The 133rd annual general meeting of Clonliffe Harriers A.C. took place in the club premises last night (March 19th). There was an excellent turnout of club members for the AGM, possibly the best in the past ten years. It is particularly pleasing to see such interest by the members in the running of the club.
At the outset of the meeting the minutes of the 132nd AGM were approved.
Secretary`s Report: The meeting then heard from Noel Guiden who outlined that the club was in a very healthy state moving into 2019. He outlined that there was a great through put of young athletes from the juvenile into the junior men and into the senior men’s ranks and that the future also looked equally promising on the women’s side with a lot of the older juveniles moving now into the junior ranks and in turn will hopefully move into the senior ranks. He cautioned, however, on the absence of athletes competing in the technical events in particular hurdles, jumps and throws which needs addressing. He also thanked and congratulated all of the club members on their work in the promotion of the club’s various events and in turn, therefore, the promotion of Clonliffe Harriers A.C. in particular on the Morton Games, the Brother Schools Cross Country and the club’s two open races, the Clonliffe 2 and the ERP Christmas Cracker 5k. He thanked all who had volunteered and assisted with these events but outlined the need for more volunteers to get involved in the running of their club and to assist the club in respect of all its activities. He thanked and congratulated the treasurer Eoin Murray who was stepping down as treasurer at this AGM and thanked the President, the committee and all of the athletes and coaches for their contribution over the previous twelve months to the club.
Captain`s report: Joe Cooper then presented his report, he outlined briefly the highlights of the year which included on the cross country front the team winning the Dublin Senior title, finishing 2nd in the National Senior, the junior team finishing 1st in the Nationals and at the European Junior Cross Country the team finishing 11th. The Masters O/65 team winning the National title. On the road he outlined that the men’s team had won both the National half marathon and the National marathon titles and in track and field had won the National indoor league and the National outdoor league and had competed in the European Clubs Cross Country in the A Division finishing 9th. He singled out two athletes for special mention being Efrem Gidey who was 5th at the European Clubs in Portugal and successfully defended the All Ireland Schools Cross Country Championship and Eoin Peirce who against the odds had won the National indoor 1500m title, he paid particular tribute to Eoin Peirce who has been in the club since he was a U/12 and had always been available to compete for the club when called upon. Finally he thanked all of the athletes, coaches and committee members and stewards who had volunteered at the various races and requested that all concerned build on the successes of the past year and that if that happens all can look forward to future success in the coming year.
Treasurer`s report: Eoin Murray presented his final report as the club’s Honorary Treasurer, he presented a very healthy set of accounts which showed that the club was in a very healthy position with profits being made by both the club bar and also by the club’s athletics activities. The club had incurred considerable expenditure over the previous twelve months by way of repairs required to the club’s premises and despite this substantial outlay a still very healthy profit had been returned. He congratulated all concerned with collecting of the clubs subs, those who volunteered in the club bar, all those who organised and assisted with the running of the club’s various promotions all of which contributed substantially to the club’s finances. Finally he thanked the president, his fellow officers and the committee for their support and for the work which had been carried out by all concerned during his tenure as Honorary Treasurer.
Juvenile Captain’s Report: Gladys Cooper outlined the great successes enjoyed by the juvenile section over the previous twelve months. She paid particular tribute to Ray Fitzsimons for the superb work he had carried out with the juvenile sprints group which has now grown substantially over the previous twelve months and had delivered substantial success at juvenile and junior level and in turn a number of these had now progressed to the senior group under the stewardship of John Shiels. She also outlined that over the previous twelve months six new coaches had come on board with the juvenile section and that the juvenile membership continues to grow and thrive to now some 200 plus juvenile members. Gladys also presented a document outlining all the successes of the juvenile members over the previous twelve months. See attached: (coming soon)
President’s address: Paddy Marley who commented upon the great turnout for the AGM which was the best in years. He congratulated the club’s captains, coaches and athletes, in particular the coaches for the time which they give to the athletes and the club. He commented upon the successes enjoyed by the club at cross country level with the juniors winning the National Title and then competing in the European Clubs, whilst the Senior men had finished 2nd he commented that it was disappointing that the opportunity was not availed of to possibly win back the National Title. He commended the outstanding performances by the club’s athletes on the track which included the winning by the men’s team of both the indoor and outdoor League titles and also commended all individual members who had enjoyed success at national level. He congratulated all in the club on the winning by the club of the Athletics Ireland Club of the Year (Performance) for the fourth successive time. With regard to the club’s promotions he thanked all concerned for their input into the Morton Games, the Clonliffe 2, the ERP Christmas Cracker, the Brother Schools. He also congratulated all concerned with the clubs various other activities including the Grand Prix Series. He thanked all who had taken the time and made themselves available to steward at the club’s various events, he congratulated and thanked the club treasurer for the excellent job he had done over the previous years, he also thanked the people involved with the club’s lotto and the bar committee. He thanked all of the clubs sponsors including the clubs main sponsor Hireco and then all of the clubs individual sponsors including Kavanaghs, ERP, Brother, Behan & Associates, Commercial Hygiene Services, Loki Sports and all the individual sponsors of various club races included in the Grand Prix Series.
Elections were held and the following were elected:
President – Paddy Marley
Vice Presidents – Colm Brennan, Tommy Griffin, Johnny O’Leary, Maurice Ahern, Paddy Marley, Frances Mansfield, Noel Daly, Peter McDermott and Alex Sweeney.
Honorary Secretary – Noel Guiden
Honorary Treasurer – Brian McDonald
Club Captain – Joe Cooper
Ladies Captain – Louise Carraher
Committee members – Caroline Tuite, Paddy Tuite, Stephen Harkness
Trustees – Johnny O’Leary, Tommy Griffin, Maurice Ahern
The members also passed the Motion which had been brought by the committee unanimously: “That the annual subscription for membership of Clonliffe Harriers A.C. as of 2020 be increased by the sum of €10.00 per category of membership”.
Under the heading of any other business it was agreed that the incoming committee will consider the following matters:
The position on the committee for a Health and Safety Officer
The position on the committee for a Welfare Officer
To consider refurbishments to the clubhouse and dressing rooms (in particular the ladies dressing rooms).
Dominic Branigan outlined that December was the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Billy Morton and he as making progress on how to appropriately commemorate this and that he would liaise with the club’s committee further during the course of the year.
On conclusion of any other business the president closed the meeting by thanking all concerned for their attendance and participation.