*Theresa Roseingrave. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
Theresa Roseingrave became only the sixth ever female chairperson of Clare Ladies Football in the association’s 41 year existence when succeeding fellow St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield club-mate Sean Lenihan at Tuesday’s Annual Convention in Hotel Woodstock.
Roseingrave, who served as Clare LGFA Assistant PRO in 2023, along with the return of Monica Callinan as county secretary after a two year gap, were the clear positives from an AGM that ac-tually had to be cut short due to the lack of appointed officers.
Indeed, despite 39 proposed motions and recommendations listed in the detailed 64 page AGM booklet, none could be discussed as there were only four positions filled on the Clare Ladies Football Executive for 2025 when at least a quorum of eight was required.
Miltown Malbay’s Rachel Healy, who was initially appointed as Assistant PRO last year but stepped up to the vacant PRO’s position during 2024, was rubber-stamped as the outright Pub-lic Relations Officer in her absence while former PRO Caoimhe McMahon, also from Miltown Mal-bay, agreed to take on the job as Assistant Secretary to Monica Callinan who had previously served as county secretary from 2018-22.
However, the positions of Treasurer, Registrar, Vice-Chairperson, Assistant Treasurer, Assistant PRO, Culture & Language Officer and even appointed roles of Development Officer, Children’s Officer and Fixtures Secretary were vacated while the search is also on for two Munster dele-gates and two Central Council equivalents.
Having expressed his desire to step down twelve months previously, only to remain in situ for one final year, Sean Lenihan bowed out on Tuesday after a four year term. With his chairperson’s address coming before the election of officers, Lenihan thanked his fellow officers but did reiter-ate his disappointment at the lack of willingness of some clubs to get involved at administrative level.
“To my fellow officers on the county board, a huge thank you for all the hard work you put in, un-seen and often unappreciated by those on the sideline. I have witnessed at first hand the mas-sive effort you all make on behalf of Clare LGFA. My job as chairman was made a lot easier
by having an excellent executive and great input at the wider board level from most of the 22 clubs throughout the County.
“Disappointingly, a number of clubs don’t seem to get involved with the running of the county or-ganisation thereby increasing the workload on those that are willing to roll up their sleeves. In the main, there are great ladies football people in Clare across the county, all doing wonderful work for ladies football. However, it is important that people with a significant contribution to make, step up and do their part also at a County Level.
‘Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na nDaoine! [People live in each other’s shadows].’ Upon realising that 14 different positions would have to be filled at the first county board meeting in January, the outgoing chairman also added that ‘we’ve very much employed a carrot and stick approach and have led with the carrot in the last few years but we might have to take out the stick in order to get clubs to get people involved.’
This is the third successive year that officer positions are required to be appointed in the new year, with an email to be sent to all 22 clubs within the next seven days, seeking nominations for all 14 vacant roles.
Outgoing Treasurer Geraldine Kelly who had served a maximum five year term reported a €40,000 turnover from 2023 as increased expdenditure amounted to an annual deficit of €38,645.74 for 2024. However, the Shannon Gaels native did offset this by stating the the new treasurer would be presented with a healthy bank balance of over €85,000.
Incoming Chairperson Theresa Roseingrave expressed her gratitude to the outgoing executive, particularly Seán Lenihan for his leadership. She also praised the wider executive team for their contributions. “On behalf of Clare LGFA, I want to thank Seán and the outgoing executive for their dedication and leadership. In any discipline, it is the people and teams we surround ourselves with that make the difference. Our success is built on the hard work of volunteers who give their time while balancing day jobs and family commitments. To anyone stepping into a role, your con-tribution is deeply valued and recognised”.
She said Clare LGFA looks forward to filling the remaining vacancies and addressing the critical motions and recommendations in the near future. The association remains committed to fostering a collaborative and forward-thinking environment for the betterment of ladies’ Gaelic football across Clare.
Clare Ladies Football Executive 2025
President: Michael Fitzpatrick
Vice-Presidents: James Costello, James Lafferty, Anne Hayes
Chairperson: Theresa Roseingrave (St Joseph’s Doora/Barefield)
Vice-Chairperson: To be Filled
Secretary: Monica Callinan (Kilmihil)
Assistant Secretary: Caoimhe McMahon (Miltown Malbay)
Treasurer: To be Filled
Assistant Treasurer: To be Filled
PRO: Rachel Healy (Miltown Malbay)
Assistant PRO: To be Filled
Registrar: To be Filled
Culture & Language Officer: To be Filled
Development Committee Chairman: To be Filled
Fixtures Secretary: To be Filled
Children’s Officer: To be Filled
Munster Delegates (3): To be Filled (2), Louise Henchy (Banner Ladies, Player Delegate)
Central Council Delegates (2): To be Filled (2)
