Ó FEARGHAIL BEGINS HIS TENURE AS GAA PRESIDENT

5 March 2015 No Comments by The Northern Standard

By MICHAEL McDONNELL

michael@northern-standard.ie

DRUMGOON’S lifelong GAA mentor and Gaelic culture enthusiast Aogán Ó Fearghail passed the most major milestone of all in a remarkable career last Saturday when he was officially inaugurated President of the GAA after spending a year sharpening up for the position as Uachtaráin-Tofa.

The Association’s 38th president got off to a flying start at the GAA’s annual congress in the his native county’s Slieve Russell Hotel with a trademark off–the-cuff address that stressed the value of the tradition but looked at modern issues like the role of women, the importance of clubs overseas and the loss of members to rural clubs as against the larger populations becoming available to those based in urban areas.

Other issues challenging the new man at the top will include the qualifiers format in provincial championships, an issue on which he indicated to the press a willingness to “listen and look for good proposals”.

He also told the congress that there was no place for “elites” in the GAA, later explaining that what he meant was that the person who opened the gates at a club was as important as the best player or top officials like himself.

In his address he had also emphasised the important role of the Association in maintaining a sense of place and ….

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