A meeting of Coiste Contae CLG Loch Garman was held in the PC Peripherals Education Hub at Chadwicks Wexford Park on Thursday June 19th, 2025. Matters discussed were as follows:
Club & County Draw
Cathaoirleach John Kenny thanked all who contributed to the success of this year’s Club & County Draw, particularly the clubs who supported it and main coordinators Joe Sheehan, Joe Tully, and Liam Roche.
Joe Sheehan noted that while the draw brought in €180,000 for Wexford GAA centrally, more than €250,000 stayed with clubs.
U21 Grading & Fixtures
Gradings for the forthcoming U21 hurling & football championships were approved. The First Round draw is to be performed by the weekend, and fixtures to be issued accordingly.
Adult Championship Fixtures
Aoife Parle (County Secretary & Secretary of CCC) said that fixtures are a complex issue, with a particular complication applying to Round 1 as all clubs’ first teams must play before their second team.
In relation to Round 2 hurling, four senior fixtures have been set for the same time on the Friday evening on foot of requests from clubs involved. However, it is not in the best interests of promoting hurling to have so many matches in our premier competition clashing with each other, and going forward, it may not be possible to accommodate every club request.
Cathaoirleach John Kenny confirmed that the CCC have a difficult job, particularly when there is a conflict between club requests and the best interests overall. He too said that while the CCC facilitated as many requests as possible with fixtures for Hurling Rounds 1 & 2, it will not be possible to always do so.
Finance Update
Chairperson of the Finance Committee, Dermot Howlin, said that Terms of Reference have been agreed for the committee. They are currently updating the Finance Manual and acting on some recommendations of the Audit & Risk Committee. Financial figures for Year To Date are expected to be available for the next meeting.
Leinster Council Report
Leinster Council delegate Ger Carty told how their last meeting included discussions on the championship calendar. He also advised the deadline for this year’s Leinster Council grants is September 5. Projects relating to land purchase, pitch development, and floodlighting are among those being prioritised.
Central Council Report
Central Council delegate Michéal Martin told how the previous weekend’s meeting had approved a change to the kick-out ‘mark’ rule in football. He also told how a commitment has been given to establishing a Review Group to consider the championships calendar, with a view to bringing about change in 2027.
Féile na nGael
Cathaoirleacy John Kenny thanked all involved with the sub-committee tasked with preparing for Féile na nGael on Saturday June 21st. He paid special thanks to Coaching Officer Kevin Doyle, Coiste na nÓg Chairperson Dermot Ryan, and the main club coordinators at venues other than the Halo Tiles Centre of Excellence in Ferns.
Kevin Doyle said all are looking forward to what should be a great day of both hurling and camogie. Additional volunteer stewards for the Centre of Excellence would still be greatly welcomed.
Coaching & Games
Director of Hurling, Niall Williams, gave a detailed presentation on the extensive resources provided for underage squads, latest developments with regard to squads (including ‘biobanded’ matches), and other activities to date this year. He acknowledged there are sometimes difficulties in recruiting sufficient and suitable coaches for squads, and also that conflicts sometimes arise between schools and clubs.
Niall also told how an Open Day for all coaches working with club squads from U14 to U18 levels is to be held at the Halo Tiles Centre of Excellence on Saturday June 28. Further details are to be issued to clubs in advance of this event.
Games Development Manager, Ray Harris, gave an outline of the workshops held to date for Club Coaching Officers. He reported that while all clubs are strongly encouraged to have representation at all workshops, the attendance at those held so far did not reach 50%. The next workshop is to be held on July 28 and he asked that all clubs ensure that if their Coaching Officer is unable to attend, that somebody else does so in their place.
He reminded delegates how it was previously agreed that clubs who do not engage with the workshops will not be eligible for activities such as mini games in Chadwicks Wexford Park or Croke Park.
Strategic Plan 2026 – 2030
Michéal Mahon of an Coiste Bainistí told how work has commenced on a new Wexford GAA Strategic Plan for 2026-2030, to follow on from the plan that was in place for 2021-2025. Coaching & Games will be a key point of this new plan, along with other pillars such as infrastructure, commercial activity, and communications.
An Coiste Contae will be fully updated in relation to this over the coming months, and it is hoped to launch the plan by year end.
Infrastructure
Safety & Facilities Officer David Tobin said it is still the plan to install a full-size astro pitch at the Halo Tiles Centre of Excellence. The project there is now being led by former Cathaoirleach of Wexford GAA and current Cathaoirleach of Leinster Council, Derek Kent. The projected cost is in the region of €1 million.
He added that some funds remain in the allocation received from the Immigrant Investor Programme for works at Chadwicks Wexford Park. These will be used to provide a new upstairs meeting room in the main office building.
Aon Ghnó Eile
Cathaoirleach John Kenny appealed for support for two upcoming fundraisers: the Race Day to be held at Wexford Racecourse on Friday July 4th, and the ‘Gamechangers’ corporate event to be held at the Talbot Hotel Stillorgan in September.
He relayed a message from Oifigeach na Gaeilge agus Cultúr, Tony Dempsey, telling how the committee of the upcoming Fleadh Ceoil in Wexford are continuing to seek volunteers and all offers of help would be welcome. He also told how this year’s Fleadh will include another Guinness World Record attempt at Chadwicks Wexford Park, with this one being for the largest ever Ceilí Band. Details will be announced in due course.
It was also noted that having additional gate people would help with the staging of this year’s club championships, particularly in the north of the county. Anybody willing to help can contact County Treasurer Brian McDonald at (086) 3108697.
The meeting ended.
