*Delegates at the AGM of the CDSL. Photograph: John Mangan
There was no smoke or fire as the deferred Clare District Soccer League AGM in Treacy’s West County Hotel re-emphasised that the code is in rude health in the county.
Postponed from its original date the previous week due to not having its account completed in time, the matter was quickly cleared up by treasurer Tony Downey’s explanation of falling seri-ously ill, thus delaying the finalisation and subsequent signing off of the accounts as by then their accountant was on holidays.
With Jason Ryan (Chairman), Denis Collins (Secretary) and Downey (treasurer) returned once more to the main positions on the CDSL Executive, they looked to build on the positivity of a memorable 2022/23 season.
“Clare soccer is on the rise.” outlined Kilrush Rangers Clubman Ryan who was elected unop-posed to the chair for the third consecutive year. “And it’s with your help that we can keep im-proving it. We’re working hard in the background to try and improve the county grounds and im-prove Clare Soccer.
“On the field, this was a historic year for Clare Soccer with Newmarket Celtic winning the FAI Jun-ior Cup, becoming the first Clare club to do so and as a result opening the door for other teams to follow. There’s great credit due to Newmarket’s players and management for achieving their dream”.
It wasn’t all good new though as Ryan then spoke of his frustrations at the recent damage inflict-ed on Frank Healy Park property. “Myself and the committee were very disappointed with the vandalism that went on in the County Grounds. We’re currently working on trying to put more se-curity measures into it so that we’ll be on the ball going forward. It is costing the league a lot of money so hopefully these measures can ensure that we can knock it on the head and get to the other side of it”.
Treasurer Tony Downey echoed that disappointment when reporting a €20,000 annual profit for the season, up €16,000 on last year’s surplus. The Ennis Town clubman estimated that the over-all cost of repairing the doors and installing CCTV cameras and other security measures could amount to €8,000-€9,000.
Former referee Martin O’Brien was universally welcomed to the top table as the new Fixtures Secretary while the interim Fixtures Secretary from last year Dean Russell takes over as PRO for the coming season.
While the positions of Women’s Officer and Youth Liaison/Child Protection Officer are yet to be filled, other new members to the committee included Michael Leahy and Jimmy O’Brien.
With regards to the recommencement of the leagues, the new season will start on the weekend of August 19/20th it was confirmed with the Premier League and First, Second and Third Division league cups.
In addition, it was reported from provincial level that his year’s Munster Junior Cup will be con-densed to only include teams from the Premier and First Division while a separate Munster Junior Shield will be initiated to facilitate clubs from the Second and Third Divisions.
Finally, it was outlined that the construction of ladies dressing rooms, the next phase of devel-opment in Frank Healy Park, will be completed by the end of the 2023/24 season.
Clare District Soccer League Executive Committee 2023/24
Honorary Presidents: Robert Clancy, Michael McInerney, Michael Leahy
Chairman: Jason Ryan
Vice-Chairman: Ronnie Pyne
Secretary: Denis Collins
Treasurer: Tony Downey
Registrar: Eddie Crowe
Fixtures Secretary: Martin O’Brien
PRO: Dean Russell
Munster FA Delegate: Michael Guilfoyle
Munster FA Delegate: Donal Magee
Grants & Compliance Officer: Richard Cahill
Women’s Officer: Vacant
Youth Liaison/Child Protection Officer: Vacant
Committee Member: Michael Leahy
Committee Member: Jimmy O’Brien
