Athlone Town Hold 127th AGM

On Wednesday 12th February, at the Shamrock Lodge Hotel, Athlone Town Football Club held their 217th Annual General Meeting, commemorating one of the Clubs most successful years on the field. The top table consisted of Club President, Tony Knight, Treasurer Joey Boland, Chairman John Hayden and Secretary David Dully.

The Secretary, David Dully, opened proceedings by reading the minutes of the 126th AGM before Club President, Tony Knight, called for a minutes silence in memory of deceased members and supporters of the club. After the President congratulated the club on a successful 2013, Club Treasurer Joey Boland distributed the accounts.

The accounts, for year ending 30th November 2013, showed a profit on ordinary activities of €152, an increase of €27,821 on the 2012 figure which was largely attributed to increased gate receipts, along with prize money coming from the League win.
Administration expenses rose by €16996 which largely accounted for gathering of a squad coming into the 2013 season.

Athlone Town Chairman, John Hayden, addresses the crowd during the clubs 127th AGM, held on Wednesday 12th February at the Shamrock Lodge Hotel

Chairman, John Hayden, began his speech by recognising the clubs achievements on the field of play with the U17 side winning their League, the U19s winning the League of Ireland U19 Southern Division while the Senior side finished the year as League of Ireland Division 1 Champions, earning promotion to the Premier Division for the first time in eighteen years.
Special mention also went to Patrick Dunican, Aaron O’Neill and Ryan Gaffey on their call ups to the Ireland U18’s and U17’s respectively while also acknowledging the work done by the local underage club in developing players.

He also recognised the frustration felt by supporters with regard to the departure of manager Roddy Collins, stating that as events were unfolding, the club did not wish to conduct business in public at a time when negotiations were still on going with the management team. Hayden stated that Roddy still remains a friend of the club, however from a financial point of view the Club could not meet his expectations going into 2014. He also complimented the supporters for the carnival like atmosphere they brought to Athlone Town Stadium during the year and looked forward to their continued support in the Premier Division while announcing James Blacoe and John Croughan as Supporter Liaison Officers for 2014.

Hayden continued with an overview of the Clubs longer term vision with the continuation of underage teams at U17 and U19 level along with a partnership with local schoolboy club St Francis. There will also be investigations into the possibilities of fielding teams at U15 and U16 level in line with the recommendations of FAI High Performance Director Ruud Doktor. The club have also entered a partnership with neighboring Scoil na gCeithre Máistrí, allowing the Gael Scoil access to the Athlone Town Stadium facilities. It is also hoped the Club will be in a position to appoint a Community Liaison Officer in the future.

From a Senior team perspective, the fall off of players after U17 and U19 level has prompted Athlone Town to accept an invitation to enter a team in a newly established Connacht Senior League along side Sligo Rovers, Mervue United, Salthill Devon, Castlebar Celtic, Limerick FC and Longford Town.

He also outlined plans to apply for Sports Capital Grants, and hoped for more fundraising, for the development of a new astro pitch and also full size grass pitch, along with the construction of a second stand for the main pitch at Athlone Town Stadium.

Pictured at the top table for the 127th Athlone Town FC AGM held on Wednesday 12th February in the Shamrock Lodge: President – Tony Knight, Treasurer – Joey Boland, Chairman – John Hayden and Secretary – David Dully.

It was also noted that the Club have yet to find a main sponsor for 2014, and while not the preferred choice, have still not ruled out the possibility of holding a raffle for the jersey sponsor like last year.

A motion to amend the Club Constitution with regard to reducing the number of Club Trustees to 3 was proposed and passed. Prior to this, the constitution allowed for a minimum of 5 and maximum of 10, however as there appeared to be no sitting Trustees at present, it was agreed to make the amendment.

The eagerly anticipated “Any Other Business” sparked much debate, with the departure of the U19 management team, and the severance of the Clubs affiliation with the Athlone District Schoolboy/Schoolgirl League the major bones of contention.

Relations with the ADSL broke down late in 2013 with the fear that the proposed Athlone Town U15/U16 sides would decimate the ADSL, and contradicting statements regarding related correspondence fueled the fire between Hayden and ADSL Chairman Padraig Quinn. The affiliation of St Francis as opposed to the entire ADSL also raised eyebrows, however Hayden assured those in attendance that Athlone Town continue to have a relationship with all individual clubs, reiterating that the Club would be available and open to reconciliation talks with the ADSL Executive for the good of local football and players.

The issue surrounding the dismissal of U19 manager Michael Collins was high on the agenda from the floor with the Chairman stating that a complete breakdown in trust had lead to his decision to relieve Collins of his duties. He was also quick to point out that an unsuccessful reconciliation meeting had taken place soon after the departure and that the reasons listed on social media couldn’t be further from the truth of the situation. With Collins not in attendance, Hayden stressed that it would not be appropriate to publicise the full reasoning behind the events.

After the proposing and seconding of returning officers, the meeting ended with the committee looking forward to Athlones venture into the Premier Division under the stewardship of Mick Cooke.