Dunboyne well set for the future

Fully aware that the future of any GAA club can only be secured by encouraging the youngsters of today to be the heroes of tomorrow, Dunboyne GAA club took the decision to appoint Teresa Molohan as the club’s dedicated full-time Games Promotion Officer (GPO).

Dunboyne are among the first clubs in Meath to have a full-time GPO appointed who will focus solely on the club’s development.
“It’s a big financial commitment for us as we pay Teresa’s salary along with help from Leinster Council, it’s a 50-50 arrangement,” explained club PRO Brian Howlin.
With over 600 juveniles playing football, hurling and camogie, the club recognised the need to take the route well travelled and get a dedicated GPO in place and oversee the running of what has become a major project.
A fully qualified coach (FETAC Level 7), as well as a distinguished dual player with Ballyboden and a former member of the Dublin ladies football team, Molohan, who is originally from Clare, was deemed the ideal candidate for the post.
“One of the priorities identified by the club - to cater for this growth (in number of young players), as well as support the development of our young players - was this investment in the coaching infrastructure within the club,” commented the club PRO.
To find a precedent for the changes they felt were required to streamline and improve their under-age set up, Dunboyne looked to Dublin, with the GAA scene there now clearly the yardstick for the rest of the country.
They noted how Dublin GAA had established a highly successful GPO model over 10 years ago; a model that included the appointment of full-time coaches to the majority of clubs in the county.
“These coaches divided their time between coaching in local schools as well as spending time with the clubs, helping to ‘coach the coaches,’ “ added Howlin.
Other roles included the delivery of coaching qualifications within the clubs, establishing a coaching curriculum across all age groups as well as co-ordinating club programmes such as Easter and summer camps.
A sub-committee from the Dunboyne club spent time carefully studying the under-age structures in clubs such as Clontarf, Lucan, Castleknock and Kilmacud Crokes and how they had benefited from having a full-time GPO in place.
“While no other county had replicated this model, given the profile of our under-age section and the importance of this investment, the club’s executive was committed to putting in place a full-time coach in the club to replicate the benefits of what we had observed in Dublin,” added Howlin.
“Since her appointment Teresa has established a regular presence in local schools and is busily building up her interaction with our juvenile teams and their coaches.”
At Easter there was a hurling camp and a football camp that attracted 90 boys and girls .
The GPO has also worked with Dunboyne teams as they prepare for the Feile na nGael in venues in Carlow, Kilkenny and Wexford from Friday 16th to Sunday 18th June.
Over the summer three camps will be held, catering for youngsters from five to 15. There will be an emphasis not only on the skills of Gaelic football, hurling and camogie but also health and well-being.
“The establishment of a GPO structure was a big decision for our club, but one which the club’s committee knew we needed to make,” commented Dunboyne chairman Fergus McNulty.
“Given the number of youngsters playing our games, including the number of new mentors now involved in running our teams, we identified the development of coaching standards across the club as one of our most important priorities.
“We believe that this will increase participation and longer-term involvement in our games,” he added.
The chairman pointed out that it was important to supporter team mentors in the club to enable them develop as coaches.
“Coaching teams is a difficult job and we believe the GPO structure will greatly assist our mentors,” the chairman added.
“We are very pleased to welcome Teresa to the St Peter’s, she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to her role and is a great addition to the club,” he concluded.