‘Sometimes expectations are high, but that won’t stop us!’
New County Board chairperson Thomas Murray spoke to Seamus Duke about challenges on and off the pitch… and New York
St Dominic’s GAA clubman Thomas Murray took over one of the most demanding roles in Roscommon sport in December when he succeeded Brian Carroll to become the new Cathaoirleach of Roscommon GAA County Board.
With the trip to the ‘Big Apple’ for the senior footballers coming up next week, it was timely to chat to Thomas – who is principal of Ballyforan NS – about both his new role and the impending New York trip.
Role of chairperson
We spoke first about the scale of the role of a County Board chairperson.
“It’s not just running hurling and football… as a lot of people might think. There is finance, infrastructure and much more involved. It’s becoming almost a full-time job. It’s a huge responsibility. But there are great people involved in running the County Board.
“It’s only when you look at the yearly balance sheets and accounts that you realise how big it is. It’s like running a fairly big business. A lot of people don’t realise how big it is, but look, someone has to do it and we are really lucky that we have great people on the board, and we have great office staff as well – and that’s key.”
Biggest challenges
So what are the biggest challenges facing Roscommon GAA at the present time?
“There are a few… but on the infrastructure front, we need to get our Centre of Excellence (Racecourse Road, Roscommon) started and finished as soon as we can. I know we have been talking about it a long time but a lot of work on that is going on in the background so when all the funding is ready we can start immediately.
“At the moment, the only thing standing in our way is the IIP (Immigrant Investment Programme) funding which comes from the Department of Justice. If that comes through we will be ready to start. We have already secured a €5.5m grant from the Large Scale Sport Infrastructure Fund. There are no shovels in the ground yet, but we expect that there will be before the end of this year.
“It is so important that we develop that project as soon as possible. In addition to our seniors, we have our minors, U-20s development squads and all the other county teams – and they are looking for training facilities day and night.
“Our clubs have been very good in that regard and we have been using the Connacht Centre of Excellence and the centre in Glenamaddy as well. Once the project gets started it will take two to three years to complete.”
Hyde Park update
A lot of money has been spent on Dr Hyde Park over the past few years. I asked Thomas for an update.
“We have spent over €2m in Hyde Park in recent years. But we have more work to do. We are putting in new wheelchair toilet facilities in the next few weeks. We also have plans to develop the area under the stand as our toilet facilities are not up to standard (there).
“We have made great progress in Hyde Park in recent years. The pitch itself is one of the best in the country and we will continue to develop the ground as we go along.”
Amalgamation plans
Another major challenge for the GAA in general, including in Roscommon, is the proposed amalgamation of all codes under the one ‘umbrella’.
“The amalgamation proposals are probably the biggest challenge facing the association. First to say, I am pro-amalgamation. I feel that every boy and girl should be treated equally in our association. There is a lot of work we can do on the ground to make that a reality” Thomas commented, referencing communications and fixtures.
“But this is coming down the road fast and furious. I was at an amalgamation workshop last week in Carrick-on-Shannon and all the timelines were laid out. We will see changes from the next county convention onwards. Amalgamation will happen and in my view it has to happen.”
On the pitch…
Roscommon’s county teams continue to shine at all levels and the new County Board chairperson is full of praise for everyone involved.
“With regard to our senior footballers… Mark Dowd (manager) came on board this year and they are making great strides. The main aim at the start of the year was to remain in Division One and we did that in great style and we are now looking forward to the championship.
“I also want to mention our senior hurlers who have done very well and were unlucky not to have been promoted in the league. Our minor and U-20 footballers are all doing well too and we have a lot to look forward to. Roscommon are a county that competes very well at inter-county level. Sometimes expectations are high, but that won’t stop us.”
In praise of Scór
Thomas spoke about his special grá for Scór na nÓg, a dimension of the GAA that first attracted him to the organisation and its activities.
“I have been involved in Scór for a long time. I was county secretary at 18 (years of age) and progressed along after that, becoming Culture Officer and Development Officer before becoming Vice-Chairman.
“I always say that Scór is the one aspect of the GAA that makes us different as an organisation. Every other sporting body has their sport but we have the cultural aspect as well, which is fantastic. There is something for everyone in it.”
New York calling
With regard to the impending visit to New York, Thomas says it’s a marvellous occasion for the supporters, but a huge drain on the finances of the county board.
“We are all looking forward to the trip but the financial reality is that it will cost about €130,000 to send the team over. We get a grant of €50,000, so you can see how much of a shortfall there is. We are hoping that the Club Rossie function that is on on the Friday night will help in that regard. There is great support for it already and hopefully it will be a big success. We would be calling on all Roscommon GAA supporters to try to support us on the night.”
Roscommon have had many loyal sponsors over the years. The two major sponsors have been Sean Mulryan of Ballymore and Tom Hunt of Ranger Pipelines. There will be a private function in New York on the Thursday night when the county board will honour the support of Tom and Mary Hunt over the years.
“Tom Hunt has made a huge contribution to Roscommon GAA over the years. He is not a man who seeks the limelight or wants credit but we are delighted to be able to do something to honour him next week. We honoured Sean Mulryan last year so it is only right and proper that we honour Tom Hunt in the same way.
“The trip is a great social occasion. There are a lot of Roscommon people travelling over and we will meet the expats there as well. It’s great to see so many going out and we wish them all a safe journey and hope they enjoy their weekend.
“We are hoping to win the match and set up a clash against Mayo who have London to play on the same weekend. We won’t take New York for granted at all. The last time we were there – ten years ago – it was a very close match (one point in it) so we hope that it might be a bit more clearcut this time. We are all looking forward to the trip now.”
Squad on countdown to New York opener
Roscommon senior footballers will travel to the Big Apple on Thursday (April 9th) for their Connacht SFC quarter-final against New York which will be played at Gaelic Park on Sunday, April 12th (throw-in is 3 pm local time (8 pm Irish time).
Following their recent Allianz Football League defeat to Mayo in Castlebar, it is expected that Roscommon will be recalling the likes of Enda Smith, Diarmuid Murtagh, Dylan Ruane, Ronan Daly, Keith Doyle, and Eoin Ward to the team for this championship opener.
Speaking after the Mayo game, manager Mark Dowd indicated that although they were recovering from their injuries, Ruaidhrí Fallon and Brian Stack were unlikely to see game time against the exiles (but were back in training). Eddie Nolan is out long-term due to an ankle injury.
However, there is better news about Cian McKeon, who is also back in training. It remains to be seen if the Boyle man will take any part in the action in The Bronx.
New York have been competing in the Connacht SFC since 1999, when they debuted against Mayo in Castlebar.
Since 2002, New York have played their championship games against one of the Connacht counties on home ground at Gaelic Park every year. When New York played Sligo in 2002 it was the first senior football championship game played on US soil since the famous All-Ireland final between Cavan and Kerry in 1947, hosted at the Polo Grounds.
Roscommon’s first championship trip to New York was in 2006 when the visitors won by 1-14 to 0-9. In 2011 Roscommon had a very comfortable win in New York, 3-21 to 1-11.
But in 2016, New York almost pulled off a sensational shock result when they ran Kevin McStay and Fergal O’Donnell’s side to a point, Roscommon 1-15 New York 0-17.
There were no games involving New York in the championships of 2020 or 2021 because of the Covid pandemic, which meant that Galway and Roscommon missed out on the cyclical trips. The series was resumed in 2022 when Sligo travelled over and won by 1-16 to 0-15.
New York scored an historic win in 2023 when they defeated Leitrim on penalties after the sides ended level on 0-15 apiece after extra-time. New York went on to face Sligo, who defeated them by 2-16 to 0-6.
Roscommon will be anxious to guard against any complacency when they travel stateside as their hosts have proven in the past that they can be very tough opponents, particularly if the visitors in a given year are below their best on the day.