(The following was submitted by the incumbent chairman of the New York GAA, Seamus Dooley, who is running for re-election on December 4.)

Under the chairmanship of Seamus Dooley the New York GAA Board has had vibrant year. The county teams in hurling and football played more inter county games than ever before, culminating in the games at the interprovincial hurling championship in Boston.

The games included Westmeath, as winners of the Christy Ring Cup, against whom New York hurlers were highly successful beating them by four points. The suggestion that the New York teams should already be in place for next year fails to appreciate that the players need some rest and down time after a long hard season with their clubs and with the county.

An exciting development for the players was the creation of the first New York GAA all-star awards. Sponsored by Budweiser, this was an acknowledgement of the excellent standard of football and hurling that was demonstrated by the players during the year. It was also an acknowledgement of their hard work and dedication to their clubs.

The promotion of games to the younger age groups continues, and relationships between the New York Minor Board and the Senior Board are at an all time high.

The Minor Board played all their finals in Gaelic Park, both boards organized a referees’ course run by Pat McEnaney and a coaching course run by John Tobin, the Senior Board sponsored kit for the Feile Peil na NOg team that went to Ireland, and had them play in Gaelic Park before the Connacht Championship in May.

Significant improvements were made to Gaelic Park, including the addition of a new dressingroom and the construction of a canopy to protect the fans from the weather. First aid kits sponsored by All-Boro floors were made available to every club.

The board, after a number of years of inaction, was able to make significant movement in the Randall’s Island development. Under the chairmanship of former GAA President Peter Quinn, and with three members of the New York Board appointed to the RIGS committee, the project moved ahead to the extent that a construction manager was doing preliminary work on the site. The important aspect of fundraising continues.

While previous New York GAA administrations had plans for installing playgrounds in Gaelic Park and finding a pitch in the Yonkers area, none of which came to fruition, it is fair to say that the board made significant progress in a number of areas this year and intends to continue to do so under the chairmanship of Seamus Dooley in 2006.

New York GAA Board Candidates...

The following are the candidates for the New York GAA Board for 2006.

The election will take place on Sunday, December 4 at the Riverdale Steakhouse.

Chairman: Seamus Dooley (Monaghan), John Moore (Westmeath).

First Vice Chairman: Paddy Gormley (Leitrim), John Riordan (Kerry).

Second Vice Chairman: Brendan O’Sullivan (St. Barnabas), Eugene Kyne (Astoria Gaels).

Secretary: Larry McCarthy (Sligo, unopposed).

Treasurer: Paul Tuffy (Galway FC, unopposed).

Financial Secretary: Tom Nugent (Galway HC, unopposed).

Registrar: Joan Henchy (Kerry, unopposed).

Sergeant at arms: Joe Prunty (Leitrim, unopposed).

Custodian: John Cox (Roscommon, unopposed).

Auditors: Frank Molloy (Donegal), Mark McAllister (Armagh), Greg McIntyre (Derry), Donie O’Sullivan (Cork), Geraldine O’Brien, Peter McKiernan (Cavan).

Trustees: Paul Levins (Roscommon), Damian Devlin (Tyrone), Tom Lilly (Donegal), Tom Fahey (Waterford).