BOUNDARY disputes between GAA clubs in the county are threatening to turn into a tsunami of claims and counter claims, donegaldaily.com can reveal.
The latest dispute will come before the County Committee at its meeting next February.
At last night’s committee meeting at Jackson’s Hotel in Ballybofey, there was confirmation that Burt GAA club has asked the county board to confirm the club has sole access to players in the Burt, Fahan and Inch parishes.
This will provoke a response from Buncrana GAA club – some of their members come from Fahan and Inch.
County Board chairman PJ McGowan confirmed last night that Burt has asked for ratification of the boundaries at the first committee meeting in 2012. That meeting will take place in February.
Last night’s meeting also heard about the ongoing dispute between Naomh Mhuire in Annagry and Dungloe.
County chairman PJ McGowan proposed the dispute should go to a sub-committee meeting chaired by someone independent from outside the county. However both clubs agreed that the dispute should be chaired by Mr McGowan and he accepted the offer.
Naomh Mhuire representative Cormac McGarvey said that the clubs had been trying to sort out the boundary dispute for 31 years.
“That’s longer than Osama bin Laden was hiding out. He was only hiding out for ten years, this has been going on for 31 years,” he said.
However Dungloe’s Enda Bonner cited the Good Friday Agreement as the model for solving the dispute.
“All our club is looking for is the human rights to play for our club since it was formed,” said Mr Bonner.
He went on: “If I went to Glenties, bought a field and set up a GAA club, would that mean we could have sole access to all the players in that town.”
He added: “Geography is not the issue, history is the issue.”
Donegaldaily.com understands that other boundary disputes are almost certain to come up.
One club delegate told us: “Where will this stop? Will people in Kerrykeel be forced to play in the Milford parish instead of with Fanad Gaels? It could end up tearing the county apart.”
DONEGALDAILY.COM – FIRST AGAIN WITH ALL THE BIG STORIES IN DONEGAL
© 2011 donegaldaily.com, all Rights Reserved
Follow us on www.twitter.com/donegaldaily
Follow us on www.facebook.com/donegaldaily
Sell anything on www.donegaldailyclassifieds.com
Tags: