IT’S all change at the top in Tyrone, with some of the county’s leading administrators set to stand down at next week’s county convention.
A new chairman will be elected to replace Michael Kerr, while county secretary Dominic McCaughey is to retire after 35 years in the role.
And PRO Eugene McConnell will also vacate his post, having completed his five-year term.
Three contenders – current vice-chairman Martin Sludden, McConnell and Conor Sally – are in line to succeed Carrickmore Eire Og man Kerr, whose five-year term has come to an end.
The duties of secretary will be shared by a new elected officer and a county administrator.
For outgoing PRO McConnell, who will be succeeded by ether Rory Cox or Eunan Lindsay, the launch of Tyrone GAA TV will be seen as a major legacy.
The service has developed rapidly in terms of technical excellence and range of coverage, with all championship games at all levels now broadcast live via the internet.
“My ambition was to introduce and develop the live streaming of our GAA club games via Tyrone GAA TV, and this has proven to be very popular at home and abroad, something we can all be very proud of,” he said.
The Clogher Eire Og man has also been the main driver behind a rapid increase in followers of Tyrone social media platforms, making every possible use of modern technology to keep the public informed of news and events, as well as live coverage of matches.
“For me Communications was a key element on setting out our standards on all we do as a county, and I sincerely hope over the course of the five years at the helm I have managed to do justice to how we communicate and how we get our message out to all Gaels everywhere.
“From day one in the role, I set out as one of my main goals to improve all our social media platforms and to reach out to as many as possible via the many forms of social media.”
And the Tyrone PRO has placed particular emphasis on promotion and coverage of hurling, ladies' football and handball.
“I wanted to improve our coverage of hurling within our county and provide more exposure of our games both within the club scene and also at county level.
“And I felt it was important to open up better communications between our other GAA codes within the county, (ie) camogie, ladies football and handball.
“On top of these pivotal areas to improve communication, I also wanted to relaunch The Red Hand View matchday programmes with a much wider appeal and a much broader content input.”
McConnell paid tribute to the input of a dedicated committee that has assisted communications initiatives throughout his tenure.
“I could not have done this job without the genuine willingness and assistance given to me by a group of people who were always there to provide valuable service throughout the journey.”
The outgoing PRO added: “Looking back now, I feel on all fronts Tyrone Communications have led the way and the aspirations from the outset have all been accomplished and have created a much better engagement with our Tyrone GAA family all over the world.
“The hunger and desire to be kept informed on every aspect of GAA activity within our county has grown to such an extent that thankfully Tyrone Communications have stepped up and been able to satisfy the demand to be kept informed.
“This was even more relevant during the past two to three years with the Covid Pandemic at its height and the reality of a Lockdown being to the fore. Communications was an important link to keep Gaels up to speed and informed on what was happening on the GAA scene.”
