The Louth G.A.A Supporters Club held their A.G.M at the Clan na Gael Clubrooms on Wednesday 7th. November last. The meeting was well attended and Chairman Frank McDermott presided. A well documented Secretaey`s Report was presented to the meeting by John Richardson. It outlined the progress made by the Supporters Club during the past 12 months and generated considerable debate. Treasurer John Byrne presented his final Treasurer`s Report as the Club Treasurer [per Rule] must also be the County Committee Treasurer. His well prepared Report documented in detail the Income / Expenditure of the Louth GAA Supporters Club and was accepted with little or no debate. Tributes were paid to John for his work as Committee Treasurer over the years from the members at the AGM. In a wide ranging address Chairman Frank McDermott covered all aspects of the Club`s workings over the year. The increase in Membership was a bonus and this was mainly because the Club had a stand at Convention and also collected at the earlier N.F.L Matches. He paid tribute to the Secretary and Treasurer for their work also the many Club Committee workers who assisted during the year. Jim McKeown [Dundalk] and Brian Matthews [Drogheda ] were singled out for special praise as both of them ensured that all our Supporters travelled at low cost and in comfort for the many trips during the year. The travel arrangements were excellent, with many trips arranged at short notice. He thanked the County Secretary for his support with Match Tickets over the years for Club members. The many sponsors who supported the Annual Awards Function were thanked as were the huge numbers who attended on the night [580], the highest on record. Frank McDermott also paid tribute to the County Management teams in both Hurling and Football at all levels and wished all County Teams every success for 2008. The Players who put in the efforts on the field were thanked for providing such effort and endeavours during 2007 P.R.O Pat Hamilton noted the Louth GAA Supporters appreciated the tremendous input by The Dundalk Democrat; The Argus; Drogheda Independent; LMFM Radio & Dundalk FM into the workings of the Supporters Club. Publicity was vital and GAA correspondents in both print / radio excelled themselves with consistent coverage of the Louth GAA Supporters Club activities over the past 12 months. ELECTION OF OFFICERS FOR 2008. HON. PRESIDENTS: JOHNNY MULLEN , PADDY KENNY, PETER HOEY. CHAIRMAN: FRANK MCDERMOTT. VICE CHAIR.: PADDY CALLAN SECRETARY: JOHN RICHARDSON TREASURER: APPOINTED @ COUNTY CONVENTION AST. TREAS & AST. SEC. MICHAEL MCARDLE. P.R.O & REGISTRAR: PAT HAMILTON. COMMITTEE MEMBERS: J. BYRNE ; P. CULLIGAN ; T. DOYLE ; B. KIRK; S. KIRK, P. MCDONNELL; J. MCKEOWN; B. MATTHEWS; A. MURPHY ; J.MYERS ; A.O'BRIEN; M.O'REILLY; J. THORNTON; C. MCMAHON; M. MCKEOWN ; D. CAFFREY. The Clan na Gael Club were thanked for the use of their Clubrooms for Meetings. during the year. ********************** Louth G.A.A Supporters Club Award Winners 2007. Senior Football : Paddy Keenan, St. Patrick's Junior Football : Ray Finnegan, St. Patrick's U21 Football : John O'Brien, S.O'Mahony's Minor Football : Pádraig Rath, St. Brigid's U16 Football : Kevin Rogers, N. Malachaí U14 Football : Alan Lynch, St. Joseph's Senior Hurler : Ronan Byrne, Knockbridge H.C. Minor Hurler : Kevin McNally, Knockbridge H.C. U16 Hurler : Philip Englishby, St. Vincent's H.C. Larry Geraghty Cup : John McCarthy, Kilkerley Emmets Club Worker : Tommy Byrne, Glyde Rangers Hall of Fame : Nicky Roe, St. Mary's Congratulations also to : Guests of Honour, Louth Senior Football Team Panel and Management who won both the Division Two National Football League and the Tommy Murphy Cup in 2006. Dundalk Democrat Club Player Award winners as follows; Senior Club Football : Paddy Keenan, St. Patrick's Intermediate Club Football : Ronan Greene, N. Malachaí Junior Club Football : Derek Maguire, Young Irelands Senior Club Hurler : Trevor Hilliard, Knockbridge H.C. LOUTH GAA SUPPORTERS CLUB FUNCTION Over 500 people attended the Louth GAA Supporters Club Annual Presentation of Awards night in the Fairways Hotel in February. M.C for the night Pat Hamilton [P.R.O] welcomed all the various guests, especially Leinster GAA Chairman Liam O`Neill , the Award Winners as selected and the Louth Senior Football team and Management. He outlined the format of the evening and introduced the various speakers. Following the meal a limited number of Prints and DVD`s [Louth 2006] were made available to patrons. Louth G.A.A Supporters Club Chairman Frank McDermott was delighted to see such a turn-out at the Function and thanked the hard working Committee for the efforts they made to make it such a success. The Fairways Hotel received well deserved plaudits. He delivered an emotive address urging all to row in and consolidate on the recent breakthrough at Senior Team level. In congratulating the Players and Management he noted that the County team were the flagship and they certainly gave Louth Supporters plenty to cheer about during the year. He thanked all County players who wore the County jersey in any grade or level the previous year. The Award Winners were thoroughly deserving on merit and on congratulating them all he trusted they would enjoy the Function. Frank McDermott thanked the business community in Louth for the assistance and support they showed to the Supporters Club and he urged all to support their businesses in return. He had a special word for the Dundalk Democrat, Argus, Drogheda Independent, LMFM Radio and Dundalk FM Radio for the excellent coverage provided consistently over the years towards GAA events. In conclusion he wished all our Players and Management at all grades and codes , our Clubs, our Officers and Officials, our Sponsors and our Supporters every success in the coming year. Mr. Gabriel McKenny deputising on behalf of Chairman Paddy Oliver thanked the Club on yet another successful year and congratulated the Awards Winners at all levels. The County Board had been well served by the tremendous success of the Senior Football Team and their excellent showings during the past year and he thanked the Players and Team Management for their dedication, hard work and their efforts in making all supporters in the County "Louth and Proud". We looked forward to the future with confidence. Leinster GAA Chairman Liam O`Neill endorsed the remarks made by both Frank McDermott and Gabriel McKenny. It took sheer graft , hard work, patience and endurance to get to the top, but the secret was to redouble the efforts to stay there. He congratulated the team and Management for their success. He also mentioned the Centre of Excellence at Darver and noted it was the benchmark of such centres in the country. He wished every success to the ongoing discussions regarding the County Grounds and pledged Leinster's financial backing to Louth's major infrastructural projects as the need arose. The Louth Senior Football team all received their National Football League and Tommy Murphy Cup medals from the Leinster President. Speaking on behalf of the County Players , team manager Eamonn McEneaney expressed his gratitude to the Supporters Club for honouring the team who won Division 2 and the Tommy Murphy Cup. He noted that great efforts had been made to date but we still had a long way to go and had to concentrate on continuing to build for the future. He was pleased with the response received from the players when all seemed lost , nothing was decided until the final whistle was blown. He spoke about the usage of the Darver facilities and added they would be a tremendous shot in the arm towards all GAA grades in the future. Following the Speeches and Raffles the Merry Mac's kept the huge crowd entertained for the remainder of the night. Pat Hamilton. Tweet

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