DISTRIBUTION of funds from the GAA coffers to the counties is one of the issues that Paul Duggan intends to make a priority after he was elected to serve as Ulster’s representative on the GAA’s Central Council last weekend.
Experienced administrator Duggan will sit on a management committee that is responsible for all of the affairs of the GAA including disciplinary issues, setting financial budgets and the implementation of policy.
High on the list of issues is the need to address the stark imbalance between the €19,260,338 invested in coaching in Dublin between 2007 and 2019 (€1,481,564 per year) and the relatively paltry amount awarded to Armagh, who came in bottom of the funding pile with €765,016 over the same period, that is an average of €63,751 a year.
The bottom five recipients over the period were Down, Fermanagh, Monaghan, Tyrone and Armagh (in that order) while Antrim (€1,604,712) and Derry (€1,588,875) were ranked third and fourth respectively.
“The distribution of monies is an issue that I will be raising,” said Duggan.
“There has to be a redress in the distribution of that money. I was around Cumann na Bunscoil when Dublin weren’t to the fore and there was a lot of (financial) injection into Dublin as regards coaching but their clubs put as much money in as central GAA do.
“We are blessed in Armagh with Paul McGrane, Aidan O’Rourke, Kieran McGeeney, Dennis Hollywood… Those guys are looking at replicating what Dublin achieved in Armagh but there has to be an equal distribution of money. Some formula has to be made to make sure that money is shared throughout the system equally and equitably so that will be a priority.”
Pearse Og clubman Duggan, the principal of St Malachy’s CBS in Armagh, has been involved in GAA administration since his college days at St Mary’s in Belfast where he was chairman and secretary of the hurling and football clubs.
He cut his teeth at national level as secretary and chairperson of Cumman na Bunscoil and went on to serve as youth officer, secretary and then chairman of his native Armagh.
He is the fourth person from the Orchard county to be elected to Central Council, following in the footsteps of Jarlath Burns, Gene Duffy and the late John O’Reilly
“Thanks to everyone who voted for me,” he said.
“I feel humbled to have been so well endorsed by delegates from throughout the country.
“I’ve been involved in administration for a while and that helped me (get elected) because I made great friendships throughout the country and people remembered the way I conducted my affairs. I like to think I work with integrity and honesty and transparency and I think people acknowledged that.”
Duggan, who had surgery during his time as Armagh County Board chairman, is happily now fully recovered, “fit and healthy” and looking forward to tackling the many issues facing the GAA.
“We are under severe pressure in relation to players in terms of the conflict that arise between county and club and player welfare issues in general,” he said.
“The relationship between ourselves the GPA has to be sorted and I really think we have to start looking at the one-club model. We have to get it right; we have to start looking at our relationship with ladies’ football and with camogie.
“Another thing I keep asking about is volunteer burn-out. We hear a lot about player burn-out but what about the club volunteer? We have clubs throughout the country where the same people have been involved 20-30 years and some clubs now just cannot get people to come on board and take posts.
“We have to look at the vibrancy of our clubs throughout the county. Are some clubs sustainable? It’s a major challenge for us and I look forward to making my contribution over the next three years.”
