February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
New York’s finest dotted Stamford’s lineout, Jason Killeen, Kevin Newell, Fergal O’Neill, and Eric Bradley comprising just a partial listing. With three-time champions Donegal duly vanquished, Stamford appeared poised to be a major player on the New York scene for years to come.
Those hopes were dashed as the Celtic Tiger proved to be too much of a lure for Stamford’s small panel to survive in New York’s top flight. Stamford, which also fielded a Junior B team last season, will not fade entirely from view as they seek to continue with their remaining team in the Junior A ranks.
A potential opponent in the Junior A Division would be the newly minted Tyrone/Fermanagh amalgamation. Facing the same numbers problems that are plaguing so many Gotham squads, these Ulster neighbors have chosen to pool their resources for the 2005 campaign. Teams have gone this route in times of crisis throughout the years and some have come back to thrive in their original form after conditions improved.
It was against this backdrop that the New York GAA accepted the application of new Four Provinces club to go directly into the Senior Football B division. New York GAA Chairman Seamus Dooley told the Echo, “This is an excellent idea, especially with clubs dropping out on us.” Although teams have always had to start at the Junior B level and work their up to the Senior Division, Dooley believes that “Four Provinces are too strong for the Juniors.”
Further muddying the issue is the confusion surrounding the club’s home base. Club secretary Brian Marion attempted to clear things up. The team has been described as the Donegal team of Philadelphia. But as Marion explained, several players from the Donegal squad were prepared to leave the team, the only Senior squad in Philadelphia.
Marion dismissed suggestions that this is simply the Donegal/Philadelphia team with a new address.
“Eight or nine of the 22-man panel we handed in played with Donegal [Philadelphia] last season,” Marion said. “But Donegal have not folded and will be playing this season in Philadelphia.”
Marion added that Four Provinces draws players from all over New Jersey and hold training sessions in Trenton. The distinction matters because Philadelphia is under North American Board jurisdiction, while New Jersey is under the auspices of the New York GAA.
The management of New York’s county teams was also making news, led by the abrupt resignation of Anthony Gaughan as football manager. Barry O’Neill was quickly named to take over from Gaughan. O’Neill has been highly praised for his work as the team’s physical trainer in getting New York ready for their FBD victory over Sligo last October. Now O’Neill will be the head man as New York prepares for the huge challenge of hosting Galway on May 15th.
Pat Scanlon, the manager of that FBD-winning New York team and currently a selector, believes that O’Neill is the right man for the job. “Barry knows the players as well as anyone,” said the former supremo, “and I am confident that he will do a good job.”
As for the hurlers, they finally have a manager. Incumbent Monty Maloney has agreed to take the helm with training likely to get under way this week with time running short before Antrim comes to town May 22.
In other developments, Dooley told the Echo that Budweiser will be sponsoring a series of individual and team awards for New York’s top players. Football and hurling teams will be selected as will a player of the year in each division from U-10 through Senior hurling and football. All honorees will have to be New York based, excluding weekend and sanctioned players from the awards.
The transfer market was quieter than in years past, but there are still some big names on the move. Clare look to be the biggest players in this year’s market reeling in three of Stamford’s biggest guns. The additions of Jason Killeen, Kevin Newell and Eric Bradley to a team that made it to the semi finals in their first year in the top flight make Clare a team to watch in the new season.
Down Juniors were also busy and the Mournemen figure to rebound strongly from their dismal 2004 season with a recruiting class headed by Mark Dobbin and Eugene O’Hagen.
All remains quiet on the Randall’s Island front, with the long-awaited meeting between lawyers for the New York GAA and RIGS expected to finally take place in the next couple of weeks.