This article is from page 69 of the 2011-12-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 69 JPG
CLARE GAA is in the black, but will only remain so if costs are cut further in 2012, delegates to last Thursday’s Convention were warned as they were challenged to come up with new initiatives to boost the county board’s coffers.
County board treasurer, Bernard Keane and auditor Tony Fitzpatrick laid bare the financial facts behind the 2011 figures – the latter calling for belts to be tightened, while the former urging a “collective effort” between the top table of the board and the clubs to “keep Clare GAA above water” in 2012.
“It’s nice to finish above the line rather than below the line,” said Mr Keane, “but we had a very difficult year, but we are very happy to be above the line with a small surplus.
“Going forward we are not in a comfortable place financially in this county board. We all realise that. Over the last number of years our margins have been getting smaller, smaller and smaller.
“The fact that our income is down € 160,000 is a very worrying aspect. We can’t run away from that. We can and we will do our best to try and trim our expenditure. Expenditure are bricks in the wall the whole time and there are only so many bricks you can take off the wall before the wall crumbles on you,” he added.
The treasurer revealed that the biggest blow to the board’s financial situation, which saw the surplus for the year’s activities reduce from € 64,366 in 2010 to € 17,796 within the space of 12 months was brought about by a big drop in monies from gate receipts, locally and nationally.
“The biggest disappointment on our income side was our home games. There were various reasons for that,” Keane revealed. “During the course of year we introduced vari- ous schemes – 25 tickets, 15 tickets to help the cause.
“We got very few financially attractive replays. The biggest problem was that the patrons weren’t coming out to support the games. That’s the biggest worry.
“We noticed that in the second half of the year there was a drop off. Our county final was particularly disappointing. Our hurling final realised € 44, 580, our football final € 45,754.
“We were very disappointed with the hurling final, because we had a very attractive programme on the day, but the weather caught us and TG4 killed us. The National League was in the same vein, because patrons weren’t coming out either,” he added.
Now, in response to what county board secretary, Pat Fitzgerald has called “a bleak financial position”, Keane has called on the county club’s to become the brains behind a range of new fundraising ideas to create much-needed cash flow for the year ahead.
“Don’t anyone be under any illusions that a fundraising draw won’t happen in 2012 – it will happen because it has to happen,” said Keane. “The shape of the project, we are not sure of yet. We are waiting for submissions to come from the clubs and are waiting until the 20th of January.
“What we’re asking is that any club out there that has an idea for a fundraising scheme that would work for the county board – we would be hoping that the board would come on board with that.
“We are going to have to come up with new schemes of making money as well as enhancing the schemes that we have there. Every club will have to come on board with the fundraising project and work with that. We have to have new ideas and new brainwaves that will bring in finance.
“We’re all in this together. No one individual or no one club can save this situation. It will be all of us working positively together,” he added.
In closing the debate, auditor Tony Fitzpatrick warned that “if expenditure isn’t watched and if costs aren’t cut, we will go into the red.
“Tighten the belts and perform on the field and we will be fine,” he added.