Small crowd but good AGM..

As Hurricane Desmond howled outside the Bride Rovers faithful gathered in Bartlemy Parish hall on Friday night last for the Club's 51st Annual General meeting since the 'revival' in 1964.  It was a disappointingly small attendance-even allowing for the inclement weather. Nevertheless the business of the meeting went ahead. Club Chairman Billy Finnegan welcomed all those who were present. Apologies were read out from some members able to attend. The Agenda for the meeting was as follows;

Minutes of the 2014 Agm

Secretaries Annual Report 2015.

Treasurers Financial Statement

Chairpersons Address

Election Of Officers

Motions

Determination of Membership Fees

Any Other Business.

The outgoing Chairman said 2015 was a challenging year on the playing fields. We had a great SHC win over Bishopstown but were shattered at the loss to Bishopstown. We completed major new Club Developments during the year which will help provide additional training facilities for all our teams.  The Chairman appealed for more members to get involved with running teams and also said football within t he Club needs major attention. Club Secretary William O Leary then read the Minutes of the last AGM which were proposed, seconded and adopted. Next up was the very comprehensive annual report from Runai William O Leary which ran to twenty pages. While most of our teams performed well in 2015 our only silverware collected was the East Cork Junior B Hurling Championship title. Highlights of 2015 were;

Victory over Bishopstown in Co SHC

Gerard Lane as Chairman of Cork Co Board

First Tony Walsh Memorial Hurling Tournament

Great wins for Juvenile and Ladies teams

Winning the East Cork JC HC

Success of fundraising for Sinead Kearney Lyme Disease Treatment Fund.

Three players winning All Ireland S Ladies F medals with Cork

Completion and opening of New Astro Turf

Celebrating 50 years since reformation of club in 1964

Improvements to dressingrooms and gym

Sports Funding of €34,00 towards Phase 3 of Development.

Finance.

The outgoing Treasurer Dan Quill then gave a statement of the Club's Financial position. The cost of running a GAA club in these times continues to rise. The Cisteoir pointed out that the Income from the weekly Lotto and membership fees were vital. If Lotto Ticket sales could be improved by between 10% and 20 % per annum it would give a great boost to the Club Finances. This past year was one of huge spending for the Club on the Development Front with the new Astro Turf Complex being completed. In total close on €350,000 has been expended by the Club in the last five years on new amenities in our grounds. The Treasurer thanked our Club Sponsors for their generosity over the past year.

Chairman's Address.

Outgoing Chairman Billy Finnegan thanked everyone who helped in any way with the running of the Club during the year. He mentioned all the players and selectors in a special way. He gave great praise to his fellow officers and especially Runai William O Leary whose three year term as Club Secretary was now completed. He spoke of our lack of success at Minor and under 212 level and said we will have to address these problems in a major way. He said 2015 was a momentous year in terms of physical development in the Club. We have brilliant facilities but we must continuously strive to improve these on an ongoing basis. He singled out Treasurer Dan Quill for his work in relation to Funding issues with the Dept of Sort, Cork Co Council and the Munster Council of the GAA. In conclusion he appealed for more people to come forward to help with the workload of the Club and also a better attendance at Executive meetings of the Club. Officers for 2016.

Gerard Lane chairman of the County Board took the chair for the Election of Officers. He spoke of the year gone by and highlighted several areas where improvement is needed. He highlighted the fact that we had nearly doubled our numbers in the Cork GAA Members Draw for 2015/16 and hoped this trend will continue. He spoke on the Pairc Ui Chaoimh redevelopment with the  building contractors moving in on Monday Dec. 7th. . He congratulated James Bermingham on refereeing the 2015 Co SF Final replay having also taken charge of the 2014 Final.

The Officer Board for 2016 is as follows

President; Pat O Connor

Vice Presidents; Fr N. Donnell, Fr S. Barry, Martin Murphy, Paddy Mannix, Tommy Barry, Henry Hazlewood, John Arnold, Canon Ml. Leamy PP.

Chairman; Billy Finnegan

Vice Chairman; Richie O Regan

Runai; Daniel Lane

Asst Runai; Shane O Connor

Treasurer; Dan Quill

PRO; John Arnold

Insurance Officers; Dan Quill, Shane O Connor

Membership Officer/Registrar; Daniel Lane, Dan Quill

Grounds Officer; John Murphy

Oifigigh Gaeilge & Cultur; Muiris O Suilleabhain

Co Board Delegates John Arnold & Daniel Lane

East Cork Board Delegates; Brendan O Driscoll & Tom Mulcahy.

Health & Wellbeing Officer; Mossy O Sullivan

Positions to be filled and/or confirmed;  Childrens Officer, Coaching Officer, Players Representative on Executive.

Executive Members. Tom Kearney, Ger Lane, Seamus Buckley, Paudie Murphy, John Joe Carey, Pa O Driscoll, Denis Ahern, Ken O Riordan, Liam Barry, Joe Delaney, Paddy Hynes

Managers & Selectors.

The following were picked for 2016 -further appointments can be made before the Playing Season commences.

Senior Hurling Joe Delaney, Daniel Lane and William O' Leary

Junior A Hurling Dan Quill

Junior C HurlingTBC

Under 21 Hurling Joe Delaney, Daniel Lane and William O' Leary

Junior and U21 Football Pa O' Driscoll

Motions.

There were two submitted for discussion. One was sent for further research and the second was defeated.

Membership Fees for 2016.

Players Fee €100

Non playing members €50

OAP's €20

Student Membership fees to be decided.

The new Officer Board then took their positions and thanked the Club for placing their trust in them for the forthcoming season.  Best wishes were extended to Club Vice President Paddy Mannix.  Condolences were expressed to Ger lane on the recent deaths of his aunt and uncle. Chairman Billy Finnegan thanked everyone for their help during the year and looked forward to a great 2016.

 CLUB WEEKLY LOTTO.

The Jackpot for Tuesday December the 1st was €9000 and there was no winner after the following four numbers were drawn10, 13,18 and 23.

The five winners of €30 each were Don Quill, Mgt. Barry, Joe Collins, Margo Fitzgerald and Marguerite O Connor. The Jackpot for Tuesday December the 8th was €9.200. Tickets are only €2 each and can be bought in local business outlets and from club members. You can also purchase the tickets online at locallotto.ie

ANNUAL/YEARLY TICKETS.

 Wouldn't a Yearly Lotto Ticket (€90) be a great Christmas Present for someone? Contact any Club Officers.

CONGRATS SEAN & BRENDA.

Wedding Bells sounded for Club player Sean Ryan and Brenda Murphy last Saturday in Killarney. With Hurricane Desmond flooding parts of Killarney and many roads blocked the couple were lucky that all went off so well after a few minor adjustments. All in Bride Rovers wish Sean and Brenda a long and happy life together. 

Twitter and Website. 

So many people at home and abroad are now very hi-tech when it comes to keeping in touch with the activities of the Bride Rovers Club. The online editions of newspapers are growing in popularity. Meanwhile you can follow the Club on twitter at twitter@ BrideRoversGAA or on our own website at www.briderovers.ie

Any news items or general items of interest are very welcome for inclusion and can be sent to Gerard Lane.

Keep Fit and Dance.

For those who want to combine fitness and learning the basics of set dancing remember classes are held in the Rathcormac Inn every Wednesday night at 7.30pm.

CORK GAA CONVENTION NEXT SUNDAY

The Cork GAA Board Convention is on next  Sunday December 13th at Nemo Rangers Pavilion at 1.30. The highlight for most delegates will be the 2016 Championship Draws. The format is somewhat different for next year. With no automatic relegation a win in the first round will guarantee at least two further games in the championship.

SENIOR HURLING LEAGUE 2016.

The SH League will continue on a one-group basis. No club will be able to  get Official permission for a Challenge game at Senior Level until at least 10 Senior League games have been played.

BRIDE ROVERS JUVENILE GAA CLUB AGM ON FRI.

The Juvenile Club's AGM is on this coming Friday night at 8pm in Arus de Barra. All are welcome.

LADIES FOOTBALL FINAL DVD.

Copies of the DVD of the recent Senior Ladies Co. Final are now available. Contact Liam  Barry. 

Volunteers.

We are always seeking new players from four years and upwards and of course older players who may have played with other clubs and are now living in the parish are more than welcome to join the Bride Rovers Club. People who never played the games are encouraged to join too as we have a role for everyone. Maybe your talent is in gardening or landscaping, in IT or fundraising, in catering, cleaning, flag-making or any other of the many tasks that have to be undertaken in a busy GAA Club. Some people are afraid if they 'join up' they will be overburdened but don’t worry on that score. If you want to give an hour a week or an hour a month to the Bride Rovers Club that contribution will be very much appreciated and respected. They say 'many hands make light work' and in the case of a GAA Club it is really the truth. In the next few weeks the playing season on all fronts will be in full swing -why not get involved with your local GAA Club? If you want further information on what you could do ring 087 9538077.

 Club Sponsors.

The Bride Rovers GAA Club are proud to have Rathcormac Tyres, O Coileáns Bar and Veolia Environmental Services as our valued Club Sponsors.