Delegates look for answers

The position of Meath senior football team manager was raised at Monday night's Co Committee meeting in Navan. St Patrick's delegate Johnny Purfield was told that there would be no discussion about it until the next meeting. That meeting is likely to be scheduled for Monday, 13th September, but no date was announced. Delegates sought clarification on a number of issues, particularly those relating to the appointment of the next manager of the senior football team. "Will we have an opportunity to discuss the matter or will we be told that the management committee have made a decision that we have to ratify," queried the St Patrick's delegate. "Clubs will be notified about the selection process in time for the September meeting and a discussion will take place on the matter," pledged Co Committee chairman Barney Allen. The resignation of Liam Harnan from the u-16 football manager's role a couple of months ago also got another airing - of sorts - when Simonstown Gaels delegate Gerry Fitzpatrick sought clarification regarding a letter from the former Meath player which was submitted to the Co Committee last week. There were also issues raised in relation to fixtures by the Simonstown Gaels delegate who fired a salvo at the Competitions Control Committee (CCC). The Co Committee chairman informed delegates that the Liam Harnan matter had been discussed at a previous meeting and that it was now closed as another manager (Brendan Dardis) had been appointed subsequently. However, Fitzpatrick informed the chairman that he was referring to a letter that had been submitted last week. The chairman then informed delegates that the second letter had not been addressed to the Co Committee and, therefore, was not eligible for discussion at the meeting. "Why are we coming in here, there is little point to these meetings, there are too many decisions made behind closed doors," added Purfield. "Are there other matters that the management committee decide without referring to the delegates at these monthly meetings," asked Duleek / Bellewstown delegate Cudden. The Simonstown delegate persisted with his questions about Harnan's resignation which prompted Dunderry's Tommy Nally to comment. "The dogs on the street know the reason for Liam Harnan's resignation," stated the Dunderry official. The chairman told delegates that the management committee had dealt with the more recent letter last week and that the matter was closed. The fixture issues which the Simonstown delegate raised ranged from too much pressure on county players to problems at u-18 level. Fitzpatrick suggested that the fixtures in the various club championships had been too rushed to the detriment of all clubs that had players on the Meath senior football team. "Why was there such a rush to fix the club championship games only a week after we were beaten by Kildare in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final at Croke Park," asked Fitzpatrick. "It was very unfair to expect the players to go back to their clubs for important games without having had any chance for training with the club," added the Simonstown delegate. CCC chairman Eugene Comaskey outlined the reasons. "We have to accommodate hurling and football championships and we are trying to get the competitions finished to facilitate participation in the Leinster club championships," he stated. "We want to make sure that whoever our representatives are, that they have an opportunity to prepare properly," he added. There was also a query from St Michael's delegate Gabriel Curtis about the allocation of club championship games and how venues are selected. "What are the criteria for allocating games," queried the St Michael's delegate. Delegates were advised that there was no specific policy regarding the allocation of games. Those remarks were greeted with laughter. No one made any further comments about the matter. The resignation of Meath minor hurling manager Paul Reilly was not mentioned (see story on page two). Reilly informed the Meath Chronicle that he was resigning on Saturday after a dispute over tracksuits for the panel. U-18 vice-chairman Michael Mullally told the Meath Chronicle on Monday night that Reilly's term ended following the defeat by Westmeath on Saturday. The Co Committee chairman told the Meath Chronicle that they had provided six extra tracksuits (30 instead of the regulation 24). "We declined a request for 35 tracksuits after the team incurred a fine of €400 for an infringement of match day regulations in relation to officials on the sideline at the game the previous week against Mayo. I believe that another fine was incurred on Saturday," stated the chairman.