Oliver predicts bright future
November 30, 2009
Duleek/Bellewstown clubman Oliver Cudden has been involved in the GAA all his life as both a player and administrator for club and county. For this year's edition of the Meath Yearbook, he talks to us about his current role on the hearings committee and his hopes for the future.
The amalgamation of the Duleek and Bellewstown clubs looks to have benefited both clubs greatly and Oliver is a great believer in its success.
"It has proven to be hugely successful and both clubs have benefited from it. We won the junior B title this year and hopefully we can build from there. Keeping our senior status would be a huge bonus also," admitted Oliver, who has served as the club secretary for 13 years in total.
Throughout the country, the issue of club fixtures causes consternation among teams. The GAA club scene now runs almost 12 months; although many teams go through long periods during the summer without a game, especially if their county teams are doing well in the championship.
"This is a problem that every county faces on an annual basis and Meath is no different. I would love to see the leagues finished a lot earlier. Clubs are supposed to play without their county players and that should speed the fixtures up, but for one reason or another that is not the case. There is no excuse for playing league finals after September.
"In fairness, the fixtures committee have an arduous task as there are so many games to be scheduled throughout the year, but I can understand the players' frustration and hopefully a solution can be found to the problem."
As a player, Oliver represented the Meath juniors in the early nineties and has since been a selector with the minor county team that reached the All-Ireland final in 2002, while he has also been a selector with the club.
More recently, he was involved with Eamon Barry during his reign as Meath manager and Oliver was asked to be the side's statistician, a role which he enjoyed.
"It was a very interesting job to have. The county board invested in software, which allowed both the team, as well as individual players' performances to be analysed. In the week following a match, Eamon would go through the individual performances and point out what they could work on. It monitored everything they did during a match and was very beneficial to both the players and the management team.
"I learned a lot during the year and its something maybe down the line that I would be interested in getting involved in again. But, at the moment I'm on the County Hearings Committee and it's also something I enjoy being involved with. I believe that clubs and players should have an avenue of appeal. There are seven of us on the panel, none of who have an executive position on the county board. This is a basic requirement of being a member of the Hearings Committee.
"Some times players or clubs can bring a case too far and maybe that is something that I'd like to see changed. The GAA is a great social outlet for people and at the end of the day, it is an amateur sport and the legal route is not always the best option to take."
With the current economic climate affecting GAA clubs all over the country, Oliver is fearful that many young lads will be forced into emigration and this is something that he hopes can be avoided.
"In the late seventies, we won the intermediate championship, but most of that squad was forced to emigrate the following year and we came struggled at senior level until eventually returning to intermediate a couple of years later. I hope that doesn't happen again, but with the way things are, it's looking increasingly likely that it will.
"You can't blame lads for heading off, if there is no work here and unfortunately that is the case at the moment, especially for lads involved in the building trade.
"It hasn't affected us yet, but that's not to say that it will. I think after Christmas we will know more on that front. I really hope that it doesn't happen. We have a good crop of under-21 players within the club presently, which bodes well for the future, if we can manage to hold on to them."
Having worked closely with the Meath squad, Oliver is in the perfect situation of knowing just how far the Royals are away from winning another All-Ireland and all supporters will be delighted to hear that is not too far at all according to the Duleek/Bellewstown clubman.
"I really believe that they are just one or two players away from winning an All-Ireland title. They have reached two of the last three All-Ireland semi finals and you can't be a bad team if you do that.
"If they can unearth a bit more talent form the underage set up, then there is no reason why they can't win. I can see it happening in the next few years."
Away from the GAA field, Oliver helps runs the Irish branch of the world renowned civil engineering firm Balfour Beatty and he looks after the work winning interests of the company's business here in Ireland.
The company have been involved in numerous projects here and are adjusting to the current economic recession like every other business in the country.
"Balfour Beatty Ireland was established to deliver civil engineering and general construction projects in Ireland. We provide a full range of construction services to our customers, in both the private and public sectors. Balfour Beatty Ireland operates as a regional business within the Northern Division of Balfour Beatty Regional Civil Engineering."
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