The Mayo GAA survey closed on Sunday of last week and with 324 completed survey responses we now have a detailed overview on how Mayo supporters feel about events surrounding the outcome of the appointment of the senior Team management and other related matters. Full details of the survey results are available (in pdf form) here.
I would hope that the results of the survey will provide for a continuation of the debate in relation to the County Board in the hope that it will assist in mapping a route forward.
With the recent news that our Chairman will resign at the upcoming Convention one would hope that further resignations will follow. In many ways resignations are but just one part of the solution. What is most important now is who will replace those who have resigned and who will resign in the future. If nothing else the survey has proved that there are many individuals out there who want to assist in a reformed County Board, that I have no doubt.
It may be that I am using my phone but the pdf does not seem to have text after page 4.
Great to see results are out. Intrigued to see what others think.
Well done PJ. I’m sure everyone appreciates the time and effort you went to!
Disappointed at the number of people who done the survey.There are 400 plus = who
will win the club title as if it mattered .Any wonder they call us bottlers and other names
The reason the County Board has got away with this bullshit for 50 plus years is here in this survey for the whole world to see. It is deeply embarrassing to say the least ,
Where are those people you hear shouting at matches, you had a chance here to
show the bottle that is needed to get those people to stand down and get a new
beginning. This opportunity is now lost ,will the county board take heed of this number. They would have to if it was 5000 . Our true colours are showing now ,they are not green and red .
I think it must be your phone (or maybe your network connection), PM_90 – I just checked the link (on a desktop Mac) and the whole pdf loads fine.
Firstly, PJ must be commended for all the effort and thought put into the survey, not to mention compiling the survey results. Secondly, well done also to WJ for keeping this issue to the forefront of our minds and not letting it slip away from the public domain, as I’m sure the CB would love to see happen.
Some very interesting facts have come through the survey results. I’m surprised that it was given the time of day by any CB member, executive or club delegate but a number of those have replied. I would love to know the breakdown of those answers as opposed to the answers given by the rest of us “patsies”. Great to see that the public support is still there for the players with 90% beliving that this group can win the AI, however, we don’t seem so sure that the new management are the ones to do it!
As I’ve said here before, this is NOT about personalities, and the resignations or otherwise of existing CB members should not deflect from that. This is about the future of Mayo GAA.
PJ, once again congrats on your hard work and efforts.
As Ben said above the number of people that took the time to complete the survey is very disappointing. This was a chance to have a voice heard. The survey was advertised by Willie Joe and in local papers so the amount of people that were actually aware of it was quite large. Thousands actually.
PJ, do you intend to follow up on the survey, or is this the end of the line. A message, to be interpreted as those officers in power see fit?
I’m a bit disappointed with the number of responses to be honest. I was expecting 1,000’s by the number of people angered by recent events. Same as always I suppose, a lot of people are all talk and no action, its alright if someone else does the work. Well done PJ for sticking with it and putting all the effort into it.
Fair play to PJ and his work on the survey, the number of people who completed the survey was a lot less than I expected. The most glaring result from it I saw from a quick look over the results was that 82 per cent of respondents said they wouldn’t be willing to take on a position in the county board, with just only 15 in total saying they would be willing to do any of the big three jobs of chairman, secretary or treasurer.
Once again it seems people will talk the talk, but are unwilling to walk the walk to do anything about creating the change they seem to want.
Massive credit must go to PJ and WJ here for doing all the work on the survey and everything else. Maybe the masses really don’t care?
Congrats PJ. With the Co Convention scheduled for Dec 7, the closing date for motions and nominations will probably be towards the end of the November. How many clubs will hold their AGMs in accordance with para 8.3.1 of the Club Manual ie before the end of November. Very few, I suspect and thus we leave the Co Board a clear field to continue into next year with slight tinkering of personnel, whilst the remainder of us continue to gripe and moan. Maybe some clubs will hold special meetings to draft motions and/or suggest nominations. Heres hoping. Once again well done PJ.
Castlebar Mitchels have called a meeting this Thursday to discuss motions and nominations for the County Board AGM.
PJ has done his piece, asked the hard questions and taken the flak and abuse. I know that as a fact. The survey is a snapshot. It’s nowhere near the complete picture but it highlights that people care, people have passion and people are prepared to step up.
Some correctly bemoan that only 320 or so took part but that’s approximately 310 more than the current co board. Once more as a follower I ask that board to now stand down en masse. Clubs now have a snapshot and figures to work with. Don’t be expecting PJ Monaghan to do all the heavy lifting . Well done sir.
Got it now WJ thanks. A train station in Edinburgh is apparently not the place to read the results of the survey!
So the survey basically reflects what we already know and what the Co. Board choose to ignore. Some are complaining that a small no. of people answered, but random sampling etc will show that this will vary little if the sample was 10 or 20 times the size. Well done PJ on putting this together and accumulating the results.
Interesting that most people have no faith in the Co. Board to handle their finances. I still laugh at the 8K check that they “received” from New York.
Another interesting observation is that roughly 50% were living outside the County. The opportunity for fundraising with two away trips (London and New York) every 5 years is massive if only there was someone with any marketing skills or even a little bit of intelligence involved. (8K sigh!!!!)
However the White Elephant – McHale Pk for those of you guessing – will impede Mayos progress for a long time to come. That’s why the fat president Liam O’Neill can make threats like “if Mayo know whats good for them”.
That’s why Mayo will fold and go to Limerick and give the opponents home advantage in an AI semi final.
I know a few people that are opting out of going to games next year after the Limerick and Management fiascos.
i would love to know how the McHale Park Ransom figures pan out next year
Who is going to win match on sun I hope it will be another galway màyo final.
Pj,
Let me start by saying, well done on a great piece of work. You have caused quite a stir in our native county and great to see the majority of those surveyed are, like me, 110% behind you. Has anyone from the Executive tried to contact you or are they just hoping you go away. Where to from here a chara?
mise le meas,
Seamus o’Murchú
opting out of going to games while understandable achieves nothing in the long run …ironically after the limerick debacle i would be more determined than ever to make it to as many games as possible..solely to support the team..
Well done to PJ Monaghan. A lot of time and effort has been given to conclude the survey. The man clearly cares about Mayo GAA and I’m sure every Mayo GAA supporter whether living in or out of our beloved county would only love to see a new, competent and vibrant county board where the emphasis is solely on the promotion of all our teams.
I think Ballintubber will win on Sunday Cait. I don’t think it will be a good game because no club games in October/November are of a decent quality…. But Ballintubbers fitness and younger legs should bring them over the line. I’m hoping so anways!! After winning the championship and the league yesterday against Charlestown, confidence should be high. The game is deferred on tg4 if nobody can make it.
As hoofit states, any survey is a representative sample.
For me, the most interesting statistic was the amount of money people were willing to contribute. Can someone add up the figures?
Interesting survey results even if they are more or less what I was expecting. But where to from here? Not being a Mayo resident or a member of a Mayo club I like many other committed supporters can have no direct influence on events in the county.
Congrats to Achill on reaching the Connacht Junior final – an interesting confrontation between two island clubs – is this a first?
Can anybody shed light on what happened to Ballyhaunis v St Croan’s? They seem to have taken a hammering judging by the result posted on the Connacht website.
It is a disappointing return. But to be honest I think the tone of the questionnaire was wrong. Frankly, not everyone is in a position to take on a role on the county board and that seemed to be the idea – ‘if it is wrong then are you willing to do the job, and which role will you be willing to take?’ Isnt that like saying if you want to express your opinion on the performance of the Taoiseach then you have to be willing to go into politics? But people can express an opinion on performance, without actually having to put their own name forward. I will be honest, I filled in my details, went through the whole thing, and bit by bit it seemed like I was filling out a job application more and more, and frankly, I stopped and didn’t complete it. Im willing to admit that, because it seemed like I was signing up for something that I don’t have time to commit to. I am willing to bet that there are 100s more who done the exact same.
Now before people go giving out, let it be said, that I didn’t have to admit that, I could have let on I filled it in fully (maybe a few are doing that already), but I didn’t, because I feel the reason for the low return was because of this feeling that you were unknowingly signing up for something when in fact you just wanted to express your dissatisfaction.
I was as annoyed as hell as a result of the CB handling of the appointment. However, I didn’t fill the questionnaire because I too was a bit uncomfortable with the way it was constructed.
Nor did I Diehard. As I said before, the appointment process was flawed, County Boards by their nature have a lot of time servers, but also they have people who do the work.
I can’t become involved because I am in Dublin, and though I could go on forever about how I have supported Mayo over 48 years (’66 minor final), what does that prove? Did I do any work to further football in the county at under age or beyond? No. Would I if I was in Mayo. I would like to think yes, but it involves an awful lot of commitment – and you might be so busy, you couldn’t follow the senior team.
Like theMaestro I started to fill in the survey, but also felt there was a flavour of ‘if you are not prepared to do the job yourself then move on’ about it. I do not live in Ireland and have not done for years. However I would not be interested in being involved in the running of the County Board if I was living in Mayo. It would have been dishonest to have given any other impression on the survey.
I feel fully entitled to express my opinion on how it is run though.
typical ye all give out about the county board and want change but have you all noted the amount of people who couldn’t be bothered to volunteer their time to the county board!!
Move on from the matter now because none of you want to do the hard voluntary work that they do and have done.
To me survey was too long and it is clear that PJ does not know what he is talking about when one question referred to the amount of money county board delegates receive.
Wake up PJ its a voluntary organisation!!
mayofan says – Wake up PJ its a voluntary organisation!!
mayofan – you are deluded.
Its people like you that the Co. Boards can spin. No wonder they have it so easy. You should try and have a chat with Shane Curran sometime. That man will enlighten you. and heres another 2 exclamation marks for you!!
Firstly pj well done again on getting a movement going on mayo football.. Where ever it goes it will improve from where we are.
As regards Ballyhaunis match it just proved a game too many for a great bunch of lads. St Cronans were very good and i expect them to go far.
It was not as one sided as the score suggests but thanks to very bad weather conditions and an extremely fussy ref marty duffys brother, ballyhaunis struggled to get going. But it does not take away from a brilliant journey and still Connaught hurling final to go.
Don’t forget that most of these lads have been on the go since january. Total respect to them all and to the management teams. All good decent people.
Go easy there now mayofan when you say ‘ye all’
I live in the county and give a lot of time and energy to the club, working with underage teams, fundraising, working at the pitch and whatever else has to be done. No big deal….No problem, I enjoy it. I go to nearly every county match – home or away. I have a Cairde ticket and will be renewing it.
I didn’t fill the survey and I wouldn’t serve on the co board because that kind of thing is not for me and anyway I doubt if anyone would elect me even if I was interested.
I have no doubt but that most of the co board officers are good, decent, well intentioned individuals. Nonetheless, as an ordinary club man, I would like to see change at co. board level both in personnel and in the way they do things. I have expressed that view at a club meeting, for all the good it will do and I don’t really see what’s wrong with that. I don’t think it invalidates me as a gaa man to hold such an opinion or express it.
That’s me! I’m lucky.
A lot of other Mayo people live outside the county, some in far distant lands, some by choice but many out of economic necessity like my parents had to many many years ago. Those people simply can’t get involved in the co board or with a Mayo club. They are passionate mayo fans too and are entitled to express their opinion and certainly shouldn’t be berated for criticising what they see happening at CB level.
Contrary to what a lot of posters feel I did not think that there was any “flavour” to the survey, particularly of “move on if you’re not interested in serving as an officer”. I’m living outside Mayo for almost 50 years and have always been involved in clubs where I have been living. I have been a Cairde Maigh Eo member since its inception. I have never sought election to any position but never refused nomination. However it would not be possible for me to be involved in a Mayo Club. But, like PJ and several others, that does not remove my right to have and give my opinion on how Mayo Co Board is being run. The handling of the recent manager appointment was so wrong that it is difficult to see how it could have been handled any worse. Similarly the handling of our recent visit to NY seems to have been totally inept. All of which leaves one to wonder what else has been messed up. No doubt those involved have been genuine in their intentions but that is just not good enough. Competence is required.
I would advise my fellow Mayo faithful here to stay clear of the indo. I don’t usually read it myself but a Galway friend of mine decided it would be funny to send me an email this morning with a link to Mr.Breheny’s article in today’s paper.
The Headline reads: The top 75 ‘Stars’ of the last 45 years – and you guessed it, not one Mayo man on it. I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion but this guys biased against Mayo just goes to new levels all the time.
I wonder. No one asked anyone to even hand out a bottle of water. The part of the survey that asked what area people could serve the county in was to demonstrate that there are people out there capable and willing to come forward if given the chance.
JP Kean was once interviewed on a late night radio show. Asked by the presenter why he wouldn’t go forward himself to high office Kean replied along the lines of how do you join a cabal.
Mr Connolly/Connelly?? is favourite to be the next chair. His pitch on the Mayo News was that he wouldn’t canvass (yes, the irony missed me too). He stated that his record of the last nine years would suffice. Does that also include the last two .Mr Feeney ex county sec is mulling his position. He may/may not stand for the chair. Other recent high profile members are said to be considering Connacht Council and Central Council roles. This from a board that have tolerated shite refereeing and fixture cock ups tends to at this stage make me laugh out loud.
PJ Monaghan stood up, alone might I add despite what people might think. Next week Mayo football will meander on in its quaint way. Good players will squeeze enough to give us great days . Finally let down by a county board years behind the curve and when we needed a Loughnane or Cody we settle for less. Statistically Mayos yawn through a poor Connacht for the last 4 years is over. Walshe/Galway and Evans/Ros won’t sweat too much over our dynamic duo. No point next June July bleating about the county board and managers. The moment came and was let go. Fair play to PJ , a man among sheep.
In my lifetime Mayo have walked out in CP to play in eight AIs including the drawn game. Using cold statistics alone at least one should have been won. In my opinion based on my
knowledge of Gaelic football and thinking as objectively as possible, at least three should have been won, 96, 97 and 2012. Arguments could be made for 2013 also, but I will not be too greedy. These games were lost on the day mainly due to a lack of leadership on the pitch and on the sideline. Players and management that should have stepped up on the day did not. At that stage the suits were surperflous.
This is not to excuse the County Board, committees, bureaucrats or whoever else wear the ties, but there were AIs there to be won on certain days and were not. Personally the bureaucracy side of things does not interest me, but that is not to say it is unnecessary.
However if we are to cross the line on AI day and that is what I believe everybody on here passionately wants then I am not sure that office boys deserve a whole lot of our focus.
I think the appoinment of a manager capable of showing the required leadership and a number player leaders out on the pitch to enforce things when the deal needs to be closed is
a must. Unfortunately the appoinment of the manager seems to be in the hands of the bureacrats.
John Cuffe says it all for me really. It is an entire root and branch evaluation of the system that is needed where all the interested bodies i.e. clubs, players, supporters, sponsors etc. have an input to the operation of the county board. The current electoral system only suits those that are in the positions at present and that is by design. We have what we hold is their mantra. There is no path for any fresh blooded open minded individuals to get in to those county board “postions of power” as most clubs would be too fearful of sending forward, as club delegates, an enthusiastic, innovative, “status-quo” challenging type. If you don’t get sent forward as a delegate there is no way you will climb the ladder to CB membership.
The negativity and the mood of futile resignation surrounding the survey results disappoints me. There seems to be a prevailing mood that just because it will be difficult to change and challenge the CB and its structures that maybe it is not worth it and sure we won’t get anywhere with it anyway! Well, pardon my French but FUCK THAT ATTITUDE. Just because someone cannot commit to sitting on the CB or do the duties of CB members does not lessen their right to express their opinion and concern for the future of Mayo GAA. Just because someone does not live within the county does not mean that they should be kept quiet.
This is a special thing we have and, judging by the attitudes expressed here by many, we are going to stand back and watch it be run incompetently and negligently. We are going to dodge the fight and hassle and trouble that will be involved and instead settle for what we have? We are going to repeat our performance of the last ten minutes of the 2013 AI final by meekly accepting our lot as we did when we went missing just when our lads on the field needed us most? You reap what you sow and if the correct structures are not in place and operated efficiently then it is only a matter of time until the present well of talent runs dry. It will be far too late then to go crying about what we should have done. Shudda, wudda, cudda. The words of the loser.
Hon Mayo.
John cuffe says:
I wonder. No one asked anyone to even hand out a bottle of water. The part of the survey that asked what area people could serve the county in was to demonstrate that there are people out there capable and willing to come forward if given the chance.
* in your opinion.
For me, it was a mistake. A survey about the level of satisfaction people have shouldn’t be taking the line of ‘which of the positions would suit you best?’ route. It isn’t about the person doing the survey, it was about the level of the job done by the board already in place. Some people just don’t have the time to fulfil a role like that, in fact there are only a select few who would – which is probably why only a select few actually filled it in. It was supposed to be a survey of the opinions of the people who put these guys forward for these roles – the mayo fans, not a job application for mayo fans to become board members.
Im not trying to be critical of PJ, just trying to give him an idea as to why so few people filled in the survey, as Im sure he is scratching his head as to why the number was so low.
Good posts John Cuffe and Pebbles, but what is the way forward? How do we bring about change?
It looks like PJ has thrown in the towel, frustrated, and as John Cuffe says the opportunity looks to have passed.
Even 33 responses to the survey results says it all. There were plenty of rants a few weeks back and now the sheep are gone hibernating.
“Just because someone cannot commit to sitting on the CB or do the duties of CB members does not lessen their right to express their opinion and concern for the future of Mayo GAA”
I agree with this comment by Pebblemaster. It is not right that we are tarred as sheep. Silly name calling will get us nowhere. We all have lives outside of football. If I had the expertise and time to put myself forward, I would bit look it that is not the way it works. Don’t you need to get nominated by your club to the executive? It is a bit like George Lee expecting a seat at the cabinet after just getting elected to the dail. Unfortunately things don’t work that way and I have no idea how one would change that.
Time to forget about the CB & move on.I have great respect for JH but i fear we lost over the last few years on the sideline. Forget about Limerick as a venue—that was decided way in advance. Kerry showed us how to win dirty. We never learned how to protect a lead.
Two points occur to me.
1, The survey as I recall did give an option of “None” to the question of what responders could contribute to the Co Board as an officer/assistant or financially. It as I recall gave space for comments.
2. There is no point in asking players management to provide leadership if those in position as members of clubs are not prepared to stand up and challenge the status quo. It may not make you friends but is “friendship” the be all and end all of everything? Many people are not in a position to make a contribution at Co Board but many need to remember that what you put in is what you get out and while it may not be convenient to make a commitment somebody has to do so. It has to start at club level.
in my opinion, the laudable initiative taken by PJ was always going to lead to a level of frustration, particularly among those of us who live outside the County and are relatively helpless to do something positive. Our difficulty but also our opportunity now is to take the survey resuts, develope a strategy to improve the “Mayo brand” and try to persuade the new Co Board that it is viable.
The negative experiences of the previous working group’s offering should not discourage us, but may have provided valuable lessons on how to bring about positive change now. Like others and for similar reasons, I did not complete the survey. But, if a viable opportunity to contribute positively arises, i will willingly jump on board.
WJ, are you able to identify the locations of the readership? If you can, those in large population centres like Dublin could possibly meet to discuss a way forward. I expect that the main opinion formers on this blog could suggest interesting strategies that could be adopted and possibly a change of attitude could evolve.
I don’t believe that we can achieve anything positive from shouting abuse at one another, or at the County Board. Maybe, if we try somethng different, we might succeed. And even if we don’t, are we any worse off? .
John Cuffe
I object to the ‘man among sheep’ comment. It is deeply offensive to a huge number of dedicated Mayo gaa people. I also object to you writing off Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes before they have even held one training session. Give them a chance.
Mickk i would be glad to meet up as part of Dublin ex pats. I don’t think PJs ideas are dead and buried. It just takes one man to change things.
Lets keep it going…..
Meet up but who will listen? Kevin McStay didn’t even get an interview remember! He had some credibility. Anonymous posters on a website won’t get a hearing.
Fair play to the Maestro for saying exactly as I did. I had intended to get back to it but I just couldn’t think of what I could do as part of the county board, or how my expertise would fit in with Mayo football finances. I was involved with my club up until this year just gone and some weeks it felt as if there weren’t enough days in them. I do intend to go back into ‘helping out/coaching underage/doing umpire/linesman’ again in the future however.
I’ve been away from the blog for a few weeks, mainly due to work and family. Seems a lot has happened in a few weeks.
I must commend PJ for having the courage! and devoting the time to creating, compiling and publishing the survey. When it came out, I took a quick scan and my initial thought was, it’s too long, but I’ll come back to it….well, I have to come clean, I never did, life got in the way.
My input wouldn’t have mattered that much anyway but thankfully many others did take the time to weigh in with their answers. I found it interesting…most of all the numbers residing outside of the county! And secondly the potential there is from the diaspora regarding “giving”. Adding quick math, those alone who contributed to the survey, I think put it over $40k….that’s significant and should be welcome news to the CBE.
However given the uproar over the managerial appointment and the bungling of the process, I was disappointed with the overall number who participated. No fault of yours PJ. I know personally how difficult it is to rally and motivate people to take action for a cause, even one that is greater and perhaps more serious than this!
But there are people in this world who like to be led! Sheep if you will! And then there are people who are “do’ers” who have the courage to lead. I admire people like this…it takes courage and a drive that’s just not in everyone. Sometimes, it can be a lonely and frustrating place, for you wonder, how come people just don’t get it?
Mister Mayor – But there are people in this world who like to be led! Sheep if you will
Ridiculous comment. We are all led in some way, be it my government or employer. Not everyone has the know how, confidence or experience to lead. That does not make them sheep. What do you want, 100 “leaders” marching toward’s McHale Park. Madness.
County Board are possibly past their sell by date, change needed etc etc I think we’re mainly all agreed on that to some extent or other. The fact remains to be a part of a county board/ club board at a reasonably high level takes a serious commitment, serious dedication and most importantly of all, a serious amount of time. There are only certain people that will do this, and a certain number of people who can do this for a combination of reasons. So your choice is always going to be limited, whether you like the names mentioned or not. If people on here dont even have the time to complete PJ’s survey it again shows that maybe when writing comments on here critical of the county board/ players/ management people may stop for a second and think jeez maybe this man/woman has devoted 60% of his/her year committing to mayo Gaa and cut them just a little slack?!
In my opinion huge change is needed, new faces are certainly needed, but a small bit of respect for the people involved wouldnt go astray either. A bit like politicians, we dont like them but no-one else is putting their hand up (or in a position to put their hand up) to change things or so it would appear. As it stands change has to start through the clubs and their members and go from there, thats the system and thats where any canvassing for change has to happen, and hopefully thats where any willing new faces should emerge
I would go along with the sentiments expressed by Mister Mayor and like to commend PJ for taking the interest and time in compiling and publishing the results of the survey. While the number of respondents could have been greater, I think it nevertheless gives an accurate reflection of the opinions of Mayo followers at the moment. A sample poll of 400 is likely to give the same answers in general as a poll of 4,000. Among the best of Mayo supporters at times you can find a kind of “lethargic indifference” – – – – you will often hear the comments “Why doesn’t he do this” or “Why dont you do that” or “What the frig are they playing at” – – – – – it is much less seldom we hear comments such as “I am going to do this” or “I intend doing that.” We have so many “hurlers on the ditch” in this county – – I have no bother admitting that at times I often fall into this category myself – – it is so easy being an armchair supporter. PJ is a “doer” a man of action who has raised the “bar of awareness” among genuine Mayo supporters and it is to be hoped that as a consequence the club delegates will also have become more aware and think hard about who they are going to install in the key positions at the convention next month. Interesting too that Monsignor James is going to do a weekly piece for the Western People – – hopefully he will use his knowledge and experience to keep up pressure on the CB. In the meantime we have to get behind Noel and Pat – hope they find 3 or 4 good additions to the panel in the league and we will cruise home in 2015!
Pat Murtagh may feel that I have thrown in the towel? The answer Pat is that I haven’t, I just taking a breather for a few days!
Mayofan may feel that I don’t know what I am talking about or I need to wake up to the fact that the GAA is a voluntary organisation!! I wouldn’t like to insult Mayofan in the manner he has just insulted me with a smart reply but if he believes that all people involved in the GAA are volunteers and they do it for the love of the GAA then he needs to think again!
Yes, it was a bit disappointing that only 324 people went to the trouble of completing the Survey. To be honest I don’t know why the number was so low. Some say the survey contained loaded questions; others say it had too many questions, others that it was like a job application and others because they had to put their name to it. I would also add to the above list by saying that the majority of people just didn’t really care enough to make the effort because if they did they would have taken the 10 minutes necessary to complete the Survey.
Or maybe the whole water charges issue was just a bit more important!! Who really knows and I don’t have the time to do another Survey to try and find out why so few did the Survey!
Anyway, the Survey served a purpose for me. Its primary purpose was to measure how people felt on relevant matters relating to recent events in Mayo GAA including how many people would like to get involved in assisting Mayo GAA by either sitting on the County Board or taking up an Advisory role. At 324 surveys (believe it or not) it provide for a 90%+ confidence level https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/sample-size/
If 324 people turned up for a meeting to discuss what had just happened in Mayo GAA then I would be delighted so I shouldn’t be overly disappointed that only 324 completed the Survey.
The Survey is over and we now have the results and in many ways I don’t think the outcome would be that much different had 5,000 people completed the Survey.
In the meantime I have had calls from Paddy McNicholas and emails form Mick Connelly (or is it Connolly). They are trying to bring Sean Feeney out of retirement, James Waldon is also coming back. More on that later……
So where to next people have asked?
I have sent the Survey results to the County Board and the Clubs with the following cover email;
FAO Mayo County Board Executive & Mayo GAA Clubs
Results of Survey attached.
A few key points to note;
1. 86% of those who completed the Survey believe that the County Board has lost credibility to fundraise on behalf of Mayo GAA.
Those who have stated that they are willing to support Mayo GAA financially but will not do so for as long as the current regime is in place totals a minimum € 30,000 per annum. As some respondents have stated that they are willing to give more than €1,000 per annum the € 30,000 figure is a minimum. If this is the view of just over 300 people who completed the Survey then one can only imagine the damage done to the credibility of our County Board to fundraise.
2. 86% of those who completed the Survey believe that an Independent Supporters Club would have more credibility to fundraise on behalf of Mayo GAA
3. 97% of those who completed the Survey believe that detailed information surrounding the development of McHale Park should be made public
4. 93% of those who have read the Draft Strategic Plan want to see it implemented
5. 74% of those who completed the Survey believe the Clubs are fearful of the County Board
6. 87% of those who completed the Survey believe that the interview Committee deliberately mislead Mayo Supporters in relation to events surrounding the appointment of the new Senior Management Team
7. 58 people stated that they would be willing to get involved in a reformed County Board
8. 90% of those who completed the Survey believe that we need to move to full time paid Professionals to run the affairs of Mayo GAA
9. Only 4% of those who completed the Survey believe that the debt level on McHale Park will have no impact on the future of Mayo GAA
10. A significant number of people who completed the Survey stated that they would be willing to support a reformed County Board in an Advisory Capacity
11. 197 people stated that they would be willing to attend a protest against the County Board at the upcoming Convention
12. Only 36% of those who completed the Survey believe that our New Management Team has what it takes to win an All-Ireland in the next 3 years while 89% of those same people believe that the team has what it takes to win an All-Ireland in the next 3 years
13. 74% of those who completed the Survey believe that Mike Connelly should not become Chairman of our County Board for as long as his brother Noel Connelly is involved with the management of the senior football team.
I will provide you all with additional information at a later date as to why I don’t believe the Clubs should elect Mike Connelly as our next Chairman.
14. Only 7% of those who completed the Survey believe that our Coaching Structures are best in class
To the Mayo GAA Clubs
Can I ask you to please consider the following;
1. Put forward a motion for the adoption of the Draft Strategic Plan at the upcoming Convention. Please give Clubs the opportunity to vote on this critical document as it is the only plan which exists to protect the future of Mayo GAA.
2. Please put forward interested individuals from your Club to contest all positions on the County Board Executive
3. Please meet in advance of the upcoming Convention to discuss the Draft Strategic Plan and the results of the Survey
4. Please mandate your Club Delegate to vote in a particular way at the upcoming Convention
The power rests with the Clubs to bring about change and the future of Mayo GAA depends on all Clubs using this power in the best interests of Mayo GAA.
In concluding for now, next Sunday is an important day as we will see if any new faces come forward and seek election to the County Board. In the meantime please consider the following……
The County Board have done a deal with Paddy McNicholas to take the hit for them in return for a seat on the Connacht Council and Mike Connelly (or is it Connolly) is going for Chairman.
Big question still remains unanswered……..
Who orchestrated and implemented the plan in relation to the appointment of the Senior Team Management? Did Mike Connelly (or is it Connolly) play a part in this or was it just Paddy McNicholas?
It’s important to note that 39% of those are not affiliated with any club. That is substantial. Grassroots is where it starts. I don’t put much credence in those who aren’t even in their own club which generally struggles to meet the basic bills on a monthly basis, yet piss and moan ad nauseam but yet don’t support their own.
I lived abroad for 3years yet was a member of my club and continue to pay the small fee every year since I returned 6yrs ago. No excuse as far as I’m concerned.
In no way do I agree with how the CB handled the situation for the record.
Well P.J.
Please enlighten us as why you don’t, want Mike Connolly as chairman? As of now its a 2 horse race between Mike Connolly and former retired secretary Sean Feeney. If you don’t want Connolly then you are saying that Sean Feeney is the person for chairman.
You were advocating that all the board should step down and it appears now you want a retired person for position. I said in an earlier blog that actions speak louder than words.
Put your name forward for chairmanship as you will only have to come down once every month for board meeting. Now that is not asking much and you would get travelling expenses. Its only 6 hours once a month. Maybe you could visit John Gallagher in Aughleem and visit the fine facility and wonder how lucky ye were that Shell was so generous. Also it may be sour grapes that you don’t want Mike Connolly as chairman. Personally I would have Connolly any day over Feeney. Now don’t disappoint and put your name forward and we hope to hear you at convention,
True Grit – can you back off on the baiting? It’s not that difficult to make the points you want to get across in a less catty way so please keep the personal barbs out of it in future or else you’ll be heading for another turn on the naughty step.
My apologies if I was baiting P. J. In his blog he states “The County Board have done a deal with Paddy Mc Nicholas to take a hit for them and in return a seat on Connacht Council and Connolly is going for chairman” Can P.J prove this statement and if so let him back it up with facts or apologise . Its a serious charge to make. Also he wanted to know ” Who orchestrated and implemented the plan of senior team management, did Mike Connolly play a part or was it just Paddy Mc Nicholas/. Again he is assuming that it was either both or one was totally responsible for implementing this plan. Again another red herring. Paddy Mc Nicholas and county board have made those facts known.
I hate it when somebody makes a statement purporting it to be fact, without any back up. He then wants to know was it Chairman and Vice Chairman who orchestrated and implemented the senior team management. If he has all the information it would not be hard to find out who put this plan in place as this was explained by county board prior to new manager being interviewed and appointed. I can agree with some of his points but he then sets himself up as judge and jury.
That’s fine, True Grit – I’ve no wish to stifle debate or to prevent legitimate challenges being made to what’s been said by others. I just want to keep the tone of the debate on an even keel.
Surrey is totally unscientific and unrepresentative by its very nature