Injury Time . . . with Jerome O'Connell

LA na gClub appears to have been a success for most clubs throughout the county on Sunday last. So much so that perhaps an annual La na gClub could be incorporated into the GAA calendar.


Least we forget, the founding fathers of the association were not looking to create a highly charged competitive and financial driven organisation. Surely, the GAA should explore the possibility of one day each year, which has the club as the centrepiece - a day when competition and fund-raising are left on the back burner.
For the most part, Limerick was free of competitive games on May 10. Limerick officials were forced to break with their initial wishes and had to refix one SFC game for the Sunday evening. In other counties, there was no such blanket ban on competitive fixtures. Tipperary, for one, played a number of hurling championship games at varying times throughout the day.

Two new websites of interest
TWO new websites of interest came online in the past week. Of greatest interest is the newly designed and eagerly awaited Official Limerick GAA website - www.limerickgaa.ie
If continually updated, www.limerickgaa.ie can be the first port of call for club officials, players and supporters.
The website looks well and is easily navigated.
Perhaps most impressive is a programme which enables all referees to update the results of matches via a text from a mobile phone and therefore bringing immediate updates to the website. There is also a facility for clubs to post their weekly notes and relevant pictures.
The addition of the new-look County Board website brings to three the number of relevant sites for Limerick GAA. Limerick GAA County Bord na nOg have www.bordnanog.limerick.gaa.ie while Limerick GAA Coaching & Games Committee have www.limerickgaacoaching.ie
Aside from the local sites, the Munster Council website - www.munster.gaa.ie - has also received a face-lift in the past week.

Ahane hit the television screens
AHANE GAA club is to hit the television screen on Friday May 22, when RTE’S ‘Pride Of The Parish’ focuses on the famed east Limerick club. ‘Pride Of The Parish’ on RTE One on Fridays at 8.30pm is a new six-part series following some of GAA’s best-known faces as they explore what their local clubs mean to them.
Already the Canning’s of Portumna and Galway and Tyrone’s All-Ireland winning football manager Mickey Harte have formed the centrepiece of programmes.
The Ahane programme will be the last in the current series. Inter-county brothers Ollie and Niall Moran will provide much of the interview content, with many a reference to Mick Mackey.

Match day package
MANY have commented how the GAA has fallen behind Munster rugby in terms of the ‘entire match day package’.
The Munster Council appear to have moved somewhat to enhance some aspects surrounding the forthcoming games. At the launch of the provincial championships in Lismore Castle in Waterford last week, a number of new initiatives were unveiled. Thankfully, officials have moved to make it more affordable for supporters to attend.
Family ticket allocations will now be available for all games and will include all sections of ground.
To add a bit of welcome colour, county flags have been commissioned and will be distributed free of charge to all children attending the early stages of Munster GAA Senior Championship games. Also to reward those who are regular match-goers, reduced priced ticket packages will be available to supporters who follow both hurling and football teams in their counties.
At the launch of the championships, it was also confirmed that Semple Stadium Thurles will host the Munster senior hurling final on July 5 - regardless of the finalists. A special Sunday Game programme on RTE is to be based around the decider as part of the continuing 125 celebrations.