Parlon issues stark warning on challenges facing Offaly club landscape at Tullamore GAA dinner dance

OFFALY GAA chairman Tom Parlon issued a stark warning on the challenges facing the club landscape in the county when he addressed the Tullamore GAA dinner dance in the Tullamore Court Hotel on Saturday evening.

With a big discussion taking place on the changing demographics in Ireland at national GAA level, the move from rural to urban living and the huge population swing to the eastern seaboard, Mr Parlon talked about the challenges that will present locally in Offaly.

Noting that Tullamore will have to meet their own unique challenges because of the population growth in the town, the Coolderry man was more concerned about the survival of smaller rural clubs.

Mr Parlon told the gathering: “The bigger towns, the urban towns like Tullamore are going to continue to grow as well and you only have to drive around Tullamore to see the amount of housing developments that are happening. The implications for the GAA and Offaly as well is that the rural clubs are going to have less people. Birth rates are reducing and young couples are moving to the towns.

“There are lot of auld fellows like me who are willing to be officers and maybe do a bit of coaching or whatever but it is the young fellows coming on who is going to be the challenge. While we have 41 clubs in the county and all are very proud of their own status of being clubs, we are probably going to have to bring in some flexibility. At national level, flexibility with bye laws will be discussed about allowing clubs to come together and maybe have less than fifteen people on some of the championship teams.”

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He made his remarks as Tullamore GAA members gathered to celebrate a historic double at their dinner dance.

Pride of place belonged to the players who won the Senior Football Championship in 2025. Arguably Tullamore's greatest ever football team, they completed a first senior football treble for the club since 1926.

The current squad have embarked on a great run of success, shaking off some very unwanted millstones from the club's neck – they retained the title for the first time since 1926 in 2024 while they won a first Leinster club game since 1977 last year.

They have now won four of the last five championships and will be the starter's favourites to make it four in a row in 2026. While Tullamore have had previous golden eras and are joint top of the Offaly senior football roll of honour on 31 with Rhode, this is their most consistent, sustained run of success – they have competed in six finals in a row, losing out to Rhode in 2020 and 2022.

There was also a great air of satisfaction on Saturday night at Tullamore's win in the Intermediate Football Championship in 2025. It has been a long held ambition of the club to win this grade and get up to Offaly's second tier, the Senior “B” Football Championship and they finally got there in 2025. This win certainly meant a lot to those players and they showed their joy at it by the way they celebrated on Saturday evening.

The highlight of the night was the presentation of the annual club awards. The coveted John Lonergan club person of the year went to one of the club's longest serving and greatest workers, Nick Foley. A former club chairman and treasurer, the Wexford native has been part and parcel of the Tullamore GAA scene for the guts of four decades.

The Shane Daly dual senior of the player of the year was presented by Colm Daly to one of Offaly's top footballers and a very capable hurler, Cormac Egan,

The Liam Whitney minor player of the season was presented by Marie Lambe to a dual player, Alex Sheridan.

The senior footballer of the year was presented to Harry Plunkett, the senior hurler of the year went to Michael Feeney and Jay Sheerin received the intermediate footballer of the year

Vice chairman, Kieran Egan, stepping in for unavailable club chairman Tom Moloney, thanked all for attending and congratulated senior football manager Paul McConway, his management team and the players. “To win three in a row is a serious, serious achievement”, he said, praising intermediate football manager Brian O'Reilly and his team for their win. “To get up from intermediate to senior B was the plan all year and between Paul and Brian they worked it seriously. It gives a great pathway to all players coming up through the club.”

Mr Egan congratulated all the award recipients and thanked everyone who works with football and hurling. “We have a big club, the biggest in Offaly. There are a lot of volunteers who help out in whatever make, shape or form and we are very grateful to them,” he said, thanking the players and their partners.

Offaly GAA chairman Tom Parlon described the three in a row as a “big deal” that “warrants celebration”. He said: “Every club goes through lean spells and Tullamore did as well. You are also sharing the roll of honour with 31 senior championships with Rhode. That takes doing.”

Noting that they also won the Intermediate and U16 Football Championships, he said this showed a “very vibrant club”.

“I know Tullamore is a very vibrant town and you would expect as the biggest club to be doing well but it doesn't always work like that. You retained your senior hurling status and I was at the Tullamore v Coolderry senior hurling match and we were very lucky to get out with a one point win so you are not very far off the mark there as well. Keep it up,” Mr Parlon urged.

Senior football joint captain Declan Hogan said they would have been delighted with one title three years ago and to be celebrating three in a row is “unbelievable”. He praised the management team and said: “We all worked seamlessly and we came off the back of a good management team over the previous few years. Hopefully the future is bright.”

The other senior football joint captain Michael Brazil talked about the importance of winning intermediate and competing in senior B. “It will develop players for the future,” he smiled.

Senior football manager Paul McConway said his aim when he took the job was to put together as good a management as possible to “match the ambition of the players”. He added: “We are just delighted to get over the line. I think our greatest achievement this year was doing the double. The intermediate win was just massive for the club. It is a great reflection on the group of young people, a great year for the club. They all know what they are about and there is a great culture here.”

He was asked by MC Will O'Callaghan about Tullamore's ambitions outside Offaly. “It is not something we have openly spoken about in terms of taking on Leinster's and we take each game at a time. Ballyboden beat us well this year and that can happen in top level sport. We will be just trying to get back to where we were this time last year and get another crack at it. We have a long road ahead of us and to win the championship is huge for the club. Three in a row hasn't been done in 100 years and this is our third presentation in a row. We nearly get spoilt and we have to remember there are a lot of people in this club who haven't won nearly as much and spent a lot more time playing than some of these players. They are absolutely privileged to have these nights.”

Mr McConway concluded; “It is just a new season, a new year and there are new goals set again. Championships get harder and we are now in senior B as well. The standards keep rising but that is all on account of the players. They are very easy to deal with and I am very lucky with the management team I have as well. It makes my job a lot easier.”