Offaly GAA facing potential crisis as date for officer vacancies looms closer

A POTENTIAL crisis is looming for the Offaly GAA County Board with vacancies for the top officer roles certain to emerge at annual Convention next December and no candidates putting their name forward yet while some have ruled themselves out.

Chairman Michael Duignan (Durrow) and treasurer Dervill Dolan (Clara) must step down under the rule limiting officers to five years in the one term. Secretary Colm Cummins (Edenderry) can serve one more year as he has just done four years but he went into the role as part of a package with Duignan and Dolan and is expected to go at the same time.

Replacing the top officers represents a huge challenge for the existing officers, clubs and wider GAA community in Offaly and some obvious potential candidates won't be running.

Many had hoped that Colm Cummins would switch from secretary to Chairman but this won't be happening. Vice chairman James Murphy, Rhode has also ruled himself out and has told fellow officers that he won't be seeking election. Murphy has served as vice chairman for five years and was expected to run but he confirmed that he won't be putting his name forward because of growing business commitments. He revealed that he still has ambitions to be County Board chairman but the time is not right at the moment and he wouldn't be able to give it his full commitment.

There was also a possibility of Dervill Dolan moving from treasurer to chairman. A long time independent councillor, before stepping out some years ago, he served as chairman of Offaly County Council but it is understood that he won't be running.

Colm Cummins and Dervill Dolan haven't made formal declarations yet and will do that to the clubs firstly, probably at the September meeting of the County Board.

Other possible chairmen or officers have ruled themselves out. Former chairmen Pat Teehan, Coolderry and Tommy Byrne, Gracefield won't be seeking a return. Teehan ran unsuccessfully for GAA presidency last year and is now serving as secretary of the Competitions Control Committee. He stated that he is happy doing this and won't be turning the clock back.

There had been speculation about Tommy Byrne's intentions. He was ousted by Michael Duignan five years ago and has taken over as chairman of Gracefield GAA Club in the meantime. Originally elected as County Board assistant secretary in 2002, he served as chairman of the County Board in 2003 and 2004 before stepping down. He returned as secretary from 2013 to 2016 when he was elected as chairman again, serving until 2019 when Michael Duignan beat him. Tommy Byrne confirmed on Monday that he won't be seeking a third stint as chairman, stating that he is happy where he is in Gracefield and has more work to do there.

St Rynagh's Paddy Scales did not rule himself out of going for the chair or some other job, though he steered well clear of making any announcement. “I am not going to say yes or no at the moment. There is a fair amount of work involved. I will rule nothing in or out. The boys are running a good show. It depends. If everyone goes in one fell swoop, it makes the job bigger. I am not canvassing.”

A long time chairman of St Rynagh's, Paddy Scales has served as Central Council delegate for the County Board, before the five year limit forced him to step down last year, while he has also impressed on various committees.

Michael Duignan replaced him as Central Council delegate last year and it will be a big surprise if he doesn't seek re-election for this. He informed delegates early that he would be contesting that position to enable him to remain on the Management Committee after his term as chairman and he has a strong, influential voice at that level. His presence on the Management Committee will be a vital asset to the new officers – the Durrow club man has been a fundraising giant and his input into maintaining some of the financial relationships will be crucial in the early days of the new regime. He has also raised the profile of the GAA greatly in Offaly and outside the county, able to access untapped sources. One of Offaly's best known and most familiar personalties, he has an infectious passion for the GAA and a great confidence in its importance to and stature in Offaly – it has all combined powerfully, making him a hard man to say no to and to replace.

Former Birr chairman, John Irwin won't be seeking a County Board job. Now Birr secretary, he has won plenty of admirers for his work in the club and he praised the outgoing officers, saying: “The lads have worked hard and done a super job. When tough decisions had to be made, Michael made them and Colm is a great guy in terms of organisation, he has been outstanding. I have great time for the effort and work they have all put in and they are a difficult act to follow.”

Former Offaly and St Brigid's footballer, Michael Casey would have been an obvious possibility for treasurer but also confirmed that he won't be running. A Tullamore based accountant, like Dervill Dolan, Casey has regularly presented the accounts to Convention in his work capacity as County Board auditor and has served on committees at different stages but won't be extending this involvement.

Michael Duignan and Dervill Dolan were elected five years ago in a stunning coup that saw Tommy Byrne, Gracefield unseated as chairman while Birr's Jimmy Hogan was beaten in a contest for treasurer. Colm Cummins lost out narrowly to Rhode's James Murphy in a contest for vice chairman on that dramatic night but went in as Development Officer and was elected secretary a year later – a contest between him and the incumbent Pat Horan was avoided after the St Rynagh's man withdrew ahead of Convention. Cummins also served as Covid Officer during those trying years when fear stalked the land, lockdowns became normal and employees were placed on leave.

The election of Michael Duignan and Dervill Dolan, followed by that of Colm Cummins, represented the most dramatic upheaval at County Board level in several decades. The trio put themselves forward initially after calling meetings with club officials, supporters and other interested people to determine the appetite for change.

A fiercely fought, occasionally acrimonious, campaign emerged with every club canvassed by the candidates and Michael Duignan, Colm Cummins and Dervill Dolan attending club meetings to put their case to the wider membership. Clara's Brian Gavin was also part of the package and was elected as Leinster Council delegate but Kilcormac-Killoughey's Dolores Slevin turned the tables a year later and Gavin did not become an officer again since then – though he is still refereeing games and very involved on that side of things.

Since the change of officers, Offaly GAA has witnessed a remarkable renaissance, winning All-Ireland titles in both codes – All-Ireland U-20 football in 2021 and All-Ireland U-21 hurling in 2024. Most supporters thought they would never see Offaly win All-Ireland titles again but it has happened while the minor and U-20 hurlers lost All-Ireland finals in 2022 and 2023: the U-20 hurlers will have a great chance of retaining their crown in 2025.

It didn't happen overnight and seeds had been sown by former officers and many others but Michael Duignan, Colm Cummins and Dervill Dolan have received richly deserved praise for the work they did, the professionalism they have shown and the improvements that have taken place.

The bottom line is that success that many people thought they would never witness again has happened under their watch and the bar has been raised spectacularly across the board. In particular, the amount of money being brought in and spent has increased dramatically and while all of this is helping driving Offaly GAA forward, it does have a downside in that it reduces the pool of people who are capable of and willing to take on lead roles.

The time commitment is huge, though the presence of a full time operations manager, John Hackett (Raheen) and administrator, Carina Haverty (Ballinamere) is a considerable help to the day to day workload.

Under Michael Duignan, Colm Cummins and Dervill Dolan, the County Board has been able to generate a new level of finance, attracting new sponsors on board and holding hugely successful fundraising ventures.

Golf superstar Shane Lowry added to the feel good mood in the county by coming on board as a sponsor and helping to bring others with him – apart from the money generated, Lowry's involvement and frequently expressed passion for Offaly GAA was a public relations bonanza and reflected very well on the organisation.

The main county teams' sponsors changed during their time with Killeigh based company Glenisk replacing Carroll Meats while Glenisk also secured naming rights of O'Connor Park. There had been an ugly row with Tullamore GAA Club over the terms of the lease of O'Connor Park in the early days of their tenure. The new officers were not happy when they examined the exact details of the lease after taking over and the parties went on war footing when payments were withheld by the County Board, with the Covid caused fall off in income cited as a reason.

It escalated wildly from here with the County Board threatening to terminate the lease and Tullamore saying they would take O'Connor Park back before a mediation process eventually led to a revised lease and hostilities cooling, if not fully ceasing!

Apart from Glenisk, other significant sponsorship deals were entered into and it is certain that the outgoing officers will not abandon ship fully and will help to cultivate those and new ones, and help out the new officers.

Michael Duignan in particular, with Colm Cummins and Dervill Dolan doing much of the necessary behind the scenes slogging, have raised the profile of the County Board to new levels and have won widespread praise for their work. Very little negative comment has been passed by people at the coalface and they have put in five very intensive, consuming years while they pulled off another big surprise just recently when unveiling Tyrone legend Mickey Harte as joint senior football manager with Declan Kelly.

Now, however, the big problem is getting replacements and that will be no easy task. It is hard to know if current officers on the Management Committee will seek lead roles. At least some new people will have to step forward and it will be interesting to see if the outgoing officers can line people up and who comes forward. The possibility of people coming from the left field as Michael Duignan, Colm Cummins and Dervill Dolan did five years ago, is an intriguing one but again, no one has put their head forward yet.

It is a big dilemma for Offaly GAA at the moment and the last thing anyone wants is Convention to take place next December with no nominations in or people withdrawing, positions left unfilled and the outgoing officers having to stay in situ in a caretaker capacity. The potential gravity of the situation is beginning to dawn on people, both at County Board level, in clubs and in the vast GAA community outside of that, and there will be a lot of discussions taking place, people sounded out in the coming weeks.

The Convention later this year will be an absolutely crucial meeting for Offaly GAA, a big crossroads, and electing the right people is of paramount importance.