Sport

In The Irish News - Jan 18 1998: Antrim GAA report deficit of almost £100,000 for the year

Casement Park in Belfast, home of Antrim GAA
Casement Park in Belfast, home of Antrim GAA Casement Park in Belfast, home of Antrim GAA

ANTRIM treasurer Eamon Greive had a bleak picture to paint at the county convention in Ballymena yesterday when he reported a deficit of almost £100,000 for the year.

In his cover letter to the accounts he stated: “Basically we are currently in deep water and unless we can raise substantial funds then we may not be in charge of our own financial affairs.

“We need a short term fix in the way of a loan or other means of immediate income to allow us to continue trading, and we require to put in place a long term continuous way of raising finance to ensure we meet our day to day responsibilities,” he concluded.

Inheriting a £110,000 deficit, accumulated over the past four years, has left the county with a massive £127,000 of liabilities, exacerbated by provision for legal claims resulting from a 1993 incident in the south and further provision for professional fees for the Casement Park development, also going back a number of years.

However, in the true mould of an astute treasurer, the former St John’s and Antrim player reported the bad news first, coming across much softer at the conclusion of his 45 minute presentation.

“The positive side to our affairs is, that if we take away the provision for non-recurring items of £100,000 then the county have actually stopped the slide, and, if we can produce a greater level of sponsorship next year then we will be well on the way to leaving our financial problems behind.”

All was not doom and gloom although the performance of the senior football team, now ranked 29th in the country, had many irritated delegates on their toes.

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SWEET, ambitious dreams were in the making during a roller coaster session of semi-finals in the Irish Senior Boxing Championships at the National Stadium, Dublin on Saturday night.

All will be eventually revealed for boxers such as Pat O’Donnell of Dockers Belfast, Martin Murphy, the veteran St Paul’s flyweight and the Carlyle brothers, Aodh and Terry, of the Scared Heart club in Tallaght, in Friday’s finals.

Pat O’Donnell wants back-to-back feather titles for two specific reasons: as reward for a year he has put on hold at the University of Ulster in order to train full time; and a place in Northern Ireland’s Commonwealth Games team. Martin Murphy’s aim is to win a national title before he is denied the opportunity next year when he will be on the 35-year-old age limit.

The aim of the Carlyle brothers is self explanatory; they want to join the elite club of brothers to have won at national senior level.

“I was relaxed and comfortable,” he said after dismissing Michael Hobbs of Arklow 16-5. He may well have the measure of Terry Carlyle.

There are also the hopes of Saints fly Liam Cunningham and Sunnyside’s Michael Roche of retaining their titles.

Cunningham will be mindful of a Commonwealth games place and Martin Murphy may well have his dream shattered as a result.

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CATHERINA McKIERNAN continued her run of incredible form by winning a 5k road race in Paris yesterday.

The Cavan runner finished 20 seconds ahead of France’s Josianne Llado, the recent winner of the European cross country championships.

It was McKiernan’s 10th successive win on the roads and over the country. McKiernan said afterwards that she remains undecided as to whether she will compete in the world cross country championships in March. The Cavan woman participates in the London Marathon which takes place some four weeks after the Morocco event.

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BURNING BRIGHT.. Golfing sensation Tiger Woods, centre foreground, is surrounded by security as he walks to the first green during an exhibition game with three Asian golfers at the Mimosa Golf and Country Club at the former US Air Force base of Clark, 50 miles northwest of Manila. Woods won yesterday’s event by three strokes from Filipino rival Felix Casas.
BURNING BRIGHT.. Golfing sensation Tiger Woods, centre foreground, is surrounded by security as he walks to the first green during an exhibition game with three Asian golfers at the Mimosa Golf and Country Club at the former US Air Force base of Clark, 50 BURNING BRIGHT.. Golfing sensation Tiger Woods, centre foreground, is surrounded by security as he walks to the first green during an exhibition game with three Asian golfers at the Mimosa Golf and Country Club at the former US Air Force base of Clark, 50 miles northwest of Manila. Woods won yesterday’s event by three strokes from Filipino rival Felix Casas.