By Eugene Kyne

The division elections inside the New York GAA took place last week in the Bronx. What it entails is the nominations of officers at senior football, senior hurling and junior football.

These are the people responsible for setting up the groups within each division, nominating umpires for the games and preparing the fields for same. The chairmen of each division are also an officer on the board for the following year.

Each year has its difficulties, problems and questions that arrive with the territory, with 2007 looking to be no different, but certainly potential is in New York to stride forward with the development of Gaelic Park paramount.

Senior football has downsized in recent seasons, with 13 teams now playing at that level. The outgoing chair was Damien Devlin of Tyrone, and he has been succeeded by Offaly clubman and Offaly native John Larkin.

The Offaly club is one of the biggest at present in New York with three teams in play with a junior football, senior football and hurling team. Larkin arrives courtesy of the Shamrocks club in Offaly, and players that call it home are Padraig Kelly, the Offaly goalie who has won the All-Ireland long kick title, county players Barry Mooney and Neville Coughlin, and Shane Cunningham and Enda Condron, who participate on this side of the pond.

Larkin is well known in New York circles, and he will help to energize what should be the flagship division at the Mecca. He is joined on the top table by vice chairman Donie O’Sullivan (Cork), who has served the association in various capacities over the years.

A prominent referee, officer and former selector with the New York football county team, his son Danny was a recent all-star with the junior squad. Donie will also act as the delegate to the Games Administration Committee which decides on the referees and dates for fixtures.

Secretary is the incumbent Joan Henchy (Kerry). Henchy is the county registrar, and is extremely active with the Kerry club in New York. She also holds positions with the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR), for which is doing massive work for the Irish community in New York and indeed the U.S.

In 2006 the division was divided into two sections, with Sligo the B champions. They will advance to the A level. Kerry were the A champions, and both clubs also took home their respective knockout titles. How relegation will be handled is still at large, but Down will join the senior ranks as the Junior A champions. Meath were the bottom team at Senior B with Donegal the low team at Senior A.

Senior hurling is a clean cut group with five clubs participating. John Kelly (Galway) was returned as chair, Therese Crowe (Tipperary) as vice chair with Mike Kennedy (Tipperary) the incumbent secretary. The group has given us some of the most competitive fare in the last two years at the Mecca, with the success of the county team well documented in the last 18 months.

Five clubs have to be maintained at this level. When numbers drop it does nothing for the competition as familiarity breeds for bad vibes.
Hurling is holding its own at the moment, and if it can sustain it will again give us interesting days at the new Gaelic Park. Tom Nugent is
the rep to the Games Administration Committee from this group.
The junior football division came back with familiar names also, as the association continued in a status quo mode. The largest division in the city, it comprises 20 teams in total with 12 in the Junior A section and 8 in the Junior B.

Eugene Kyne (Astoria Gaels) returns for his fourth year as chairman, with the division expanding this year to include a knockout competition in both the A and B sections and, for the first time, an all-star team was also selected at this level.

John Cox (Roscom-mon), who is also the GAA custodian, was elected as vice chairman. Cox is a former guest of honor at the annual GAA dinner dance with his wife Mary, and has held various posts within the GAA through the years as well as acting as manager of the Roscommon team recently.

Geraldine O’Brien (Long Island Gaels) returns as secretary of this active division for the third year. O’Brien, who has roots in Mayo and Roscommon, and attended the All-Ireland final this year when Kerry defeated Mayo, also is a dual role officer as she was returned in the only election this year as an auditor of the association with Mark McAllister and Peter McKiernan.

Many would say that the Junior A division is the toughest competition to win at the Mecca, as six to eight teams have a legitimate shot at the title as the playoffs arrive on Labor Day. The last three winners — Meath, St. Barnabas, and Down — had just three, one and two points to spare respectively over their opponents Armagh as they took home the Charlie Sweeney Cup.

The B race is also a slugfest each season with three teams tied for second place in the group behind Stamford this season, and they made the Connecticut side work extremely hard before the title headed out of town at the end of 2006.

So the complete team at the top of the GAA in New York is in place from Seamus Dooley down, with the work at Gaelic Park and the new surface moving ahead of schedule as the fantastic weather gives the earth movers and backhoes plenty of opportunity to create what will be the new Mecca at 240th and Broadway.

While change and new faces can help to energize, just a few added their names or put their names forward for inclusion on the boards. Certainly plenty of experience within the corridors of power as 2007 beckons on the horizon.