Outgoing Derry GAA Chairman John Keenan addressed officials at the annual County Convention last night and delivered a powerful speech to delegates.
The statement who gave is outlined in full below. 
A chairde Gael, tonight we close another year in the history of the Gaelic Athletic Association in our county.
In doing so, it is right and customary that we begin by remembering all those who have gone before us, and those who have gone to their eternal rest in the last twelve months.
We come here as a family who share the ideals of our founding fathers: volunteerism, community and participation.
Respect
To that list, I want to add respect. Respect for oneself, respect for others and respect and care for our reputation as a body of people.
I was very touched by a simple mark of respect which was recently shown to one of our members.
Brian Bradley is a former president of the Slaughtneil club. He is a man steeped in the Gaelic tradition of his area.
Brian, as many of you will know, suffered a tragic farming accident which meant he was paralysed from the waist down and confined to a wheelchair for a large portion of his life.
As the media waited at Emmet Park following the Ulster club final, the victorious players and management from Brian’s club took time out to remember their fellow Gael, stopping off at his home to give him the honour of being the first man to see the Seamus McFerran Cup back in Slaughtneil – a success I want to formally congratulate the club on here tonight.
This simple gesture brought tears to Brian’s eyes, illustrating once again that the greatest asset that we possess as an organisation is respect for one and another.
Sadly, if you read reports from all around the country this week, you will find that respect is not always prevalent in our association.
That’s not to say that it doesn’t exist.
It does. We seldom see or hear about the good things which happen, day in, day out, but they are there and we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that we do have a special and unique organisation.
However, individual and sporadic instances of unsporting and downright thuggish behaviour are a major threat to what we stand for as a people.
Collectively as the elected delegates of Derry GAA, we need to ask ourselves, and others, some questions:
· Why am I involved in the GAA?
· Do I represent the ideals and aims of our founding fathers of 1884?
· What sort of association and example do we want to provide for our children?
We all need to take a step back and have a reality check of sorts. As I said, the vast majority of games and events are wonderful examples of the outworking of our culture.
We cannot stand back, however, and ignore instances where match officials and players are abused, either verbally or physically.
I want to urge everyone to reflect on this ahead of the 2015 season, particularly at underage games where impressionable children are present.
We have a responsibility as a collective organisation to ensure that we control the culture at our games.
I want to thank all the referees and other match officials who have made our games possible over the season just gone.
It’s a cliché at this point but without them, there would be no games. Through our referee’s co-ordinator Sean Curran we have begun the process of recruiting new referees.
We have some of the leading officials in the country in Derry and it is vital that we utilise their experience in bringing forward a new generation of officials.
However, we need a culture of respect for this to be as successful as it needs to be.
Health and Well-Being
This time last year the GAA’s National Health and Well-Being Officer, Colin Regan, addressed this forum.
Since then we have established a committee dedicated to this element of our games. It will take time to fully expand this area and have it engrained within our clubs.
However, it is a vital area for us going forward.
We discovered earlier this year very vividly the importance of having a defibrillator on site at our games.
I would appeal to all here today to be very vigilant in the whole area of health and well-being, and to put in place best practices – including trained first aiders – so that you are in a state of readiness at all times for any eventualities that may arise around your club grounds.
Owenbeg and Celtic Park
The Derry GAA Centre here at Owenbeg has become a massive social hub of positivity within our county.
As a body, it has enhanced our asset wealth to the tune of £4,000,000, where we now can boast a 54-acre state-of-the-art training facility that can be used 12 months of the year if required, regardless of the weather with our recent addition of the 4G playing surface.
I firmly believe that Owenbeg has become a conduit of unity within our county.
The very strong sense of pride and satisfaction is palpable amongst our patrons that have attended our games this season.
Owenbeg is and always should be seen as an extension to our own local club facilities.
A lot of big decisions have been made around the complex over the past few years and we have tried earnestly to be as pragmatic as possible with every decisive move.
To this end, I want to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Martin Canning, Eamon Kerlin and Mark McKeever – all of whom have been a rock of support to ensure the delivery of what we all can witness on the site today.
With the remodelling of the main car park at Owenbeg, we have now a safe environment for all our patrons attending our games – enhancing the match day experience for us all. We have relocated departments within the complex to reflect clear boundary lines of usage.
We now have a split site with the new building and stadium home to our Coaching & Games Department located in their purpose-built coaching suite below the stand. T
The entire new building is now devoted to player development and the match-day experience.
This newly refurbished existing building is our administration block were all the day-to-day administration of our county takes place.
We have systems in place that are tailor made to our needs.
Our staffing structure has been re-tweaked so that we can be as efficient as we need to be with the demands of the modern day world.
I want to thank everyone based here at Owenbeg for their continued hard work: Colm and Dermot O’Kane, Chris Collins, Ashleen McCaul, Seamus Mullan, Kevin Hinphey and Pauline McLaughlin.
I want to acknowledge the work ethic and dedication of Pauline throughout the last five years.
I would nearly need to apologise to her at this stage for adding to her already massive administrative day to day role with the onerous task of keeping track of various elements of recent capital projects.
Thank-you, Pauline. Your work is very much appreciated.
Owenbeg is now well on the way to becoming a totally self-financing site which is run at no cost, or burden, to our clubs.
County Teams
During the last twelve months, we got an indication of the promise which exists within our senior football squad. We had a terrific run to the national league final, creating a real buzz of excitement around the county in the process.
For a variety of reasons, the year ended disappointingly. However, these are the times to show leadership and also to review all ingredients that go into our performances. We have a vibrant and exciting underage scene with strong and committed management teams in place. With continued hard work from our players and management at all levels, I remain confident that success will follow.
I want to thank Ger Rogan for all his efforts over the past number of years and also to wish Tom McLean and his backroom team the very best of luck going forward. There is a growing confidence within Derry hurling evidenced by the performances of our county senior team in the Ulster final and also the terrific successes at Féile level, not to mention the heroics of Slaughtneil in the Ulster club hurling championship.
I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Slaughtneil on perhaps the best year in their history in all codes. I have had the pleasure of witnessing quite a few victory speeches at this stage, and in all of them the name of Bernard Kearney has been to the fore. The club rallied around following his sad passing and were galvanised even further as a community.
Their never-say-die attitude, hard work and patience throughout the years are examples to take note of at county level. Progress is seldom a straight line.
Efforts on the continued integration of all Gaelic games to include Ladies Football and Camogie within the wider GAA are currently underway at National Level.
In many ways, we are ahead of the curve.
All codes enjoy and make use of the facilities here at Owenbeg, both on and off the field of play. Working together for the promotion of all Gaelic games is very much part of our overall ethos.
Both Ladies Football and Camogie have been proactive in focusing on underage county teams through development squads. Derry Camogie is currently competing at the top level nationally whilst Ladies football continues its resurgence.
Whilst hard work throughout all our clubs is the key to future success, we also need expertise brought to the collective county effort.
I have heard many suggestions and questioning of our development structures in both hurling and football. In Derry, we have some of the top coaches in Ulster operating at various levels within the association. Many of these people are former inter-county players.
I want to make an appeal to these people.
I want them to come forward and give a little of their time to help inspire and to coach the future generations of players.
I want them to show the same passion for their county as they did when they wore the red and white shirt.
I am a realist. I know many of them are involved with club senior teams and at other levels.
However, I am only asking a group of four or five men to come forward and commit to, say, two hours each per month to work with our development squads in either football or hurling; two hours spent with the most promising underage players we have – to encourage and school them so that they can be the best players that they can possibly be.
I can’t do this role. If I could, I would, but I’m calling on those former players to come forward and make this small contribution.
Other counties such as Kilkenny and Dublin have done this in recent times and, well, you’ve seen the results.
Scór
Off the field, it has been another tremendous year for Scór and I want to thank Jane Millar, our cultural officer, for all her efforts and also to all our participating clubs for their contributions.
I want to formally congratulate Hannah Ferguson from Glen, who became the first Derry person to claim an All-Ireland solo singing senior title.
Fixtures
In both codes, fixtures are a huge issue for the GAA and I know it is something which a lot of emphasis is being put on at National Level.
We need a clear vision and games programme which respects all the players who play our games at club and county level.
That is a challenge which faces the Association as a whole and it is one I know that the incoming President will take very seriously.
I want to thank all players who have represented their club and our county over the past year.
I am fully aware of the sacrifices made by many – particularly in difficult times economically.
Economic migration is a huge issue for us all and is one we need to be aware of and take into consideration at all times.
Sponsors
The sustainable financing of all our units is of paramount importance.
We have a duty of care to see that our clubs and our county is on a sound financial footing at all times.
We are blessed in Derry to have generous sponsors. In turn, we work hard to try and promote our sponsors at every opportunity through every means possible.
It is vital, especially in difficult economic times, that we support our sponsors with our trade.
I want to pay a special tribute to John Bosco O’Hagan and everyone at Specialist Joinery Group who have supported us resolutely throughout the past three years sponsoring our county teams.
We have 22 domestic sponsors now – all businesses and business people with a passion for Gaelic games and our communities.
This would not be possible without the hard work of Gerry Donnelly, Danny Scullion and the sponsorship committee, who perhaps have one of the most difficult jobs around.
In the true ethos of CLG, our largest single sponsor is in fact ourselves.
Through Club Derry, men and women give voluntary contributions, asking nothing in return, only to see their county continue to progress on and off the field.
I want to thank each and every club and member of Club Derry and in particular the hard-working committee members without whom this county would not operate to the level that it does.
Club Derry is ten years old next year. It began in boom times but its work goes on. Money is no longer as readily available as it was.
However, the Club Derry committee have indicated that they are willing to be realistic about memberships.
I would urge each and every Derry Gael to think seriously about what role they can play in Club Derry.
We all have clubs to run but we also all benefit when our county performs to its maximum.
Club Connections and Communication
I feel we have made a lot of progress over the past five years in all sectors starting from the connection between our clubs and the wider county management structures.
I always championed the very real benefits of club and county working in unison for the betterment of CLG in our County.
I want to commend all our clubs on being extremely resolute and pragmatic during a difficult economic time.
The easiest thing in the world is to despair and become inward looking. However, our clubs have come through strongly and, in doing so, demonstrated their commitment to their local communities.
The developments going on at many clubs are an inspiration and showcase just what an important focal point of the community our association is.
I want to acknowledge the work of our development officer, Bobby Farren, who has been instrumental in helping many clubs tap into sources of funding.
Bobby brings a fresh perspective to all things GAA and has been key to a number of recent developments here at Owenbeg.
It’s unfortunate that owing to the use of modern electronic communication, we perhaps haven’t come together as a group as often as I would have preferred.
However, that is the way of the modern world and I suppose with the demands on all our club officers, it is the most efficient way to do our business now.
The amount of electronic communication is an issue which many people have remarked upon.
Although communication should remain between secretaries, I feel we need to be more creative with the flow of that information so as to reduce the burden on our club secretaries. I welcome all ideas on this front.
We have seen an exponential growth in the use of social media in the association. Social media is a wonderful tool for the promotion of our games but it also has great destructive power when used recklessly.
I would urge all clubs and all coaches and managers within clubs to conduct training and awareness programmes around responsible use of social media for all your members and players, particularly younger players.
We need to create a responsible and considerate culture in this area going forward. We cannot ignore this challenge.
To do so would be negligent in the protection of our youth.
Think before you publish any statement.
My advice is: “If you are happy to see what you write on the front page of the Irish News, go ahead and publish it. If you are not fully 100% sure, don’t. Your personal reputation is at stake and also that of our association. Act in haste, repent at your leisure.”
Equally as important is the role of more traditional forms of media.
In Derry, our games enjoy widespread exposure thanks to hard working and dedicated members of the local media.
I want to thank all the reporters and photographers for their coverage of Gaelic games in 2014.
Our aim is to have an efficient and professional relationship with all forms of media. Please do not hesitate to let us know any areas in which we can make improvements.
Executive and County Committees
Since 2009, many people have served diligently on various county committees. This work is vital to the running of our county and I want to thank each and every one of them for their efforts.
I also want to urge caution. As you’ll see here this evening, we have very few positions contested on our management committee. It’s very disappointing to be honest and it means one of two things: either everyone is entirely satisfied with everything that is being done, or there is a degree of apathy towards executive roles.
Neither is a healthy state of being.
I want to remind everyone here that the county does not run itself. If we do not see more people coming forward into leadership and committee roles, then we will suffer collectively. Much of the good work which has been done at club and county level can quickly be lost if we do not start to develop a greater culture of collective responsibility. We have too many people too quick to criticise, yet not lift one finger to help. This must stop.
This isn’t just at county level; it’s an issue at club level too. In a way, I’m preaching to the converted here tonight. Volunteers are being squeezed with more and more demands on their time. The GAA operates a fantastic service to the local community but it takes many people giving of their time to make this happen. We need to continually be mindful of succession in our clubs and at county level. Make your clubs inclusive and welcoming places and also help to foster an awareness of the fact that county committees also need people to survive and function properly. I cannot stress that enough.
Looking beyond our county boundaries, I feel that the measures taken to build relationships and confidence with Provincial and Central units within the Association over the past five years will be of great benefit to us all going forward. Bearing testament to this was entrusting Derry GAA with the running of National events such as two national Féile na nÓg competitions, Scór Sinsear Finals, Scór na nOg Finals and Annual Congress to name but a few – delivered with panache in 2013.
All grant monies which we have received from within and outside of the GAA have been spent extremely wisely and our partners in funding are very impressed how we handle our affairs.
These are vital relationships to maintain in economically challenging times.
We have been very aware of the testing times we have been living in over the past five years, and as a result Derry GAA has been pragmatic with keeping gate admissions down to an affordable level. Unlike others, we have not asked any of our units for extra monies towards affiliation fees.
Having been a former club chairman myself, I am only too aware of the pressures and challenges which can be faced. As we will discuss later this evening, insurance is a vital area for us as a county and the GAA as an association. I want to commend the quiet, professional and efficient work of our insurance officer, Michael Hasson.
Michael is always available to advise clubs through the insurance and injury fund processes. I would urge all current and future club officers to read Michael’s report in this year’s convention booklet.
Closing remarks
Finally, under the five year rule, I step down as your chairman tonight with a somewhat heavy heart I have to say; however I want to wish my successor the very best and to assure him that if needs to call on my advice at any time feel free to lift the phone.
We don’t say thank-you enough in the GAA but I want to thank you collectively for the respect shown to me throughout my tenure in office. I have always tried to put the best interests of Derry GAA first and foremost and to be open and transparent to all.
If you feel I have not delivered on any aspect of the job, I can honestly say it has not been due to lack of effort.
It has been a great challenge and one I could not have undertaken without the help of so many individuals. I won’t name names because I will forget someone but you know who you are and thank-you.
In the Construction Industry a saying is often used; ‘where there is an addition, then there must also be an omission’. As County Chairman, the omission sometimes can be time spent with family and friends.
To that end, I want to take this opportunity to thank my wife Colette and my two children, Seamus and Alice, for giving me the time and space to serve as Derry County Chairman. It hasn’t been easy for them at times, I know. They have been very tolerant and understanding which has made it possible to devote the time and effort into the position that it requires and deserves.
It has been a great time in our time and here’s to more of the same in the future.
I wish all our Club units, our County Squads, our staff, each and every friend and member of Derry GAA, wherever they may reside, a very peaceful Christmas, and a healthy sporting New Year.
Derry is a great GAA county with great people, and I want thank you all for the privilege and honour of serving as your chairperson for the past five years.
Go Raibh Mile Maith Agaibh.
Seán Ó Cianáin
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