The man with the plan
September 02, 2010Tuamgraney native Gordon Daly helped put the Banner County on the map in June when he was appointed president of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI). A senior planner with Clare County Council - and chairman of Bodyke Hurling Club - Gordon is the first Clare man to hold the prestigious position and is amongst the Institute's youngest-ever presidents at 36.
The 26th president of the IPI is well-known in his local East Clare community, through his professional work and also through his involvement in the GAA and his local communtiy. He's currently in his second stint as chairman of Bodyke (as well as a past member of Tuamgraney Development Association and a former chairman of East Clare Heritage).
Gordon has been senior planner with Clare County Council since 2009, having previously worked as senior executive planner in Clare as well as holding down various posts within Kerry, Limerick and Offaly County Councils. He joined the Irish Planning Institute in 1997.
With membership of over 700 and seven regional branches, the IPI has been the professional representative for Irish planners north and south since 1975. The IPI has a 20-strong national council, which Gordon has been a member of since 2006, serving as vice-president last year.
It's amazing that the Tuamgraney man finds time to act as chairman of the local parish hurling club, but he is quick to point out that Bodyke HC is blessed with many hard workers behind the scenes, who make his job a pleasure to behold! "Fortunately, it's one of those clubs where an awful lot of people are doing an awful lot of work," the chairman notes. "The people in the club are tremendous and they really are doing a magnificent job of keeping the show on the road. I try to do my bit but it's the people at grassroots in the club who deserve all the credit." The chairman also singles out his fellow officers - secretary Sean O'Halloran and treasurer Diarmuid Walsh - for special mention.
The IPI president comes from a family with a strong GAA background. His mother is from County Galway hurling stock and his father, Peadar, is from County Limerick. Indeed, Peadar Daly had the distinction of representing Limerick at minor and senior levels, while Gordon's grandfather Billy Daly and granduncle Christy Daly both won All-Ireland junior hurling championship medals with the Treaty County in 1935 and 1954 respectively. His dad is current vice-president of Bodyke and his brother Conor is chairman of the local handball club - Tuamgraney Handball Club - which is intertwined into the hurling club, with many "dual players", as Gordon points out.
Gordon hurled with Bodyke at various levels until a knee injury put paid to his playing days whilst only in his late 20s. He began his first stint as club chairman in 1999, at 24. He was elected to the chair again in 2007 and is now in his fourth year of the current stint at the helm. Regarding the challenges facing the club and the strategies required to counteract these threats, he says:
"In order to safeguard our future, we have spent over 100,000 euro in the last four years developing our pitch and facilities. With good facilities, we have a better chance of attracting members and keeping them interested.
"Like many other rural clubs, emigration and the lack of local jobs are proving to be a major challenge. This poses a very real threat. The idea of losing more players is a real worry. If you lose your young lads between 20 and 30, then you're in big trouble, because they are the lifeblood of the club.
"Finance is another problem in the current climate and I suppose enticing people to take on administrative roles in the club is also a difficulty at times. Those are the main threats but I have to say that, in general, the club is performing exceptionally well at the moment."
Bodyke field juvenile sides at all levels from U8 upwards and also have two adult teams competing in the intermediate hurling championship and the junior 'B' hurling championship. Though it can be a struggle at times to field the second adult side, they are to their credit keeping the flag flying brilliantly.
And the juvenile section is going very well. Excellent work is being carried out by a wonderful team of hard-working underage coaches, as the chairman acknowledges: "I have huge respect and admiration for the countless hours they put into nurturing juvenile hurling and we should reap the rewards of that down the line.
"Our Feile team did superbly this year, reaching the semi-final of the All-Ireland Feile Division Five here in Clare. We hosted a team from Lisbellaw, County Fermanagh, and we made a lot of friends through that. They were great, genuine hurling people and they epitomised the spirit of the Feile and what the competition is all about. It was a fantastic weekend. We were beaten by the eventual champions, but the young lads gave a great account of themselves and did their parish and families proud."
Bodyke last won the IHC back in 1996 and they stayed up at senior level for six years, 1997-2003. Clare hurling was enjoying a real purple patch at the time and Bodyke were fortunate to have one of the regular fixtures of the county team in their ranks, in the person of Liam Doyle. Gordon says the All-Ireland-winning wing back has always been a terrific clubman first and foremost:
"Liam is our most famous player and he has always given his time freely to the club. He's in his early 40s now and served as a county selector this year, but he lined out for the club last year and he played a match in goal a few weeks ago, so I wouldn't be surprised if he pulls on the jersey again this year. He's a great clubman and has been a great influence on the young people in the club. You couldn't measure how much he has invested back into Bodyke."
Gordon's wife Linda (nee O'Grady) is from neighbouring Feakle and played camogie with her local club. Linda's three brothers and father are also heavily involved with Feakle, leading to plenty of friendly rivalry and banter within the household. As a keen amateur photographer, the incumbent IPI president also attends plenty of hurling and handball matches with camera in hand, all of which serves to strengthen his already-strong GAA ties. Tweet
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