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That County Board be asked to give an annual grant to Primary School Board. (Louisburgh, Neale). Refereed to County Board. That a County Board na nOg be reconsitituted and give charge of under age football within the County. (Ballina). Referred to County Board. This convention agrees that the GAA should insist on a more equitable form of selection for the All Stars. (Kilmaine). That the Club U21 Championship be abolished. (Knockmore). That the senior and intermediate championship commence in early May. (Crossmolina). Referred to County Board. That the minor club 15-a-sides championship be played before the 11-a-side league in the Spring. (Kiltimagh, Swinford). That where home venues for championship games are not suitable that the activities committee decide on alternative venues.(Swinford). (a) That neutral umpires and linesmen officiate at all County semi finals and finals at U 12, U 14, and U16 levels.(b) That pitches on which those matches are played be lined out properly.(Neale). BUSY YEAR AHEAD FOR MAYO PRIMARY SCHOOLS BOARD. Coisde na mBunscoileanna Mhaigheo have drawn up a busy schedule for the coming year with 125 Schools taking part in Football for Boys while 31 Schools have entered for the inaugural girls comps. The boys is divided into 4 Divisions and the girls into 6 areas-Achill, Westport, Claremorris, Ballinrobe, Ballina and Swinford. County Board Youth Officer Pat Byrne, Neale, is County Organiser responsible for the drawing up of fixtures and running rules for the girls competition. ROUNDERS. A rapidly growing sport, will be catered for and already 16 Schools have expressed an interest in taking part in competitions which will be run on a one day Blitz.
PICK THE ALL STARS WINNERS. This proved a very successful competition and the following are the winners out of an entry of 2,500-Fionnuala Ruane, Bonniconlon N.S., Thomas Colleran, St John's, Ballaghaderreen, Kevin Munnelly, Breaffy,Ballina, Barry Loftus, Boys N.S., Crossmolina. Paul Fitzmaurice, Scoil Padraig, Castlebar, John Fahey, Scoil Padraig, Castlebar. The Board did a lot of promotion last year and will continue to do so this year with the publication of an information booklet and calendar incorporating the County Champions of last year. Promotional material such as the Coca Cola activity charts, Irish Life skill packs, Coaching News, Gaelsport and Royal Liver League charts are all distributed among Teachers and to Schools. The Board utilised the services of Liam Mc Hale and Ray Byrne visiting all the Schools in the County.
PROMOTIONS. Among the special promotions planned for this year is the commissioning of a special Primary School medal, Press Cards, the staging of the County finals in a central venue and the proper presentartion of County finals. The Board is also to strike its own logo while a series of Inter County games between the champions is also planned. The Mayo Board can take credit from a recent survey which shows Mayo participation to be almost on a par with Dublin in terms of numbers taking part and the amount of competitions being provided.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR. TEACHERS QUESTION GAA YOUTH COMMITMENT. Dear Sir: Two recent decisions of the Mayo GAA Board on two motions dealing with juvenile football would question that body's commitment to the promotion of juvenile football. It also questions the value they place on the contribution being made by Primary Teachers to the promotion of Gaelic Games in their Schools. The first motion dealt with a request for funding from Cumann Luthchleas Gael na mBunscoileanna. This body was set up in the County in late 1986 In its first year of competitions, 1987-88, 107 Schools competed in boys football. In 1988-89 117 Schools participated. In the current year 126 Schools have so far entered with applications still not closed. This surely reflects the popularity of the competitions in both big and small Schools . Many are competing as a unit for the very first time. Many of these Schools are staffed by females, who have shown tremendous enthusiasm for the competition. Many of them tell us they even have to finance the purchase of footballs and jersies out of School funds- a sad reflection on GAA clubs in their area. Yet in spite of these set backs our game continues to flourish. In addition our committee organise Girls Football, Camogie, Rounders, INTO-GAA Mini Sevens, Hurling skills and Hurling Competitions.We have also, with the help of FAS, organised the Teamwork Coaching Scheme for Schools. All of this has been done without any funding from Mayo GAA Board. Yet they tell us they promote jevenile football. All of this in a year when, through the generosity of its patrons, the County Board finances exceeded expenditure by more than £50, 000. Many of those who subscribed were parents. I wonder how they they would like to see their hard earned cash spent. The County Board has effectively told them, none of it will be spent on your children in Primary Schools. This decision also puts into perspective the value of the promotion of Gaelic Games in Primary Schools. It's little wonder that National Teachers are disillusioned by a decision which is a direct snub to them. The second motion sought the setting up of a Bord na nOg within the County. The idea behind the motion was to set up a proper structure for the promotion of juvenile football. Again the County Board relegated this motion to its structures committee where it can languish without any urgency felt. Yet Mayo who have won a total of 28 Connacht minor titles, have only won 2 in the 80's-1980-1985. Our last U16 title was in 1986. Definitely urgent in my view. Mayo have a fine senior team at present, at least 5 of 6 of the present panel are almost at the end of their County days. Can we hope to produce adequate replacements without a cohesive youth policy? We must not forget that during the 70's when we won 5 Connacht minor titles, we did not have as much competition for our youngsters as we will encounter in the 90's. An attractive, well structured format for juvenile football would go a long way to encouraging our Youth to play our games. We cannot afford to be complacent. Neither can we aford to muddle along in the 90's in the same incoherent manner as we have done in the 80's where Youth affairs are concerned. I know I speak on behalf of a lot of embittered Teachers. I will leave parents to make their views known. A final word to our County Board Officers-climb down from your lofty perch and listen to the grassroots.
Yours Sincerely,
Tom Maughan, Chairman Mayo, CLG na mBunscoileanna. Ballina.
There is a phenomenal amount of work being done in our National Schools in the area of Sports promotion. In fact, Mayo have the second highest level of participation in the whole Country. This is a tremendous reflection on the Teachers in the Schools, who devote a lot of their spare time to work with the children. No praise is high enough for the Teachers, who by their actions, are doing so much to create a love of Sport amongst Children at such an early age. Well done to all concerned. |
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