*Mary Kearney, Olivia Cullinan-Hickey and Sarah O’Neill.
CLARECASTLE GAA has entered a new era with an all-female top table assuming the main positions within the club.
Existence of the GAA in Clarecastle stretches back to October 1887 with records noting the involvement of Killone hurling club and Clarecastle football club in a funeral procession of a Clarecastle Fenian in March 1888.
A new page in the history of Clarecastle was turned on Saturday with the election of a first female Chairperson with Olivia Cullinan-Hickey succeeding Niall Tuohy. Mary Kearney’s second year as Secretary together with the election of Sarah O’Neill as Treasurer means the three core roles on the Executive are all filled by women.
Clare FM reporter Daragh Dolan continues as the club’s communications officer while Cllr Tommy Guilfoyle (SF) who himself appears frequently on the local radio station’s airwaves was returned as County Board delegate.
Speaking to The Clare Echo, Olivia pointed to the ongoing intergration plans between the GAA, LGFA and Camogie Association as an added incentive to become Chairperson. “It feels great in the sense that it is I just asked the question was there an appetite for having a female Chair, I was told there was, people came back to say they would nominate me, they went ahead and it progressed from there. It was always something I thought about, there’s a reluctance to take the seat in any environment or type of system, there’s a situation of people not willing to go ahead, the amalgamation is coming along with LGFA and camogie and I thought this was something that should happen and I was confident that I could fill the role”.
Outgoing Chairman Tuohy forms part of a “fantastic support network,” she said. “He’s led the club in a great way, he is a stalwart of the club and has been there for many years, I’m grateful for his guidance and support. There has been a great handover, I’m excited and I am looking forward to step into the role and continue the progression”. The opening of a full-size Astro pitch during Tuohy’s tenure has provided the club with a facility used by inter-county teams within and outside of Clare.
Not alone is Olivia the first female Chairperson but the outcome of Saturday’s AGM marked the first instance when at the same time the Chair, Secretary and Treasurer were all women. “It is historic in many ways,” she acknowledged. Mary enters her second year as Secretary with Sarah put forward to replace Mark McNamara who has been praised for helping to put the club in a strong financial position. “We’re in a reasonably good position, it is great to have these changes coming in at the time they are coming in, there has been fantastic work done over the years, we’re looking at continuing that”.
Others to depart the Executive include, John Casey (Vice Chairman), Edel Mee (Child Protection Officer), Martin McNamara (Field Manager), John Fogarty (Green Officer) and Patrick Kelly (Player Representative).
A native of Ennis, Olivia has been involved with the club since 2021. “I have been involved with the club from a coaching viewpoint. I was a Mammy attending the club with my kids, it was around COVID that I went in and started doing the coaching courses, I said I’d help out because I was there anyway and I wanted to contribute. I had the historic skills of football and camogie in me, I played till the age of eleven but I had to stop due to a very serious knee injury. When the post of Registrar became available in the club in 2024, I felt I’d be able to do it from my experience working within fraud risk and compliance systems”.
Forty seven year old Olivia is married to Ronan Hickey and his family have held a strong association with the GAA club. Their children, Cillian and Emilia line out with the club’s U14 and U10 sides respectively. “I think they are still a bit shocked, they are a bit excited but I don’t think they know what to make of it, they were both shocked and delighted,” she said of her children’s reaction to her becoming Chairperson. “It is just helping out the community, like the team on the field we’re a team on the Executive, there is not anyone standing out in particular we just have one person steering the ship, the kids are delighted but they didn’t expect me to go do something like that. I’ve said it is an example to get involved”.
Community involvement and its benefits is something Olivia’s father Tony has taught her all about. “I volunteered and got involved because my father was big into the community, he was a founding member of St Francis Credit Union, he sat on the Board for fifty years and retired in his eightieth year. He is a former President of the Irish League of Credit Unions and my sense of volunteerism comes from my Dad”.
Completing “a clear handover” is the initial focus for Olivia as Chairperson. “I want to speak with people on the ground, to the Executive, get the lie of the land, because I was Registrar that was the main area I focused on so I need to get a general overview of where we are as a club. The way I see it, the club has moved in the right direction with development but also in the right direction with developing teams and players, we’ve started to reach finals so it is about continuing to drive it forward. We’ve fantastic facilities but we must continue the development with our players. My main focus is to continue the progress over last three years and build on that. The main reason we’re there as officers is to develop our players and to help them whether that is from the youngest to our adults”.
Clarecastle GAA Executive:
Chairperson: Olivia Cullinan-Hickey
Vice Chairperson: TBC
Secretary: Mary Kearney
Assistant Secretary: Mark Cunningham
Treasurer: Sarah O’Neill
Assistant Treasurer: TBC
Communication Officer/PRO: Daragh Dolan
Registrar / Membership Officer: Fiona McGonnell
Child Protection Officer: Charlene Lynch
Field Manager: Niall Tuohy
Development Officer: Tadhg Collins
County Board Delegate: Tommy Guilfoyle
Purchasing Officer: Michael Ryan
Irish/Cultural Officer: Síle Ní Dheargáin
Irish Youth Cultural Officer: Eoin Vaughan
Underage Chairman: Patrick Hayes
Camogie/LGFA Chairman: Joe Quinn
Child Welfare Officer: Charlene Lynch
Coaching Officer: Kieran Lynch
Adult Activity Officer: Fergie Tuohy
Player Representative: Stephen O’Halloran
Health Promotion Officers: John Galvin & Paul Murphy
Green Officer: Ciaran Tiernan
Facilities Officer: James McMahon
