A general view of Pearse Stadium. Photo by Diarmuid Greene/Sportsfile
By Cian O'Connell
As clubs prepare for integration, a recently compiled video series in Galway highlights the benefits of adopting a one club model.
Oranmore-Maree, Ballindereen, and Claregalway all feature with club members discussing the various challenges that have been overcome in different ways.
With the population increasing rapidly, Claregalway are catering for a membership of nearly 2,000 in Gaelic and Ladies Football. Claregalway stalwart Tony Stephens, who has served the cause for decades as both a coach and administrator, explains how the club operates.
"In relation to our finance model, we have one central executive committee," he says. "The central executive committee look after things like development plans, the major fundraising events for the operations of the club."
Elaine Goldrick acknowledges the growth in the numbers playing ladies football. "Inclusivity is so important in all walks of life, but we really exemplify it here in Claregalway," she says.
"There is huge advantages to being a one club, both on a playing level and a social level. Here, within the club, boys and girls, men and women, we are all treated equally. That is really the goal for society, in general.
"The growth of ladies football has been exponential. We started in 2002 with six girls to a current playing membership of nearly 500 girls. So, it just shows you how important it is for females in sport, to have a club that welcomes them, that encourages them, that develops them, and allows them to flourish."
Neighbours Oranmore-Maree are also experiencing a dramatic rise in playing numbers. Developing facilities in Renville will assist those involved in every code.
Considering the volume of juvenile players in the club, Seán Greene is excited about Oranmore-Maree's potential, on and off the field. "Oranmore-Maree GAA One club consists of three clubs - the Oranmore-Maree GAA club, Naomh Mhuire Ladies Football club, and Oranmore-Maree Camogie club," he says.
"I think the age profile of the club adds to how special it is. It has got to do with youthful enthusiasm and vibrancy, also we are embarking on a huge project in Renville. It will be very special for the club, and it is something to look forward to with the new facilities that will be there, hopefully at the end of this year or next year."
Seán Glynn has occupied a central role in Naomh Mhuire's story. There are many advantages to the one club model, according to Glynn. "You have an executive formed that has a responsibility for running the one club, but all codes are to be adequately represented on that," he says.
"The day to day running is still left to the various codes to look after that aspect. You have a co-ordinated approach to fundraising.
"Also, as regards pooling of resources for developments and the promotion of Gaelic Games, you can call on coaches across all codes to help or to gain knowledge and expertise from one another."
Ballinderreen has a proud history in both hurling and camogie, providing some decorated players to successful Galway teams.
Ensuring that the club can be sustainable financially mattered deeply to Ciarán Jordan with meetings regularly taking place to ensure everything is in order. "From a finance perspective, the one thing with finance that I see and I think everyone across all codes, is the transparency," Jordan says.
"When we come together as a one club, it also has to be the finances. So, one of our first things from a finance perspective was the camogie treasurer, myself, and the juvenile club treasurer, we met and that was very important from a one club aspect."
Maura Hynes adds that the central role sport plays in Ballinderreen is vital. "I'd describe the club as community based, it is a small parish with lots of volunteers and lots of people participating and getting involved," she says.
The green and white hurling and camogie teams in Ballinderreen maintain a proud tradition. Martina Carr is still heavily involved and is delighted to see the passion for the games being passed through the generations. "Here in Ballinderreen we have a wonderful coaching committee, we met quite regularly and we have fantastic workshops," she says.
"What we have done through the coaching committee is we have upskilled our younger coaches within the club. Rather than going outside of the club looking at qualified coaches, we have actually trained up our younger coaches in the club - you could see it as a mentorship programme." Working together and collaborating.
For more information, please visit - https://learning.gaa.ie/oneclub
There are more case studies in the pipeline, and these will be released in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to the GAA Learning page on X for further episodes and resources.