Stenson calls time on GAA career as he ends term as Leitrim GAA Chairman

This is my last time to stand here as chairman, I am absolutely delighted to have done it, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It's kind of sad to be leaving, but when you come to my age, time catches up and I just want to thank everybody, particularly the officers of the board that I worked with.

None more than the two men beside, Martin and Declan, it has been a total pleasure working with you. I don't think I would have managed as well Declan if you weren't here. because you kept me on the straight and narrow. When I stepped into this position, I did not know what it was about, but I learned quickly.

Martin, I can only marvel at your head for figures. You do a wonderful job, and since you came here, and the amount of money that you've said has been raised. 

I want to thank the clubs. I knew the clubs from my years of refereeing around them and I thoroughly enjoyed going around to the clubs. I want to thank all the clubs and the functions that I went to, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you all. That is one part of it, that I've just gone around to the clubs and the home championship games, I absolutely love that part of the GAA. 

It's the camaraderie, it's the friends you make, and you will never forget it. So I just want to thank the clubs for all that. You have been a pleasure to deal with, we didn’t have any bother so I want to thank you for that.

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The GAA in Leitrim is in a pretty good place. I know numbers in rural clubs have fallen and it  is up to us all to work with the demographics committee, to work with Barney Breen and to work with our incoming board, to work around those figures, and to try to not let a club die - we don't want to see any clubs dying, that’s the worst. That happened in the 60s - I remember when I was only starting off and clubs disappeared.

Of course, they came back and they're in a pretty strong position at the moment. Every club has their own grounds and they have their own facilities and all. 

It is just that we're in a very different world now than we were back then - families are smaller, people don't want to live as far out in the country as they move closer to the town and that's the reality of it.

So there will probably have to be some way of moving around the numbers so that our rural clubs cannot be allowed to die. I know that that's being discussed at a higher level within the GAA on the National Demographics Committee in Croke Park, that's being discussed.

You have, on one side, in parts of Kerry, Mayo, Leitrim, west Cavan and parts of Roscommon where rural clubs are under pressure. Then you have the opposite in the Limericks, the Dublins and Corks and God knows. Even Carrick-on-Shannon here, huge numbers so to get the balance right is not going to be easy, but it's up to everybody, and everybody to have their say, and to work towards it.

I don't want to hold you out long other than to say thanks again to all the committees, to all the referees, to those who gave us clubs, particularly this year the Ballinamore club. I know that today (Tuesday December 17) is a sad day for you but to the Ballinamore club, who stepped up to the mark when we took it on board to close Pairc Sean and put the new surface in.

I think we couldn't have asked for more with the accommodation that we were given in Ballinamore, it was a credit to ye. Thank God that TG4 came and showcased what a club in Leitrim has. And when you get meetings, the compliments that you would get that this was a club ground.

Ballinamore were incredible and I know that there will be league matches there this year, and I know that they will again step up to the mark. To Ballinamore and all the other clubs, clubs were extremely generous with the country board in their hour of need.

I don't know what else is to be said, other than the fact that I will miss you and I will not be probably ever involved in either country board or club or the GAA level again. I remember I was registered with the country board back in the 70s, I didn't know why, I think George O’Toole was looking for a name or something like that and Brian, my brother, was there and I was put in.

I did assistant secretary for Tommy Moran for 10 years over the 90s and anybody that was  assistant secretary to Tommy Moran hadn't a heavy work load. Then I left the GAA for a while and came back five years ago, took this position and it has been absolutely enjoyable. 

I loved going around to the matches, I want to thank the managers of the teams that were there at the time. Terry Hyland was there with the senior team and no nicer man could you meet and when he left, Andy Moran came in and he was a joy to behold, he had to learn things but he was so enthusiastic.

Then we had Mickey Graham for a couple of days. It wasn’t easy for us but we managed. There was no point in us crying the morning of the County Final, we just had to get on with it.

Thanks to the committee, led by Martin McGowan and Joe Cox, that went and got the present management committee and I think that the County maybe will be all the better for it, an excellent management team in place and we had excellent young players and I’m delighted that Barry McWeeney and James Glancy will be in charge of our U20s, super fellas with the County at heart.

The two boys taking charge of the minor teams, Danny Beck and Ciaran Kennedy, total Leitrim people at heart, they will give it their best. And what has happened with the school team and what has happened with the Fr Manning team, it bodes well for the future.

It is all about trying to keep our young people at home and that's not easy. It's not because I have to go but it's because it's a lifestyle choice at the moment, that people just like to travel, and you can't stop any young fella and if he likes to travel, well then he should travel.

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But I know that there's a lot of excellent footballers out there in Dubai and Asia and wherever they are but I would appeal to wherever they are, why don't you all come back, there's another couple of years we need and we will certainly get accommodation.

I know that housing out in rural Leitrim is deemed to be an issue but there's a lot of vacant houses out there that could be available if there was a grant to come back and live in.

I will remember the 17th of December, 2024 as that's the day I left the GAA. This is an unusual story but I remember the 17th of December 41 years ago, everybody remembers the 17th of December. Around this county there is what was called a ‘Ring of Steel” and there is a man sitting down there, I had to rush my wife to Sligo Hospital, I had to get a Garda escort and Colm down there, was born the next morning. 

I'm not going to say any more, I just want to say thanks a million and the very best of luck to everybody that goes out on the field in the future because the only reason we are all here is because we love our country and we love our games, and we always have. Long may that continue!