Carrick Swans motion on voting defeated at EGM of Tipperary GAA Board

A motion by Carrick Swans GAA club on voting at County Board meetings was defeated after a secret ballot at a special EGM at The Dome, Semple Stadium this week.

The motion: “ That for any structural changes to our championship formats that are decided at county committee meeting or at county convention, the method of voting shall be by way of a show of hands and for the election of officers a secret ballot is the preferred method” received vigorous devate prior to the vote being taken by Board Chairman, Joe Kennedy.

Sean O’Shea of the Carrick Swans club spoke on the subject and pointed out that there had been 28 motions on the Clár for the County Convention last December, with some decided by a show of hands, and some by a secret ballot. He described it as “a-la-carte democracy at its best with people picking and choosing what method they should use to decide an outcome.”

The motion was seconded by Primary Schools Treasurer, Gerry McDonnell. However, he presumed that delegates would be mandated by their clubs on which way to vote, and so did not see why a secret ballot should be used.

There were dissenting voices against the motion though - County Development Officer Mark McLoughlin led the charge saying that every club, club delegate and chairman is entitled to a secret ballot if they so wish. “This is the essence of democracy and it is the most accountable procedure culminating in a verifiable result. If all votes should be the same, then let them all be by secret ballot,” he said before proposing that the status quo remains, a proposal seconded by Tom Maher.

Football Board Chairman Conor O’Dwyer said that the option of having the secret ballot is an option they should strive to hold on to and removing it would be a retrograde step.

County Board Chairman Joe Kennedy pointed out that if the motion were to be successful, Tipperary would be the only Board in the Association where secret ballot is not an option. “Are we going to deny our members this right. Remember if this is passed, it will affect all our sub committees as well, including Bórd na n-Óg, the Football Board etc,” he said.

The motion was defeated by 59 votes to 35.