tailteann, Navan on the occasion of the  Meath senior football championship final on the 3^rd of October.

An art competition involving all the schools is in progress at present and the winners  will be presented with prizes at the  Cumann na mBunscol  An Mhí football finals at Páirc Tailteann in November. The events will conclude with  a presentation and celebratory function in the Newgrange Hotel, Navan on  Friday the 12^th November.

Frank Reidy ( Meath ) invited the chairman and secretary of Cumann na mBunscol Náisiúnta to this celebratory dinner. Frank stated that in its early stages Cumann na mBunscol An Mhi had only 11 schools participating in their competitions. Now they have a total of 96 schools involved out of a total of 102 schools in their county. Frank emphasised the importance of teachers in running Cumann na mBunscol activities. He was also very proud of the fact that every member of the 1999 Meath team had been involved in Cumann na mBunscol games.

v    INTO CONGRESS:

The INTO Congress Stand was manned  by Jim O Reilly and Jerry Grogan. It proved once again a marvellous publicity event for Gaelic games.

The adoption of the minutes was proposed by Breda Cleary (Waterford) and seconded by Martin Short (Antrim ).

TREASURER’S  REPORT

·         Our treasurer Pat Trainor thanked Allianz for their sponsorship money of €84,000 for the current year. Without Allianz money we would have difficulty surviving financially.

·         The cancellation of the Scoilsport magazine was convenient as our resources were low.

·         He thanked Margaret for succeeding in obtaining the O’ Neill’s franchise money (€4,867) from Tony Towell on 14/9/04.

·         Gerry McDonnell ( Munster ) requested that a standardised Treasurer’s Report be made available on our website at www.scoilsport.org so that counties could download it and make use of it to suit their needs. Pat promised that he would have one available for the AGM.

·         The adoption of the Treasurer’s Report was proposed by Michael Quinn (Tyrone ) and seconded by Jim Dempsey  (Wexford).

AOB

Paddy Corbett ( Mayo ) would be in charge of the Regional Handball Finals in Connacht while P.J. Fitzpatrick ( Clare ) would be responsible for the Regional Handball Finals in Munster.

That concluded the business of the meeting.

My sincere thanks to the Coiste Náisiúnta, provincial and county officers for their co-operation during the year. Congratulations to Kerry on the excellent organisation of the recent AGM.

Margaret  Cunningham 

(  Rúnaí )