GAA holding public workshop next week on future direction of club
An invitation to a public workshop next week has been issued by Kilcullen GAA as part of the development of a five-year plan for the evolution of the club, writes Brian Byrne. It will be held next Wednesday 23 November, in Scoil Bhride, to get feedback from members and the public on the desired future direction for the club.
All are welcome, and it is not necessary to be a GAA member to attend the event, which kicks off at 7pm.
The process was initiated some time ago when the club was accepted into the GAA Club Planning Programme, and is focusing on all aspects of the club. The facilitators appointed by Croke Park are Liam O’Neill from Laois, former president of the GAA (2112-2015), and Claire O’Sullivan, founder of Innovate Together and member of the St Olaf's club in Dublin.
"This is quite separate from the physical 'Field of Dreams' project," says the club's vice-chair Caryl Traynor. "Our steering committee has been working with the facilitators for some months, and the workshop is a central part of the process."
The evening will be facilitated by Liam and Claire with attendees seated at tables in groups of eight or ten. A series of questions will be asked and the groups will discuss each one. A person at each table will record the points and comments discussed in an anonymous format with no attribution to any individual. At the end of this process, each group will give a summary of their thoughts on each question to the room, for brief additional discussion.
"All this feedback will be analysed by the steering group and used to develop the five-year plan," says Caryl Traynor, noting that the Club Planning Programme has been run very successfully in many clubs around the country. The programme looks at organisational structure, culture and values, finance and fundraising, club facilities, and coaching and games. In a note sent to all members recently, the Club Development Committee is reported to be 'making great progress' in the matter of facilities.
Kilcullen GAA has grown from a small club that often struggled for numbers to field games, to one with over 1,000 members and fielding multiple teams in most GAA and LGFA competitions as well as having successfully reintroduced hurling and camogie.
"This has all been built on the hard work and vision of the generations that went before," members have been reminded, with an emphasis on the need for the club to be in a position to take advantage of upcoming 'great opportunities'.
Photographs use Policy — Privacy Policy
