The time was now right for County Board delegates to awaken from their slumber and play their part in filling such vital positions, however the venue was far from full and it was very surprising that some of the top clubs chose to stay away.
Those who attended did their best to contribute, but again it was left to the same old voices to air their views.
It confirmed that the level of debate in Limerick GAA is wickedly poor and most delegates took the stance one would associate with those entering a funeral home with heads bowed, the odd nod and little to say.
Those same delegates have been known to solve all the problems within Limerick GAA outside such meetings but, once inside, the vast majority stay silent - leave it to the old reliables to comment and thus led the meeting pass them by.
Some delegates did make a worthwhile contribution but, in essence, there were others who waffled and contributed little to the overall debate.

Ger Loughnane
A little over 12 months ago Ger Loughnane had much to say about County Board delegates in Clare - he was ridiculed for such comments, but, for those who had the ability to read between the lines, they will find that Loughnane was making a worthwhile contribution and in it he posed many questions.
Of course there is a view within the GAA that you are not supposed to question and the general consensus is that all is fine.
I'm sure other sporting organisations have their own difficulties, but the quality of debate within Limerick GAA is exceptionally poor and the clubs need to take responsibility to ensure that they are sending the best people to represent them at County Board meetings.
Of course many of the people attending these meetings at present have, and I have no doubt will continue to have, given loyal service to the association, but, given that debate is so poor, a meeting of the County Board every two months would be adequate.
There is a great onus on clubs to pick personnel who will challenge the County Board and contribute to the overall debate and this will, in turn, result in a better run association within this county.

First real county board test
The vacancies that now exist will provide the first real test of the County Board.
The committee selected to assess the candidates and the clubs by virtue of the people they nominate have a serious role to play. The clubs need to take things in hand and nominate quality people for such important positions.
There is little point bemoaning the state of hurling and football in six months time if they adopt the same stance as their County Board delegates.
Club chairmen need to call a meeting and the grass roots people within this county need to have their voices heard.
Proper debate should take place at club level and, if this is the case throughout the county, then the entire association will be all the better for it.

Quickly shot down
At last week's meeting the executive brought forward five names from the County Board to oversee the selection of the senior hurling manager however the proposal lacked authority and was quickly shot down.
With some authority the Patrickswell delegate Oliver Mann said that a county bylaw existed and he was surprised that the County Board were not upholding their own rules whereby a delegate from each division had a right to be on the selection committee.
Before long we had three proposals and it was eventually settled that instead of five from the top table we would have three joined by one from each division.
It was rather surprising that the outgoing hurling management were rarely mentioned by the delegates from the floor, but the chairman Liam Lenihan did mention that the board had already met with Richie Bennis and his management team and told delegates that he had thanked them for their contribution and said that they were entitled to put their names in the ring once again.
There seemed to be a sense of inevitability amongst the delegates that it was time to move on and the challenge now would be to find a suitable candidate for the top job.

Well off the pace
We have made some progress in recent times but, the reality is that we are well off the pace of what is happening in other counties.
Some of this can be attributed to poor coaching, but much can be attributed to the poor personal preparation by some players themselves.
There has to be an awareness of the honour of wearing the Limerick jersey - some have taken it for granted and they either need a reality check or a P45.
In recent times I have been to watch Kilkenny training and I would say that almost a thousand people watched on and applauded regularly at the honesty on display. They carry that honesty into every game they play.
There are no prima donnas on their team and Michael Kavanagh, their right corner-back is an example of this. This September will see him play in his ninth All-Ireland Final having won five celtic crosses to date.
Honesty and respect are central parts of the Kilkenny code of practice combined with sheer hard work and until Limerick hurling adopts the same principles we can only hope to admire them from afar.

A few real contenders
As mentioned in recent weeks there are just a few real contenders for the Limerick job.
It's clear now that most people want a manager well versed in coaching, but the buzz around the county is that he must adopt a ruthless approach to inject high standards from the outset.
The appointment of the senior hurling manager is the main topic of conversation and it will be very interesting to see who the eventual successor will be. There is real pressure on the selection committee to deliver the right man for Limerick hurling.
Clubs are now demanding that the politics be removed from the appointment process. There has been too much 'nod and wink' and if it is adopted this time around it will be seen for what it is. The selection committee of Liam Lenihan, Mike O'Riordan, Eoin Hayes, Jimmy Stapleton, Oliver Mann, Jim Dooley and Louis Quirke are the people tasked with making the hard call. They must adopt an approach of what is best for Limerick hurling.
Central to the new man being appointed though will be the quality of the people he may bring with him.
We can only wish them well and hope that the person chosen will restore the pride in Limerick hurling and that we won't suffer the humiliation of some of our own supporters booing our team at half time in a championship game ever again.

Football manager
There is, of course, also a vacancy for the senior football manager's job although it's being kept very low profile compared to that of the senior hurling job.
There is a conserted effort being made amongst certain people to retain Mickey Ned O'Sullivan as manager. The reality is that like Richie Bennis, his term was up and if he wishes to continue he will have to go through the interview process once again.
There is a spin being put on it that if Mickey Ned O'Sullivan is not re-appointed then we won't have the services of Donie Buckley, the main man responsible for turning Limerick football around. Now that's real 'gun to the head' stuff. In other words Mickey Ned will have to be reappointed.
The facts are that Donie Buckley was called upon to try and rescue Limerick football after the appointed manager had lost the faith of many of the players by virtue of the poor quality of training, some poor results and an overall lack of confidence.
I have mentioned all of this previously - in particular on April 5 where I clearly outlined the facts. It resulted in the manager calling a meeting of all of the squad in the dressing rooms in Rathkeale. All concerned knew that there was merit in what I had written, despite the obvious denial by the manager, and resulted in the appointment of Donie Buckley shortly thereafter.

Since Donie Buckley came on board he has been the chief organiser, planner, trainer and motivator which has resulted in the standard of football played by the team rising substantially.
The players, and those with their ears to the ground, know very well that Buckley was the man who made it happen so why then this clamour amongst some to protect O'Sullivan?
The time has come to appoint a new man who will blend into the position with Donie Buckley.
There are some obvious candidates within the county.

Lee & Lawlor
Two who have been mentioned are Billy Lee of Newcastle West and Ger Lawlor of Monaleen, but will the system allow them a fair crack at the job or will the minority have their way?
The Football Board should have their nominations ready for the August 26 meeting of the County Committee.
It is time for the winds of change to air the football scene in Limerick. There is a bright future for football and that future must be able to accommodate somebody who can grow with this team over the next three to four years.
There is a sense amongst some very sound football people that the appointment of the football manager could be slowed and this may play right into the hands of the current encumbant.
Either way, rather than accepting it would be nice to see some quality debate because, despite what some high profile officers tell us, there are many football people within the county not entirely enamoured with the way that business is done.
I am sure that every effort will be made to retain the services of the current manager, but the questions that I asked in April are still floating and I have no doubt will continue to do so long after the decision has been made.
Donie Buckley's abilities as a coach eased the blushes on a lot of faces and, for that reason, they will be forever grateful to him.
The big question is, that if a local man were appointed along with the services of Donie Buckley would it not serve Limerick football much better in the future?

T HE persistent bad weather has caused disruption to games, but it also highlights the lack of quality pitches in Limerick to take games with the extremes in weather conditions that we have had in recent times.
Of course there are some superb pitches around the county, but many of them have had to succumb to the enormous rainfall.
Some clubs in the county are in the throes of putting the finishing touches to their new style pitches and when they are finished they will certainly help enormously in ensuring championship games can be played. These pitches also need to be floodlit because the future of Gaelic games will see a lot more games played at night.
In relation to the money coming from Croke Park from rugby and soccer - would it not be worth considering allocating this money to one club in each division that has the field suitable to playing games in the current conditions?
That in itself would not sit well with some people, but it's time that we looked at the bigger picture and the criteria for allocating the money should be relatively easy because only a few clubs have made the necessary investment in such pitches.

Credit to Feenagh
By the way, one of the few pitches that was playable last weekend was Feenagh.
The pitch was in superb condition and all concerned must be congratulated.
The venue has a fine stand for the comfort of supporters and they have the finest wheelchair access facilities of any club that I have seen in this country.
It's a credit to them that they gave consideration to the supporters who are physically challenged.
It's a pity the Mackey Stand does not provide such ease of access and viewing facilities.

Mackey Stand
I received a lot of correspondence in relation to last week's column regarding The Mackey Stand with an overwhelming majority agreeing that something needs to be done in the long term.
Much of the correspondence was also in agreement that the terraces and stand should be named after people who have given tremendous service to the county.

Tommy Wallace
Finally, the GAA lost a very loyal supporter last week with the sudden passing of Staker Wallace clubman Tommy Wallace.
He was a former Limerick minor hurling selector, but in general he was a great supporter of all teams that wore the Limerick jersey. He was passionate about sport and he frequently sought out the views of others in the hope of getting the inside track on the opposition.
Men such as Tommy Wallace are part and parcel of what the GAA is all about and his family and all those who knew him have suffered a sad loss and we extend our sympathies at this difficult time.