Tough Times Ahead for County Boards

Worryingly there appears to be a trend of late of county sponsors either pulling the plug on their deals or trying to renegotiate at less costly terms mid-contract.

Meath have just lost €500,000 as Menolly have pulled the plug on their deal, in Tyrone while Rocwell have been retained as the main sponsors it appears that they were able to convince the Tyrone Board to accept a much less lucrative deal for the final year of their deal.

Leitrim have lost their sponsor from last year as have Waterford, though it appears both have since managed to get a new sponsor sorted but one would suspect the terms and conditions were not as lucrative as the county boards may have hoped.

What will the knock on effect of this be - is it another major challenge ahead for county boards or just a reality check for teams who were over spending on team costs anyway.

"Rescue package for beleagured Leitrim Board agreed"....

Bush Hotel are the new Leitrim Senior Football team sponsors
Tony Ghee Dec 13 2009
The Bush Hotel has today announced its sponsorship of the Leitrim Senior Football Team for 2010/11 following the withdrawal of Masonite Ireland after 11 years as main sponsor to Leitrim GAA. Announcing the initiative at the County Board’s Annual Convention in the Bush Hotel, Managing Director Joe Dolan commented ‘the Bush Hotel has had a long standing association with Leitrim GAA at all levels and this initiative further consolidates this relationship ....... we are proud and privileged to be associated with Leitrim GAA . It would be remiss of me today not acknowledge the very significant contribution of Masonite Ireland not just to GAA but to the broader community including the Bush Hotel and I wish them continued success. I look forward to working in a mutually beneficial manner with the Executive of the County Board and to a successful year from the Leitrim seniors. ‘Leitrim GAA Chairman Gerry McGovern commented ‘we are absolutely delighted to announce that The Bush Hotel are the new sponsors of Leitrim Senior, Junior and under 21 teams for 2010 and 2011. Leitrim GAA has had a long association with the Bush Hotel over the years and this brings that relation to a new level. We look forward with optimism to the future with the Bush as our sponsor and no doubt but this sponsorship deal will be a huge benefit to Leitrim GAA in pursuit of their ultimate goal of bringing success to the County. I want to say a sincere thanks to Mr Joe Dolan Managing Director, and the Dolan family for their continued generosity to Leitrim GAA and we look forward to furthering our working relationship with the Bush Hotel in the years ahead.’ Gerry also paid tribute to former sponsors Masonite Ireland ‘I want to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude to our former sponsors Masonite Ireland for their generosity to Leitrim GAA over the last eleven years. We had a marvellous working relationship with Masonite and I want to pay tribute to their former managing director Mr Jim Hoey and the present managing director Mr Cormac Kearns, and their staff for their generosity, hospitality and courtesy to the officers of Leitrim GAA over the term of sponsorship, and I want also to recognise the assistance of former employee M/s Aileen Harvey in our relationship with Masonite Ireland. I take this opportunity to wish Masonite Ireland the very best for the future’.

They were fighting to be the sponsor in Donegal! The Abbey hotel and Donegal Creameries fought it out with the milkmen coming out on top.

RMDrive wrote:They were fighting to be the sponsor in Donegal! The Abbey hotel and Donegal Creameries fought it out with the milkmen coming out on top.

The Dutch Gold consortium must have dropped out RMD. I heard they were hotly fancied with the players.....

RMDrive wrote:They were fighting to be the sponsor in Donegal! The Abbey hotel and Donegal Creameries fought it out with the milkmen coming out on top.

the Tyrone board were offered a better deal by another company - Target Express a courier firm owned by a Fermanagh man - i think they rightly chose to stick with Rocwell on less favourable terms rather than go and release a new jersey - they were due to release new Rocwell endorsed fleeces t-shirts etc for Christmas so i think their hands were tied

Boxtyeater wrote:

RMDrive wrote:They were fighting to be the sponsor in Donegal! The Abbey hotel and Donegal Creameries fought it out with the milkmen coming out on top.

The Dutch Gold consortium must have dropped out RMD. I heard they were hotly fancied with the players.....

Actually Dutch Gold dropped out as they were worried about damage to their reputation!!

RMDrive wrote:They were fighting to be the sponsor in Donegal! The Abbey hotel and Donegal Creameries fought it out with the milkmen coming out on top.

That proves that cream always rises to the top!

I think I read last week that Rocwell's sponsorship is around 120,000 - dunno if thats yoyos or stg. Cheap at the price.

I believe the new logo on the Dublin jersey will be 'O2 win an All Ireland!!'

We were given goodie bags at the Wexford convention last night. Free sliotar 3 socks and a voucher for a jacket in sport savers. Jacket the real deal I picked up 4 of them this afternoon for €40 a saving of over €120 could bear to listen to the management board for that.
We made money this year so out of the red into the black but at a serious cost 5 players are not going back due to Wexford not allowing training to start before Jan 1st (money saving exercise across the board).
We will like Meath be putting forward motion to congress (Newcastle Co Down next year I think) to have the hooter as per the ladies game.
Another interesting motion to go forward after the way the inter pro team was treated this year is that all players to play inter pro MUST of played county football and can't be club players plucked from nowhere (all right the managers club).
Other than that over 3 hours of a snooze fest no great debate considering the shite year we had on all fronts.
But at least I got few xmas pressies out of it

JimWexford wrote:We were given goodie bags at the Wexford convention last night. Free sliotar 3 socks and a voucher for a jacket in sport savers. Jacket the real deal I picked up 4 of them this afternoon for €40 a saving of over €120 could bear to listen to the management board for that.
We made money this year so out of the red into the black but at a serious cost 5 players are not going back due to Wexford not allowing training to start before Jan 1st (money saving exercise across the board).
We will like Meath be putting forward motion to congress (Newcastle Co Down next year I think) to have the hooter as per the ladies game.
Another interesting motion to go forward after the way the inter pro team was treated this year is that all players to play inter pro MUST of played county football and can't be club players plucked from nowhere (all right the managers club).
Other than that over 3 hours of a snooze fest no great debate considering the shite year we had on all fronts.
But at least I got few xmas pressies out of it

why 3 socks Jim - have you all grown another foot or something!!!!

as for the jackets mine is XL Jim thanks

Yeah you'd pick up a purple and yelllow jacket fairly cheap alright ....

1 to keep the hurls warm, its not as if we know how to use them any more.

Should of read 3 pairs boc its me and words tend to leave a few out

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Yeah you'd pick up a purple and yelllow jacket fairly cheap alright ....

A reversible jacket say no less.
Kids and ole fellow sorted now I can go on a session

JimWexford wrote:Kids and ole fellow sorted now I can go on a session

Nice one Jim - don't forget the missus though!

Reversible jackets? Purple and yellow and then you reverse them after the first game - to the black and amber stripes!

sent her to Oz for the xmas we are going out in March (with a view to staying for a few years possibly country is fcuked)

JimWexford wrote:sent her to Oz for the xmas we are going out in March (with a view to staying for a few years possibly country is fcuked)

very generous of you Jim

JimWexford wrote:sent her to Oz for the xmas we are going out in March (with a view to staying for a few years possibly country is fcuked)

she might need the words of this song Jim

Australian Jingle Bells

Dashing through the bush,
in a rusty Holden Ute,
Kicking up the dust,
esky in the boot,
Kelpie by my side,
singing Christmas songs,
It's Summer time and I am in
my singlet, shorts and thongs

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut !,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Engine's getting hot;
we dodge the kangaroos,
The swaggie climbs aboard,
he is welcome too.
All the family's there,
sitting by the pool,
Christmas Day the Aussie way,
by the barbecue.

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute.

Come the afternoon,
Grandpa has a doze,
The kids and Uncle Bruce,
are swimming in their clothes.
The time comes 'round to go,
we take the family snap,
Pack the car and all shoot through,
before the washing up.

Oh! Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way,
Christmas in Australia on a scorching summers day, Hey!
Jingle bells, jingle bells, Christmas time is beaut!,
Oh what fun it is to ride in a rusty Holden Ute

Peace and goodwill onto myself was well and truly worth it, i wish. We have 3 weddings over there next year (all Feb March) Two are her family and 1 mine so shes off to wreck there heads I can live with that. Also as a xmas present we booked her flight home with 15 stopovers in all the hotspots to see if anyone wants her in there xmas stocking

Have to admit looking forward to going as it is the last continent I haver to visit (and I have done the artic)

JimWexford wrote:Also as a xmas present we booked her flight home with 15 stopovers in all the hotspots to see if anyone wants her in there xmas stocking

So where are the kids for Xmas Jim? She hardly left them in your care? I reckon she took them out to Oz for Xmas just so she could give them the pressies they really wanted - Man Utd jersies!

JimWexford wrote:sent her to Oz for the xmas we are going out in March (with a view to staying for a few years possibly country is fcuked)

And wouldn't buy the wee gársun the oul' soccerball gansey...Jim "knows the score"....For shame.

Boxty went to Oz many years ago. By boat. Shared a cabin with Ned Kelly ...

Mercifully he wasn't a sheepskin clad, scarf wearing, scampi eating rogbee lover.....although he was homeless.

"Alas poor Boxty - I knew him well. A bush ranger of the highest order who honed his craft in Derrada Woods where he removed a Christmas tree each year"

Ah yes, the Derrada wood affair. Memorable few days there Jayo. While the fireworks were on Friday evening mainly, nobody was allowed to town until Sunday evening by car. I, unwittingly, managed to secure access on the Sunday morning and parked the chariot (a battered Renault with KK plate) outside the door of the hotel, bowled in and sat between 2 cousins at the bar. Place was full of cops, eating, changing into bush gear etc., till I noticed in the bar mirror a surly looking Sgt. watching me.
"Who owns the KK Renault at the door"? he asks after a minute. No answer. " He puts his hand on my shoulder and asks me straight out. "Yeah it's mine" says I.
"You're a stranger so"..."No, all the lads here know me"... All heads shake in denial....Getting tricky now...
I'm surrounded by a phalanx of cops now and the word reaches the street that they have a man...

The roars of laughter when "suspect" Boxty was frogmarched out, virtually in chains, will live forever with me...
A bit of a Q&A took place in the barrack until local supremo Sgt. Paddy O'Connor arrived....

JimWexford wrote:Have to admit looking forward to going as it is the last continent I haver to visit (and I have done the artic)

This is very very impressive Jim. Tell me more about the artic.