Introduction
This year’s Report offers an overview of Club activities throughout the year, acknowledges the great work of our Coaches, Team Admins and all other volunteers while not forgetting the great enjoyment from watching all our players display their Camogie, Hurling and Football skills.   
 We, of course, acknowledge that there are many challenges to be addressed, largely driven by our growth but we think of these as opportunities to improve things both on and off the pitches.   

To start with the obvious!  
During the year, the Club signed a contract to purchase the Cornelscourt pitches from Foxrock Parish while guaranteeing continued access for other permitted users. As you are all aware, that Contract closing is on hold as St Brigid’s Rugby Club take a legal action against the Parish, so we will await patiently the outcome of that process.  Our younger members are ‘designing’ their Field of Dreams so hopefully we can start acting on these aspirations and those of our adult members in the very near future. The club would like to acknowledge the tireless work of the volunteers in Foxrock Parish who are managing this complex situation.

Review of 2024 on the field of play
While most competitions are finished, our season is not! 
 Our U16 Footballers have a final on 23 November having already won their league. They also (in tandem with Shankill GAA as Southern Gaels) won their Hurling league. 
 Not to be outdone, our U12 boys also won both their Hurling and Football leagues! 
 Congrats also to our U13 Girls who won their Shield competition. 
 Of course, it goes without saying that our Adult Ladies got promoted again!  That’s one part of the annual report that we just copy and paste every year! 
 They are tremendous role models for our ever-increasing number of female members.  Also, our G4MO’s celebrate 5 years in existence, all signs of development in our Club. 

Our Adult men’s 1st team did cement their position in Division 4 but suffered Championship relegation.   The achievement of the team in achieving and retaining Division 4 status has been acknowledged outside our club and is a source of great pride, especially to those who have coached the players during their journey at both juvenile and adult levels. 

 

Our Hurling teams have excelled throughout the year with trophies, county representations and great performances abounding. In a short period, we have established ourselves as a dual club and great praise is due to those who have made this happen on and off the field. 

 

In 2023 we entered our first camogie teams in over sixty years and this year we have three teams from under 10 downwards, all of whom are performing to a very high standard. Watch this space for their progress in the years to come. 

 

Well done to all our players, coaches and administrators, each and every team wears our colours with pride and we look forward to supporting them in 2025.

 

All our teams and members are equally important but we take great pride in a new team who have enriched our club in the past year. 
The Gers All Stars have, with great gusto, kicked off their GAA journey this year. The team, which is for children who welcome some additional help, have enthusiastically displayed their athletic skills every Saturday. Many thanks to Anna Martin and her coaches for their leadership in making this happen. We would also like to acknowledge the support and encouragement from Gwen O’Looney Acting Sports Inclusion Disability Officer in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Council who was a very welcome guest at our end of season celebration in June. 

 

 

It is worth noting that, while we are always happy to welcome players transferring in when they move to our area, there is a special satisfaction when players who have grown and stayed playing with our Club then go on to play with our adult teams. Did you know that on numerous occasions last year we had 12 ‘home grown’ boys starting on our Adult Men’s first team – and 3 pairs of brothers!   In the past year alone, numerous players made their debut at men’s senior level having come through the juvenile ranks. Congrats to Luke Mason, Jack Purcell, Kyle Tormey, Dara Claffey, Mark Maguire who debuted at Senior Football and to Aryn Kelly who debuted on our Adult Hurlers.  
 
 

Next year, 2025, will be the first time ever that The Gers have fielded a LGFA Minor team, another great achievement and all thanks to devoted coaches and parents. Within a couple of years, we will have a whole group of girls – Gers Girls their whole sporting lives - playing Adult football.  This year saw two girls, Gemma Horan and Aoibheann Hudson make their senior team debuts having started as juvenile members. Well done to both of them and to their coaches and parents. 

Hopefully we can say the same about Camogie in a few years. 

 

Our U10 Girls got to Croke Park for a Blitz in July – a lifetime memory no doubt.

 

In 2024 we had a number of players who played on County teams and we congratulate them and also the players who represented us in trial matches at county levels.   Cian O’Brien, Emma O’Callaghan and Jack Dolan all represented Dublin during the year. 
 
 In terms of teams, we had 28 teams lining out in competitions from go-games to adult men and women. 

 Adult Teams    :     3 Football Teams (2 Male, 1 Female),  1 Hurling Team
Juvenile Boys & Girls  :  
15 Football teams from Under 8 to Minor  and 9 Hurling & Camogie teams from Under 8 to Under 16
Academy : Catering for 120 kids (4- to 7-year-olds).

 

In addition to this, we also have the G4MOs and the Dads & Lads, so in total there were 30 active teams in the club in 2024.

Coaching standards
Our coaching group led by Lead coach Declan Flood and supported by Eoin, Finbarr and Johnny have provided great support to our coaches. The focus on upskilling and supporting our coaches is producing great results. We have had more parents moving from Admin support to coaching having attended a Foundation Level Coaching qualification but also showing a great interest in attaining Level 1 & Level 2 coaching standards. 
33 additional coaches will have achieved Foundation level this year.  4 additional Coaches will have attained Award 1 level this year. 
A new Coaching policy is in place for 2025, setting mandatory levels for coaches and head coaches for each group from juvenile youth to adult,  firmly establishing the Gers coaching pathway and it's tenets.

We also implemented a new policy further safeguarding our youth LGFA players and keep them firmly on their player pathway. 

1 internal coaching workshop was completed with further planned for 2025 to improve internal coach communication, share skills and drive open discussion on a club-wide focus on coaching standards.

A thank you also to our local sister clubs who have facilitated our members in attending their courses. 

The Summer Skills program was a big hit in its second year as was evidenced by the request for more coaches to help. It is a great way for our children to practice in the summer and for different age groups to practice together in a safe and friendly environment.

What is especially satisfying is to see our older players & members supporting our younger members. Adult players both Male & Female, help support our younger teams by training teams or taking sessions and attending matches. In this role they act as both trainers and role models and we thank them for their work. 

Our Academy could not function without the support of our U16 & U15 Girls and Boys. Every week, they volunteer to help introduce the joys of Gaelic Games to our youngest members. They also provided great support to Johnny in the various camps which are held throughout the year.
 
 

Club Marketing & Communications
Our Duo of Sean as PRO and Fiona as Marketing lead have played a pivotal role for us in 2024.  Seán has been very active with his weekly updates on Facebook etc and it’s great to see happy faces at all ages on social media each week.  Fiona and Sean have led a number of initiatives to promote awareness of our club and its activities. 
 While an unintended consequence, our agreement to purchase our Cornelscourt pitches did get us noticed by others clubs, not just in South Dublin but across the country.  Having never been heard of before, we are now the one of the best known small clubs in Dublin!   Hopefully, with the improvements planned for the next few years we will be in the news for different reasons.
 
 Club Finances
As detailed last year, as a growing club it is getting more costly to run our activities as we require more facilities (especially all-weather/winter facilities). 
 Our income needs to grow with our Club. The Club has recently appointed Auditors and will be completing the 2024 accounts with them and will share the details with our members. The club operated at a breakeven position for the year but this was influenced by some once off donations that we cannot guarantee will reoccur. Our 2025 committee will be very focused, with the help of our members, in growing our income to support the day-to-day activities of the club. The club would like to acknowledge the support of its many sponsors without whom our club could not function.

Club Facilities
In 2024 the Club had access to pitches in Cornelscourt, Ballyogan and Meadowvale to play home matches. In addition, we had winter (floodlit) training facilities in Loreto, Ballyogan, Stepaside, Beckett Park and St Laurence’s.   As always, the club would like to express our thanks to all the above Facility providers but especially Loreto College, Foxrock – without the use of Loreto facilities, the majority of juvenile teams would be lacking winter facilities. 

In Cornelscourt, we have recently, with the generous help of a benefactor, installed the Ball Rebounder which our members young and old are getting great enjoyment from. Our neighbours Dunnes Stores have arranged to improve/tidy the area behind the goals at that end, by removing the scrub bushes etc and levelling that area. Not only will it look better, but we will lose less sliotars! Plans for other improvements, as discussed previously (toilets, dressing rooms etc) will regrettably have to wait until the sale is completed. 

The request to DLR to install dressing rooms/toilets in Ballyogan is being considered, but history tells us that it will not be a quick decision. Hopefully improvements will be made in 2025. 

Social Events
The Christmas Party this year is on Saturday 30 November 2024. We always have a great night last year and encourage all our adult members and players to attend – a great night with your fellow members!  As mentioned last year, it’s not all about what happens on the pitch! 
 
 Our Adult ladies are, as I type, returning from an ‘expedition’ to Seville, where they played Eire Óg Sevilla. I await a detailed report of their activities!

Our inaugural CLUB CHAT in 1st November was an opportunity to meet with fellow coaches and officers in a convivial environment. Many thanks to KERB, Foxrock for hosting. We intend to repeat this event on a regular basis as we are aware that it is difficult to socialise with fellow members/parents/coaches when we do not have a Club house. 

Our Club is an integral part of the community but we do feel that we are missing out on more social activities/events for our members and a greater effort must be made in 2025. These events help to generate the Club atmosphere required to sustain our Club. Volunteers to help run social events are very welcome to assist.  

Remembering our Past members and friends.
While the year had many happy and positive moments it also had very many sad moments for our members and the wider Gers family. In the past year we said a proud farewell to our Club President Brian Nolan. Brian served this club for over seven decades as an administrator, selector, team manager but above all as a leader. In lean times he ensured that the club continued and he embodied all the best values that have endured in the club over the last half century. In a lovely tribute his family said that after his family his great love was The Gers. We are also honoured that his headstone is engraved with the statement that he was President of our club.   We also think of and offer our condolences to the McCabe, Tyrrell, Sheehan, Fubara, O’Connor, McNamee, Keane Dillon and other club families who suffered sad losses in the past year.   May they all Rest in Peace. 

Club Challenges and opportunities. 
The club faces many challenges and opportunities, largely as a result of our growth and our ambition. They cover a range of topics from recruitment and retention of players, access to facilities, growing our structures to support the growth in the club, growing our revenues, extending our reach into the community etc. Our new committee will be focused on managing and will be in touch with members to seek your support.

Thanks.
Many thanks to all the people who help us run our great club.  Our players, referees, parents, coaches, administrators and supporters.   Without your support we would not function. A special mention to our Games Development officer Johnny Magee who once again has excelled in his role in 2024. We would also like to acknowledge the great support in the past year from the Dublin County Board, Leinster council and the central team in Croke Park. 
 Special thanks go to our sub-committee who have overseen the purchase of the grounds. While we do await confirmation of this purchase, that does not lessen the time and effort involved in getting to this point. Our legal adviser, Maurice O’Callaghan from O’Callaghan Legal has also provided invaluable advice and guidance during a very important year for the club.     
 
 The club would also like to acknowledge the great work and support of the administrators in the LGFA and Camogie associations. 

It is normal in GAA circles for there to be both a secretary’s report and a chairperson’s report. However, we very much operate as a team and as there was so much crossover that we took the decision to write a joint report.  

 Thank you for reading it 

·       On a personal note, it would be remiss of me, as Club Secretary, not to congratulate the Armagh Men’s footballers for their wonderful achievement in winning the All Ireland Football Championship.
 The future is bright    - the future is Black and Amber and Orange

Up The GERS!

 

----------------------------                                                        -----------------------------
 John McCabe                                                                       Ger Moffatt
 Secretary                                                                              Chairperson
 Geraldines P. Moran CLG                                                 Geraldines P. Moran CLG