Football

Ulster Council's Jimmy Darragh takes temporary Gaelfast reins as Dr Paul Donnelly prepares to leave top post

Experienced coach Jimmy Darragh (right) will take the reins at Gaelfast for the foreseeable future
Experienced coach Jimmy Darragh (right) will take the reins at Gaelfast for the foreseeable future Experienced coach Jimmy Darragh (right) will take the reins at Gaelfast for the foreseeable future

ANTRIM GAA has moved swiftly in appointing an interim regeneration manager to take over from outgoing Gaelfast chief Dr Paul Donnelly.

Following discussions with Croke Park, Antrim GAA say it has been agreed Ulster Council coach Jimmy Darragh will step into the breach on a temporary basis until a permanent manager can be recruited.

Rather than appoint a current Gaelfast employee to act up until Donnelly’s successor can be found, Darragh has been “seconded” from the provincial body.

Regarded as a very steady hand among the GAA’s coaching fraternity, in a statement, Antrim GAA said: “Jimmy will bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the project. He has also worked along with Paul Donnelly as a member of the Gaelfast project board and this good working relationship between these two fine Gaels will ensure a smooth transition in role.”

The Antrim executive is very keen to fill the £60,000 per year regeneration manager’s post as soon as the current embargo on recruitment within the GAA is lifted.

“We have been liaising with Croke Park and it has been agreed that Jimmy Darragh will be seconded from Ulster Council to Antrim GAA to act as interim regeneration manger within Gaelfast until role is filled on a permanent basis,” the statement added.

‘Gaelfast’ was conceived by the previous leadership of the Antrim GAA in July 2018 – an ambitious project to rejuvenate Gaelic Games in Belfast, particularly in the primary school sector.

St Paul’s man Dr Paul Donnelly left a high-profile post in Sport NI to head up ‘Gaelfast’ and together with 12 coaches, some of whom were already employed by Antrim GAA, the scheme was beginning to bear fruit.

Gaelfast’s tentacles reached primary schools where there was no tradition of Gaelic Games and the buy in from the clubs had increased in many areas of the city, and beyond.

However, Covid put the brakes on Gaelfast and with schools currently closed, its coaching staff have been furloughed for a second time in this pandemic.

With so many of the GAA’s revenue streams currently frozen, money remains ring-fenced for all of Gaelfast’s employees.

In 2018, the GAA committed £1m to the project over a five-year period to help cover the salaries of its staff.

Currently, Croke Park contribute 70 per cent, Antrim and Ulster Council give 10 per cent each while Belfast's City Council makes up the remaining 10 per cent.

Donnelly’s departure at the end of January will be keenly felt given that he’d built up such good relations with Croke Park, schools, clubs, fundraising bodies and the project’s coaching staff.

A former Antrim senior hurler, Donnelly may be moving to Ulster University to take up an academic position but will stay involved in his native county after being appointed the Antrim minor hurling manager.

In a separate statement, the Antrim county board paid a warm tribute to Donnelly’s contribution.

“Gaelfast is a central pillar in advancing Gaelic Games in Ireland’s second city, Belfast and throughout Antrim, while Paul’s boots will be hard to fill we aim to recruit another high calibre individual to this crucial role.

“On behalf of Antrim GAA we would like to thank Paul for all the hard work he has done leading the Gaelfast project over the last two years since inception. We wish Paul all the best in his new role lecturing at the University of Ulster.”

Meanwhile, Antrim continues to put its best foot forward, rowing in behind the promotion of the O’Hana ZERO suicide campaign [ohana.ie], which offers free online suicide awareness training.

The course helps “identify the signs that someone may be suicidal” and teaches how to “employ the correct language in asking the appropriate questions” and how to direct a person to receive appropriate help.

New county PRO Dan McConnell revealed Antrim GAA has teamed up with their counterparts in Louth and Meath to help raise awareness.