Emer is climbing The G.A.A. Administration Ladder in Waterford

Anybody that knows me will know that I am not in favour of the gender quotas introduced during the lifetime of the last government. I am the sort of person that believes when it comes to electing people to positions we should be electing people that are best suited for the job that needs to be done, and whether they are male or female, black or white, gay or straight should not matter so long as the best person is elected to the job.

When it comes to the G.A.A. I am all for the involvement of women. I would love someday sooner rather than later see the Ladies Football Association and the Camogie Association come directly under the umbrella of the G.A.A.

I would love to see the Ladies Football and Camogie All-Ireland’s played on the same day and the same venue as the Football and Hurling All-Ireland Finals. I would also love to see the Ladies Football and Camogie County Finals played alongside the Senior Hurling and Football finals in each of the 32 counties of Ireland.

I would love to see a female referee to take charge of major hurling and football inter county games, and one day to be involved at Croke Park on All-Ireland Final Day and ultimately taking charge of the biggest games of the year when it comes to the G.A.A.

I am also in favour of women assuming the major positions within the G.A.A. when it comes to the administration side of things.

Four years ago Tyrone made G.A.A. history when they became the first county to elect a female Chairperson of their County Board when they elected Roisin Jordan of the Eglish club after she previously served as the vice chairperson for five years before that. Previous to this she had filled the position of secretary.

The first female to hold a top position in the G.A.A. was Noreen Doherty who served as the Donegal County Secretary for 14 years between 1991 and 2005 before she was elected as a full time administrator to the county board back in 2010.  

A year earlier she became the first woman to be elected as a Central Council representative. Donegal elected a second female county secretary in 2005 when they elected 22 year old Crona Regan to the position.

A third female was elected as secretary in 2014 in Aideen Gillen who has retained the position to this point.

History was created again in Donegal in 2011 when the three main officers elected at the A.G.M. of the Aodh Ruadh Club were all female as they elected Betty McIntrye as Chairperson, Emma Gaughan as Secretary and Catherine McKee as Treasurer.

A little closer to home the Cork County Board elected Tracey Kennedy from the Killeagh Club as its Chairperson just over 12 months ago, having previously served as P.R.O. for a number of years.

Like so many her road to reaching the number one administration position in the Rebel County began with her club.

She served as secretary to the Juvenile Club in Killeagh before she took up the same position with the adult section of the club.

Her abilities with the club were spotted by many others and from there she was elected as P.R.O. and Secretary of the Imokilly Division before she became PRO for the County Board which she brought into the 21^st century making full use of social media to promote the association locally and nationally.

In her time as PRO in Cork she would have met up with fellow female PRO’s from Kerry, Limerick and Waterford at Munster Council and worked alongside them when the need arose.

To see women climb the administration ladder is something pleasing to see, well it is for me anyway, but I know deep down some will not like to see it happen but they won’t say so too loud.

Back in 1999 when I got involved in Bord na nÓg in West Waterford one of the first people outside of the committee that I got to know was Emer Barry from the Lismore Club.

While in the 20 years since then I have lost contact with many of those that I had to work alongside from within the Clubs, Emer is someone that I have always remained in contact with. Maybe it is because the two of us were born less than a year apart and many of the others I was working alongside were much older.

In this time I have seen Emer steadily climb the administration ladder. When I first got to know her she was secretary and P.R.O. of the Lismore club. She is still involved with the Lismore Club as their Oifigeach na Gaeilge Official.

She soon joined the Communications and Publications Committee of the County Board and worked with a number of different P.R.O’s and eventually became P.R.O. herself succeeding Joe Cleary and served in the position for a number of years.

Emer has served as an Assistant Secretary and P.R.O of the Western G.A.A. Board as is the current Development Officer of the County Board. Emer is the first female elected officer of the County Board in Waterford.

On the Munster Council she is part of the Development Committee as well as the Health and Safety Committee where locally she is responsible for ensuring that there are stewards available for all games where they are needed.

At the recent County Board Convention Pat Grant who had been elected to serve a fifth term as Chairman of the Western Board a week before the meeting, was elected as one of the Munster Council Representatives and so immediately stood down as Chairman of the Divisional Board.

The clubs in the west were asked for nominations to fill the position and opted to elect vice chairman Neil Moore as the new chairman meaning that a vacancy became available on the Board.

The final date for receipt of nominations as closed and it has been learned that there was only one name submitted that of Emer Barry and so will be officially named as vice chairperson at the next board meeting, making Emer the first female to hold such a position within the county.

As someone that is all for women putting themselves forward for positions on different boards and proving themselves to be the best person for the job, I have to say knowing Emer with two decades that I am delighted that she has been or at least will be elected to the position of vice chairperson. I know that she will continue to give her all for the clubs of West Waterford in the position, and who knows; maybe Emer has not reached as high up the administration ladder that she has climbed over the past number of years and if she wants to go further will succeed.

Before anyone gets onto me telling me that I am wrong in what I am saying here, I am more than aware that females in Waterford have held top positions on the different boards that exists in Waterford down the years, but none to now have held the position of Chairperson or Vice Chairperson of a Divisional or County Board at ADULT level until now.