AGM Secretary's Report

Carrick-on-Shannon Athletic Club held a successful Annual General Meeting on Thursday September 26, 2024 at The Hive.

Secretary John Connolly presented his report to the meeting which can be read below:

Carrick-on-Shannon AC Secretary’s Report 2024

After quite a long gap, it gives me great pleasure to look back over an extended period of almost two years as I present my report to the Carrick-on-Shannon Athletic Club Annual General Meeting.

First, an apology that we didn’t get around to holding an AGM at the end of last year, the long finger is a curse with the meeting being put back time and time again - eventually, the long finger got so long that we have only got around to it tonight. So once again, apologies.

Looking back over our club’s performances since January 2023, it has been a remarkable period for our club. For many years, our Juvenile section led the way but nowadays, it is our athletes of an older vintage that are making headlines. 

Gerard O’Donnell returned to the top spot of the podium at the Athletics Ireland Senior 110m Hurdles after twice missing out by fractions of seconds over the previous two years, a fitting reward for a man who combines his own athletics endeavours with coaching some of Ireland’s best athletes who won medals at the World Relays and European Athletics Championships and competed at the Paris Olympics - truly no club could ask for a better ambassador.

Michelle Lannon and Ann Wynn plundered a sackload medals at National, European and World Masters level over the past two seasons, at cross-country and track, wearing the Irish vest with pride while Mickey Duignan, safe to say our longest serving club member as he joined the club the day it was founded, won gold medals in the Over 60 1,500m and 10K at the World Firefighter Games in Denmark - all three are an inspiration to us all. Deirdre Martin won gold and silver medals in the National 50Km while also finding time to win marathons in Galway, Westport and Longford and help coach our youngest athletes.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Kevin English won gold in the U12 100m at the National Community Games Finals so we really are a sport that caters for literally every age group.

It didn’t win medals as such but it would be remiss of me not to mention Liam Cox’s extraordinary efforts in his Lap of the Map in aid of North West STOP in 2023 a charity dear to many of us - to run from here to Sligo is some going but Liam kept going around the entire coastline of Ireland in a truly remarkable feat of endurance, perseverance and sheer determination. Congrats Liam.

All this wouldn’t happen without the efforts of our coaches and officials who dedicate hours of their time to ensuring that the children and adults of the area are able to pursue their dreams in a safe and welcoming environment so kudos to each and every one of you - we wouldn’t be the club we are without you.

A special mention to our Adult Running Group which continues to thrive under the leadership of Graham Allen. I know Graham has a great group around him and to see what seems like a horde of runners on the roads of Carrick on Shannon is truly uplifting. The link up with the Leitrim Sports Partnership and the Couch to 5K series has been wonderfully beneficial to both parties and it is a sign of the welcoming nature of the group that so many stay on and join the club afterwards. Well done Graham.

We celebrated our 50th Anniversary by giving each of our members, juvenile to Senior, a special commemorative t-shirt, with the support of Brady Insurance. As a promotional tool for the club, I don’t think anything could have gone better. My thanks to Fergus Daly of Daly Sportswear for his incredibly quick turnaround in getting the t-shirts out before the end of 2023 and I know the t-shirt is a prized possession for young and old alike.

I would also like to thank Jane Brady and Brady Insurance for their wonderful support of our club and also Noleen and the staff of Carrick Community School for the use of their facilities, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do without them. Also thanks to Ken McManus for his unfailing good humour on our trips to Sligo track - that initiative has been funded by the support of Brady Insurance and was a brilliant experience for many young athletes over the past year.

I know our chairperson Siobhan has a few words about the Shannonside Recreational Campus in her address, all I will say is that we are counting the days down to when we will have a track on our doorstep. The development of quality facilities has a proven relationship with the development of athletes so we are eagerly awaiting a new chapter in the history of Carrick-on-Shannon AC.

Thoughts for the future compels me to mention that we, as a club, can always do with new faces with new ideas to bring the club forward. The Club was founded in 1973 and has grown hugely over the years which brings its own challenges - as of 4 pm today, we have 317 members, 97 of whom are Seniors. Examining those figures, we don’t have a lot of members in the 14 to 19 age range and that is a concern - our numbers in those age groups haven’t recovered from the Covid years but I’d be hopeful that the strong numbers and enthusiastic athletes we have coming through can alleviate that problem in the coming years.

But it is more in terms of leadership that I ask the question of what we can do better - going over the minutes of the previous AGM, we had plans to celebrate our 50th anniversary but between personal commitments, work and life in general, those plans never got off the ground and I want to apologise for that lost opportunity.

It is why I am conscious that new faces at the top table can bring fresh energy and new ideas - our chairperson Siobhan is a great example of that. It was only when I was going over the old AGM minutes that I realised I took over as Club Secretary from the late, great Michael O’Brien in November 1998, making this my 26th year serving as Secretary - boy that time has flown and Michael had the role for the guts of 20 before that!

Now before anyone thinks I’m chucking it all in, I’m not stepping down but as a club looking to the future, it is something we need to be thinking about - it is only good practice that we open these roles up to new faces who will bring fresh energy and life to the role. Seeing the same people in the same roles for so long can deter people from getting involved and as a club, that would not be good.

I’d encourage anyone to get involved as an officer of this club - you couldn’t work with better people and I really mean that. Siobhan, Karen, Mary O’Donnell and all of our officers are not just great officials, they are great people and wonderful friends but we’d all be delighted to see some new blood coming in.

Moving on, on a sombre note, I’d like to express my sympathy to all those who suffered bereavements since our last AGM. I won’t list everyone but I will mention the passing of adult club member Pat Heffernan and former member Dominic Keenehan. Both their families and communities were devastated by their passing and I want to pass on my deepest sympathy to their family and friends.

I conclude by thanking everyone for their support and patience over the past year, particularly Siobhan, Karen, Mary and Donnacha. I want to thank our athletes for all their efforts while representing Carrick AC on whatever stage they are on and I  look forward to the coming year with optimism and excitement.

John Connolly

Secretary