Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins join calls for GAA to end Allianz sponsorship of National Leagues

A wide variety of topics are down for discussion at this year's Leitrim GAA County Board Convention, which will be held next Wednesday December 17, in The Bush Hotel in Carrick on Shannon, ranging from competition structures, penalty shootouts and Allianz's sponsorship of the GAA's National Leagues!

The motions have been circulated to clubs ahead of the Convention and in terms of motions, Glencar Manorhamilton lead the way with six motions, St Mary's Kiltoghert and Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins follow with five and four respectively while Aughnasheelin have three motions down for discussion and Annaduff have one.

Among the motions is a call from Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins for the GAA to end their sponsorship agreement with Allianz in light of the fact that Elbit Systems, one of the biggest suppliers of military equipment to the Israeli Army, are insured by Allianz, and Allianz is described as a “Principal shareholder” with Elbit.

While the main focus in recent weeks has been on Allianz’s sponsorship of the National Leagues, Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins’ motion would also mean the end of Allianz’s equally long standing sponsorship of Cumann na mBunscol all across the organisation.

There are motions on amalgamations at underage level with Glencar Manorhamilton seeking that any approval of amalgamations occur at Coiste na nÓg level which, they say, ensure full transparency by allowing club coaching officers and those club coaches directly involved with the various under age teams to be consulted with and to be involved in the approval or otherwise process. 

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Two of the motions down for discussion would appear to be in competition with each other with St Mary's seeking the U20 Club Championship to be held before the start of the Inter-County U20 season, which would mean January and February, while Ballinamore Sean O'Heslins want the competition to start after the senior, intermediate and junior club competitions are finished.

Whether the Ballinamore motion includes the Connacht Club competitions is open to interpretation but both motions would see the U20 Club Championships held at a time that is traditionally reserved for Post Primary Schools and Third level competitions, increasing the load on a group of young players.

Leitrim County Executive have proposed a motion which would see the draw for the Senior & Intermediate Club Championships be conducted in full before the start of the competitions but St Mary’s Kiltoghert propose that both competitions are divided into two groups of four with the teams in one group playing all four teams in the other group, on a home and away basis.

St Mary’s are asking for a break built into the schedule for teams involved in the League Finals, ensuring that the two competing teams have a weekend off to ensure fairness with other teams who are not playing that weekend.

Annaduff have a motion asking that teams involved in games that are livestreamed by Leitrim GAA have the option of recording the match using their open platforms for analysis purposes.

Glencar Manorhamilton have also submitted a motion to change the official spelling of Páirc Séan Mac Diarmada to its grammatically corrected version of Páirc Sheáin Mhic Dhiarmada, a move that would mean significant rebranding of signage at the County grounds in Carrick on Shannon.

The County Board have a motion in to extend the Club Leagues with extra games in a phase two extension to the competition while St Mary’s Kiltoghert are proposing that the current Reserve League system be done away with, replaced by five divisions with second string teams eligible for promotion up through the grades, a move that could lead to scheduling difficulties with first and second string teams meeting each other.

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Aughnasheelin also have two motions for GAA Congress, one asking that any player who has transferred to the North American County Board area be able to play immediately on his return to his home club club immediately on his return to Ireland should they be unable to remain in or return to that jurisdiction due to the refusal, withdrawal, or non-renewal of a visa, or other immigration restriction.

Aughnasheelin also have an intriguing motion that a player shall only be eligible to represent a county team if he is a registered active member of that club within that county, and eligible to play with that club under Rule 6.3. In their submission, Aughnasheelin state that “This Motion aims to protect and strengthen the connection between county players and those who represent a county also contribute to the development of Gaelic games within that county club system.”

All the motions will be printed in next Wednesday’s Leitrim Observer.