GAA/GPA All-Stars Sponsored by Opel

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

The GAA/GPA All-Stars sponsored by Opel are delighted to announce Colm O’Neill (Cork) and Eoin Larkin (Kilkenny) as the Players of the Month for National Leagues in Football and Hurling respectively marking their outstanding performances during the 2012 spring campaigns.

Both selections, chosen by the inter-county playing body, reflect the consistently high standards set by both counties. The first monthly awards of the year mark the launch of the GAA/GPA All-Stars sponsored by Opel 2012.

O’Neill, who returned to action this year following a cruciate knee ligament injury last season, capped a memorable Football League Final performance with his fourth goal of the campaign, helping Cork to their third successive title.
Larkin delivered a man-of-the-match performance in Kilkenny’s Hurling League final destruction of Cork in Semple Stadium as the Cats sent out a stern warning to the chasing pack in advance of the Championship.

Commenting on the announcement, Uachtarán Chumann Lúthchleas Gael, Liam Ó Néill said: “I congratulate both of our award winners who both excelled during the respective campaigns. Being selected by your peers is a special acknowledgement and I believe we will see both players have a major bearing on the championships in the weeks and months ahead. I look forward to honouring similarly impressive displays from both footballers and hurlers with the GPA and Opel as the summer unfolds.”

Dessie Farrell, CEO of the Gaelic Players Association added: “Congratulations to both players on their awards which reflect their outstanding performances during the National Leagues. Colm O’Neill’s dedication in overcoming serious injury is truly inspirational and he proved again what a devastating finisher he is during the spring campaign. Kilkenny’s consistency for over a decade is unrivalled and their League Final display was incredible with Eoin Larkin leading the way, a performance which was particularly significant in the absence of Henry Shefflin and Richie Power. Thanks to all the players who voted, to our loyal sponsors Opel and good luck to all our members in Championships 2012.”

Commenting on the announcement, Dave Sheeran, Managing Director, Opel Ireland, said, “It is fantastic to see our first GAA/GPA All-Stars sponsored by Opel Awards go to two such deserving winners. We are delighted to reward Cork’s Colm O’Neill and Kilkenny’s Eoin Larkin for their efforts in helping their respective counties win a 2012 National League title. I wish them and their counties the very best of luck for the upcoming Championship season.”


Monthly Award Winners:

Each month, between May and October, a Footballer and a Hurler are awarded for their performances in the Provincial and All-Ireland Championships. Players are short-listed by members of the All-Stars Steering Committee and the winners selected by the county playing body. Each winner receives €1,000 and a trophy.

Pictured at the PwC/Localise fundraiser 'One Minute to Save a Life', with the help of the GPA are: Back row (l-r): Cian O'Sullivan, PwC and Dublin footballer; Ciarán Lyng, Wexford footballer; Rónán Murphy, PwC Senior Partner; Eamon Fennell, Dublin footballer and Fiona Claffey, PwC and Westmeath footballer. Front row (l-r): Patrick Hartford (aged 12), St Laurence O'Toole's CBS; Cody Hanlon (aged 12), St Laurence O'Toole's GNS and Jonathan Anene (aged 12),  St Laurence O'Toole's CBS.

May 11, 2012

GPA partners PwC, together with Localise , a youth development organisation, today hosted a Gaelic football  fundraising event ‘One minute to save a life’ with the students from local school, St Laurence O'Toole's, Seville Place, Dublin 1.  In support of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS), the event raised funds for a defibrillator  for local GAA  club St Joseph’s/O’Connell’s  Boys.

County football stars Eamon Fennell (Dublin), Ciarán Lyng (Wexford) and PwC’s Cian O’Sullivan (Dublin) took part together with a large number of PwC people and students to score as many goals as they could in one minute.

PwC and Localise and the students from local school, St Laurence O'Toole's, Seville Place, Dublin 1 have worked together for the past four years. As part of this year’s programme a team of 12 volunteers from PwC has been working together with 35 children from the local school since February 2012. Together with Localise representatives, they have worked on designing a ‘Caring for the Community’ project. The aim of the Localise project is to develop the children’s skills and talents and to help them understand the importance of teamwork and how to plan, manage and implement a project.

May 10, 2012

DCU Business School Centre for Executive Programmes has appointed Colin Moran as its inaugural Master in Business Administration (MBA) Ambassador.

Colin, a Manager with Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking and former Dublin football captain, is currently completing his MBA studies, made possible by a scholarship jointly awarded by the Gaelic Players Association and DCU Business School.  In his voluntary role as MBA Ambassador, he will work with DCU Business School for the next two years to promote and grow the DCU MBA brand, through participation in information sessions and promotional events.

Following his appointment, Colin Moran said,

“The MBA programme at DCU Business School has been a transformational experience for me.  It has developed my business skills and given me the tools and models that I need to add value to my organisation.  But, most importantly, it has developed me as a person.  It has helped me to develop my leadership skills and to understand my strengths and weaknesses.  You find out a lot about yourself when doing an MBA and, not alone has it helped me to be more effective in my professional life, it has also made me happier in my role.”

The announcement was made during the launch of the revised DCU MBA programme.  Following a comprehensive two-year review with stakeholder groups, the new programme now features:

•    A Strategic Consultancy Project where participants carry out a ‘live’ case study scenario within an Irish-based enterprise, bringing together all the learning from the two year programme.
•    A Domestic Enterprise Engagement module which focuses on indigenous and foreign companies operating from Ireland, introducing participants to the challenges of doing business in the current climate, both domestically and globally.
•    An International Enterprise Engagement module where participants spend a week in Boston undertaking classes delivered by faculty members from Harvard Kennedy School and Boston University.  This module will also feature site visits to eight large US-based companies to experience first-hand international best practice.
•    A personal leadership module delivered by academic staff from Northeastern University, Boston

Dr Anne Sinnott, Executive Dean at DCU Business School, said,

‘The DCU MBA programme is widely recognised as the degree of choice for enterprising executives with ambitions to move up the career ladder.  Our success is due in part to constantly keeping abreast of international MBA developments and refreshing our programme to stay in tune with the current business environment.  We are very proud of our MBA and believe that our revised programme will meet and exceed the requirements of executives operating in a global environment.’

The DCU MBA is accredited by AMBA (Association of MBAs) whose accreditation service is the global standard for all MBA, DBA and MBM programmes.

For further information on the DCU MBA programme, visit www.dcu.ie/dcubs or email bernadette.mcculloch@dcu.ie or mbaambassador@dcu.ie.

Former Limerick ace Ollie Moran and Louth's Wesley Morrissey at last night's GPA Hurling Twinning Programme session in Darver

May 2, 2012

Former Limerick star hurler Ollie Moran travelled to Louth training centre in Darver last night to put the Louth senior hurlers through their paces as part of the GPA's long-standing Hurling Twinning Programme.

Moran spoke to the squad, who will face Armagh in Saturday's Rackard Cup clash, before conducting a well-prepared on-field session focussing on improving intensity and workrate. And Louth hurler Wes Morrissey admitted afterwards that the annual Twinning pair-up had, once again, been a great success.

"The 28 Louth players who trained last night responded to this and we definitely took some learnings from the very productive 90 minute session that we can hopefully apply to our own game in Louth," said Morrissey.

The Louth U14 County Hurling Feile Final was also on in Darver last night and Ollie kindly offered to make the presentation to the winning captain as well as giving his time for pictures, words of encouragement etc that was really appreciated by the young hurlers and their parents.

At the end of the session, Moran stated he was honoured to be asked to participate: "It is great to see the improvement in the standard of hurling in counties like Louth. Exposure and promotion is vital for hurling and the GPA Twinning Programme helps this."

Morrissey added: "I'd like to thank Ollie for travelling to Darver. I have no doubt every player took something away from the session to work on and it cannot be underestimated how important counties like Louth value the GPA Twinning Programme and to be twinned with such a strong traditional county like Limerick."

May 1, 2012

The recent GAA Congress voted unanimously to change the square ball rule in football, something which was also endorsed by the majority of footballers who responded to a GPA survey.

The rule will come into place when the 2012 championship season commences in New York next Sunday where New York take on Sligo in the Connacht SFC quarter-final.

The following is a guide to the new rule.

1.       Football Only – “Square Ball”
This has been amended to allow a player enter the small rectangle once the final deliberate play of the ball has been made, i.e as soon as the player kicks, hand-passes, fist passes or deliberately flicks the ball into the small rectangle then the attacking player may enter.  The rule is unchanged with regard to “Set Play” i.e. Free Kicks, Line Balls and 45s – in these instances players are not permitted to enter the small rectangle before the ball.

The full text of the new rule is:
Rule 4.9 Official Guide Part 2 – Rules of Foul Play – Rule 4 Technical Fouls:

“For an attacking player to enter opponents’ small rectangle:
(a) During Play (excluding Set Play), before the final play of the ball into the small rectangle
(b) In Set Play, before the ball enters the small rectangle.
Exception:
(i) If an attacking player legally enters the small rectangle, and the ball is played from that area but is returned before the attacking player has time to leave the area, provided he does not play the ball or interfere with the defence, a foul is not committed.
(ii) When a point is scored from outside the small rectangle and the ball is sufficiently high to be out of reach of all players, the score shall be allowed even though an attacking player may have been, otherwise illegally, within the small rectangle before the ball – provided that the player in question does not interfere with the defence.”

Galway footballer Gary Sice (L) and Irish rugby star Gordon D'Arcy (R) present a Show Racism the Red Card Creative Award to winners from Scoil Naomh Bríd National School, Talbotstown, Kiltegan, Co. Wicklow, Colm Murphy, teacher, Brian Flood and Jeordan Carton.

April 19, 2012

GPA representatives Dublin footballer Philly McMahon and Galway’s Gary Sice joined Uachtarán na hÉireann Michael D Higgins, rugby star Gordon D’Arcy and Republic of Ireland assistant manager Marco Tardelli to honour the prizewinners at today’s Show Racism the Red Card’s annual Schools’ Creative Competition Awards.

The entries came from primary and secondary schools, youth groups and Youthreach projects who had taken part in SRRC’s educational programme. 450 young people came from Cork, Kerry, Tipperary, Wicklow, Dublin, Louth, Limerick, Monaghan and Donegal to participate in the awards presentation. 

The event was an opportunity for an exhibition of the work of young people participating.  President Higgins visited stands and heard from the young people what they did to produce their entry for the Show Racism the Red Card competition.

The art forms spanned from written accounts of personal experiences of immigrants who faced racism as young people to comedy video entries and a very intricate Mosaic.

The competition is used to spread the intercultural anti racism message to young people. For more information log on to theredcard.ie

Show Racism the Red Card is a long-time charity partner of the GPA.

Former Offaly hurler Michael Duignan and Dublin footballer Bernard Brogan at today's launch of Race the Rás

April 19, 2012

A host of former top GAA stars joined forces in Croke Park today to officially launch the Race The Rás charity cycle.

This is the second year of the race with almost 150 amateur cyclists and a host of current and former GAA stars lining up to bike across Ireland from May 20th to May 27th. All the money raised will go to the National Breast Cancer Research Institute and Aware.

The cyclists will start three hours ahead of the professionals each morning and will travel through thirteen different counties, with stage finishes in the towns of Kilkenny, Gort, Westport, Bundoran, Buncrana, Killybegs, Cootehill and Skerries on the final day.

Already confirmed to support or take part in the cycle include Declan Darcy (Leitrim and Dublin), three-time All-Star, Eddie Brennan, Derek Lyng, James McGarry (Kilkenny), Willie Joe Padden, John Maughan (Mayo), Kevin Cassidy, Martin McHugh, Tony Boyle (Donegal), Ollie Canning. Sean O Domhnaill (Galway), Tom Brewster (Fermanagh) rugby legend Mick Galwey, Paul Earley (Roscommon), Colin Regan (Leitrim), Evan Kelly (Meath), Ronan Carolan (Cavan), Eamon O’Hara (Sligo), and Ciaran Whelan, Coman Goggins and Paul Clarke (Dublin).

Broadcasting legend Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh was on hand to launch the charity race. “I am delighted to be here today to officially launch ‘Race The Rás which we hope to be an even bigger success than last year. I would ask for those to donate no matter how small as it will make a huge difference to INST and Aware.”

Kilkenny hurling legend, Eddie Brennan, who will take part for the first times, spoke of the endurance needed in order to undertake the cycle. ““This is a serious undertaking. Each of the eight stages averages 146kms in length - 1,168kms in total - and will take over five and a half hours to complete, so the eight-day cyclists will be on the bike for almost 50 hours in total.”

Chairman of Aware, David Carton described this event as an important one for the organisation. “This is a nationwide event and depression is something which affects every community in Ireland. In many ways, the challenging nature of the Rás echoes the challenge so many individuals and families face when they journey through depression. We hope people all over Ireland will support this event and the cyclists who are taking part. We wish them well. Money raised from this will help us to get more information and support to people who need it through our website.”

Chairperson of National Breast Cancer Research Institute, Anna Ó Coinne said: “NBCRI are delighted to be associated with Race the Rás and we are honoured that they chose NBCRI as their charity this year. We wish them every success in their endeavours.”

Also taking part, former Munster rugby captain Mick Galwey said, “Race the Rás is such a unique charity initiative. I was involved last year in the race and raising so much money meant that all the hard work most definitely paid off. We hope to raise as much as possible this year for two very worthy causes.”

To register for the cycle, please log on to www.racetheras.com. With 8 stages to choose from, cyclists can opt to do all 8 stages or a single stage or opt for a combination of 2 or 3 stages.

Monday April 9, 2012

The Monaghan Senior Hurling Squad will withdraw from Sunday’s Hurling League Division 3A final if a solution cannot be found regarding the Monaghan Co Board’s decision to fix a number of intermediate club football matches for Wednesday April 11, four days before the league final.

The Co Board has also refused to give a guarantee to the County Hurling Squad that a four day preparation period before Nicky Rackard Cup games would be afforded to the Squad. The Rackard Cup commences on May 5 and ends with the final a month later on June 9.

Manager Mattie Lennon has resigned on a point of principle over the failure to reschedule this week’s club football fixtures and the Monaghan Squad are fully supportive of the manager.

Seven clubs were affected by the scheduling of the fixtures, four of which agreed to release their hurlers for Wednesday’s county training session. However, three clubs said they were not in a position to do so and requested that the games be switched. The Co Board refused, leaving nine players having to make a choice whether to play football with their clubs or train with their county hurlers four days before a league final.

Mattie Lennon was appointed as Monaghan Senior Hurling manager in December 2011 and was given assurances by the Board that they were committed to the promotion and development of hurling within the county.

Mattie brought in David Kennedy as coach, Ciaran McKeever as fitness coach and Pat Mac Stravick as a squad liaison. Training began Jan 4 and continued right up to April 6 when the management resigned. During this period the team conducted 44 collective session with a 90 percent average attendance and went from finishing bottom of Division 3A of the Hurling League in 2011 to going undefeated and reaching next Sunday’s final in 2012. This huge improvement can be attributed to Mattie, his management team and the dedication of a committed panel of 29 players.

The support of the Co Board in putting these structures in place was vital and it is beyond our comprehension as a squad why they are now prepared undo this progress by failing to accept a compromise.

On learning of the impasse the Co Hurling Squad met and a unanimous decision was taken to support the management decision as we felt it was grossly unfair of the Board not to facilitate this short-term dual commitment. We believe this decision by the Monaghan Co Board contravenes the GAA’s stated commitment to hurling contained in the recently published Hurling Development Plan. Also the proposed scheduling of fixtures during the Rackard Cup is also a welfare issue and in conflict with the Association’s commitment to tackle player burnout.

The County Chairman was contacted following the meeting and asked to support the Hurling Squad in relation to resolving the issues. However, he was made aware that if no solution can be found that the Monaghan Senior Hurling Squad will be left with no choice other than to withdraw from Sunday’s League final and the Rackard Cup.

Three player representatives met with the Co Board last night (Sunday April 8) and brought the following four points to the table, considered by the Hurling Squad to be wholly reasonable and fair:

1. That the football fixtures involving Inniskeen, Cremartin and Toome for Wednesday April 11th be postponed to allow the county train collectively as we have done every Wednesday since January 1in preparation for the Division 3A Hurling League final scheduled for April 15^.

2. That club football games currently fixed for Fridays prior to Nicky Rackard games which take place on the following  Saturday giving less than 24 hours recovery time be moved to, at the very least, the Tuesday prior to the Nicky Rackard matches giving at least four days to prepare.

3. Should we reach the Nicky Rackard Final  a minimum of one week be given for preparation for the final.

4. That all efforts be made to bring Mattie Lennon and his back-room team back on board so training can resume Wednesday night and preparations continue for next Sunday’s League Final.

The County Board officers were unwilling to move on the fixtures issue which automatically ruled out our management returning (point 4). In response to the break before Nicky Rackard games the Board said it was a “possibility but no guarantee could be given.”

The Board informed us that the only immediate option was to put a joint interim management team in place and the team play next weeks final under them.

However, this suggestion by the Board was unanimously rejected at a squad meeting this morning and a vote was taken that until a resolution was found satisfying the four points above, the Squad would not participate in either the League Final or the Rackard Cup. It is our belief this is in the best interests of Monaghan Hurling.

The Gaelic Players Association has been informed of the decision and is liaising with the squad.

While this process is underway, no member of the Monaghan Hurling Squad will be making any further comment.

-ends-