Introduction

This report is a short summary of the activities of the club in 2021 and allows members an opportunity to reflect on what we regard as a great year for the club. We have continued to grow our player numbers and we have broadened our activities in response to the needs of our community. Covid has not stopped us: if anything it has increased the appeal of sport from a health and wellbeing perspective which is a welcome by-product of this dreary pandemic. This is reflected in our growth in membership. This growth is reflected in the community where we see more and more young people in club colours.

We therefore head into 2022 in confident mode.

A year of firsts

Outlined below are just some of the highlights

1. For the first time since 1909, Geraldines P. Moran is now an intermediate football club. This is a huge achievement for the club and great credit goes to players and to the team management for the success they have brought to the club. The players are great ambassadors and many of them help in the academy on Saturday mornings and that has driven the huge support base that attends games.

2. Thanks to the drive and commitment shown by the growing number of volunteers which has attracted more players to the club, we now have

a. An adult ladies’ team which will compete in the LGFA league next year.

b. An adult men’s’ team in hurling.

These are two great achievements and will provide a valuable outlet for our younger male and female players and it is also attracting back into sport many young adult players who had dropped out of sport.

3. We also for the first time ever entered a Hurling Team in the Feile (U15).

4. A significant first is that we broke the 100 barrier for attendance at our Saturday morning academy.

5. Our Club membership surpassed the 700 mark for the first time in 2021 and there are 450 active players in our club.

6. Our under 13 girls won a Dublin LGFA championship for the first time.

7. Our Minors were Semi-finalists in the Football Championship

8. Our U15 Feile & U14 Feile Football teams both reached the Semi-Final

9. We brought out a special commemorative jersey to recognise the centenary of the death of Patrick Moran.

A year also of steady improvement

The highlights listed above are important as they create a buzz which helps all our other teams in hurling and football. We know from attending games and from talking to mentors of the steady progress being made at all levels. There is, for example, great demand for training space, especially for floodlit training in winter which is a good indicator of the investment being made in our players. The club will reap long-term benefits from the work that is being put in now in those players many of whom will stay with the club right through to adulthood. Like all codes and all clubs, we do need to guard against player drop-out so that we maintain teams at all age levels. It is a challenge especially in juvenile hurling and it is one of the issues we will be addressing as we head into 2022.

The other indicator of steady progress is the fact that we are reaching semi-finals and finals of championships and our teams are finishing in the top part of league tables. The disappointment of losing a final or semi-final should not take away for the joy of being so competitive and the pride our players bring to the club and to their families arising from their efforts.

Financial position of the club and fundraising

A separate report will be made to the AGM on the current financial position of the club. Thanks, in the main to the steady growth in membership, the club has as surplus of income over expenditure and we do not have borrowings. We have also been able to reduce expenditure through the sponsorship of teams and we are hugely appreciative of this support.

Next year we hope to return to running a variety of fund raisers: the golf classic (which was an important source of income in recent years, prior to Covid), Mini All Ireland, Club Quiz nights etc, which will all assist in attaining the extra funds we require.

We will review our fundraising and sponsorship model in early 2022, to attract more corporate sponsorship as recognition of our contribution to the community.

Finally, we do need to redouble our efforts to promote our online lotto which should be a key contributor to the creation of a development fund for the club which we will need to cater for our growing numbers in the years ahead.

Next year

We are already looking forward to the new season where we will have more teams than ever before in our long history representing the club. Two highlights to look forward to are

· we will have two camogie teams next year at age 8 and 9. The last time there was a camogie team in the club was in the mid 1950’s

· A history of the club will be published.

We do need to address a number of issues that were not progressed this year including:

1. Proper toilet facilities in Cornelscourt

2. Changing facilities for teams using our pitch in Ballyogan

3. The provision of a hurling wall in Cornelscourt.

4. Access to new facilities in Cherrywood that are now coming on stream, especially all- weather and floodlit facilities which are pressure points currently in the club.

5. The finalisation of the club’s strategic plan.

A special thanks

The club would like to thank all our volunteers, including

· The mentors of all our team who train and enable our teams to field. Some of these are involved in more than one team which shows the commitment they have for the club.

· The adult, minor, U15, U14 and U13 players and all who help us run the academy every Saturday

· The mower squad and those who line Cornelscourt and Ballyogan for matches

· All our Covid supervisors who ensure all attending games and training are protected to the fullest extent possible.

· Johnny Magee, our GDO

· Shay Keane who has stepped down as manager of the Gers Nuá.

· Our club executive, all of whom are involved in other aspects of the club such as team management

Farewell

A number of our members lost family members in 2021 and to those we send our condolences.
We want also to remember two people who had a long and direct association with the club:

Miriam Sorohan, along with her husband Joe, was a great supporter and friend of the club. Miriam was a lovely person.

Tommy Callaghan was a life long member of the Gers who played with the club for many years and who was also, for many years, the club Treasurer. Tommy was a gas man.

Finally

As we are about to enter the festive season, the club wants to wish all our members, young and no so young, the very best for 2022.

Ted McEnery Chairperson
John McCabe Runaí
Tom Purcell Juv. Chairperson
Mary Browne BNG Runaí