Mayo review body to report by January

GAELIC GAMES:THE NETWORK of sub-committees appointed to conduct a comprehensive review of Mayo GAA will present their recommendations to the county board by next January.

Journalist and broadcaster Liam Horan, chair of the Mayo GAA Strategic Action Plan Steering Group, says the idea is to address general governance within the association in the county as well as to address disappointment on the playing field.

“The impetus comes from the national Strategic Action Plan, under which all counties are obliged to make proposals but also from a feeling after the championship defeat by Longford that a root-and-branch reform of the GAA in the county was needed.”

He is anxious to dispel any notion that the initiatives are just another example of All-Ireland mania in the county.

“This isn’t focused on winning an All-Ireland. We could win one and still have a lot of flaws within the system but we believe that if we set out to improve things across the board in the county then everything will benefit.

“Mayo has come through a very unusual 15 years. Reaching four All-Ireland finals means that we’ve been doing a lot right but equally we can do better. Back in the mid-1990s we could have been compared with Tyrone, coming up just short in a couple of championships and both having a vocational schools’ power base.

“But quite clearly since then, they have moved on and not just on the playing field but in their approach to all GAA activities in the county. The purpose of this exercise is to identify what’s working and what new developments are needed.”

Among the issues to be addressed by the 10 sub-committees are: urbanisation, developing high-performance players and harnessing the support of Mayo people worldwide.

The Finance and Funding sub-committee will be based in Dublin and includes former county player PJ Monaghan, managing director of Leading Edge Project Directors, and features well-known names such as Mary Davis, CEO of the 2003 Special Olympics whose brother, Eugene Rooney, played for Mayo, Tom Mitchell, former provost of Trinity College, Dublin, former All Star Kevin O’Neill, and accountant Frank Walsh, brother of pop impresario Louis.

“Everyone involved in all of the sub-committees is committed to taking a fresh look at the way we do things and making recommendations,” says Horan. “The county board will decide to accept or reject and then organise implementation. It’s an open process and everyone who feels they have something to contribute is encouraged to visit the website, www.mayogaa.com, and make their own submissions on any of the issues under consideration.”

Nicky English will inform Tipperary County Board officials when he returns from South Africa this week whether or not he wants to return as the county’s senior hurling team manager. Some county sources have indicated English is set to fill the void created by Liam Sheedy’s shock departure but county board officials have insisted they have yet to hear a definitive answer from the former player.

What is certain is the job has been offered to English, who managed Tipperary to All-Ireland SHC glory in 2001. Work and family commitments have scuppered a previous return for English but it is understood the conditions could now be right for a comeback.

English taking the job would go a long way towards soothing the blow of losing Sheedy following September’s superb All-Ireland final victory against Kilkenny.