This article is from page 77 of the 2011-07-26 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 77 JPG
A WAR of words over the chaos that threatened club championship fixtures over the next month broke out at last Thursday’s county board meeting convened specially to try to deal with what full-time secretary Pat Fitzgerald a “doomsday” situation.
The robust exchanges were between Doonbeg delegate Michael Neenan and county board chairman Michael O’Neill as they clashed over the Masters Fixtures Plan and its failure to make any provision for club championship games to take place in July
“The night we ratified this Masters Fitxtures plan, I suggested that night that when the county teams would be out of the championships, we would play a round of the championship,” said Neenan in leading his charge against the county board.
“You Mr Chairman ruled it out that week. You ruled it out quite strongly from the top table. You said the Masters Fitxtures plan was there and that it wouldn’t be changed. What has changed since?
“Who called this meeting? Did any delegate ring you up to call this meeting? Was it managers from county teams that called it? Was it you from the top table who called the meeting?,” added Mr Neenan.
“I called the meeting as chairman of the Clare County Board,” responded O’Neill, while board secretary Pat Fitzgerald said “there was no point calling you all in when Doomsday is here. It’s now”.
However, Neenan then resumed his stinging criticism of the fixtures blueprint. “There is a Master Fitxtures Plan here Mr Chairman and you shot me down quite strongly when I suggested when all teams would be out of Munster and Qualifiers that we would come back and look at it,” he said.
“We are looking at something blind here tonight. We could have played games that would have helped out managers going forward, if we had played our club championships over the past three weeks.
“I am looking at three weekends in July when games could have been played. How come you couldn’t see this happening. You left three weekends in July when nothing happened.
“You called us in here a big late. You are right on top of the semi-finals of the minor and intermediate now. There were three weekends when we could have been playing hurling and football championship. I pointed that out to you quite clearly,” he said.
“Things happen,” responded the board chairman. “We are where we are. We are in two All-Ireland semifinals and one Munster semi-final.
“I’m not God, I’m only chairman of the Clare County Board. I can’t pre-empt what’s going to happen,” O’Neill added.