Stenson defends St Brigid's over stormy scenes at Connacht final

Roscommon GAA secretary Brian Stenson has staunchly defended St Brigid's following the troubled scenes which slightly marred their Connacht club final win over Corofin at their Kiltoom venue. As part of his annual secretary's report, Brian Stenson said the south Roscommon club came under "unfair criticism" following last November's Connacht final, which St Brigid's won by a point to secure a place in the All-Ireland quarter-finals. Stenson said St Brigid's "marvellous" Connacht final victory "was overshadowed by an incident after the game involving Corofin supporters, players and the referee". "Any interference with the referee or his officials must be condemned ... but I believe this incident has been blown out of all proportion. One Corofin official, in a radio interview, was very critical of St Brigid's, and the stewarding in Kiltoom, a criticism that was totally unwarranted and unfair," wrote Stenson. St Brigid's went on to defeat Fulham Irish (London) in the All-Ireland quarter-finals, and they will meet neighbours Garrycastle (Westmeath) in a tantalising semi-final in Pearse Park on February 18. Stenson also referred to St Brigid's epic run to the 2011 All-Ireland club final in which they were narrowly defeated by Crossmaglen Rangers. "The build-up to the All-Ireland final was a very special time for St Brigid's, and a proud occasion for the entire county. St Patrick's Day was a great occasion in Croke Park, and it was not lack of effort that caused a heartbreaking defeat. We congratulate St Brigid's, who did themselves and Roscommon proud, and hope they will be back again in 2012 to complete the job," Stenson said. The secretary also praised the standard of facilities at Kiltoom, saying: "St Brigid's ground in Kiltoom has been sanctioned for a grant to bring the ground up to Secondary County Ground Status. This will further enhance what is already a top-class venue. Creggs, Athleague, St Barry's, St Brigid's, Padraig Pearses and Kilglass Gaels have all been sanctioned for development grants from Connacht Council." On the issue of discipline within the county scene, Stenson said: "In the past year we had very little disciplinary issues but there were one or two unsavoury incidents where referees were the subject of unnecessary abuse. I would urge all team mentors and officials to encourage players not to engage in this type of activity, as it serves only to bring unnecessary attention on themselves and their clubs. An incident in one of our senior championship games caused concern among all supporters, but was dealt with by the CCC, who handed down fines and suspensions to the clubs and individuals involved." Stenson also commented upon the county board's finances, saying: "Keeping pace with financial requirements is a major challenge and will continue to be. Our treasurer Joe Gilligan, assistant treasurer Sean Flanagan and the finance committee deserve great credit for the success of the draw this year, and also the success of the Punchestown race day. This year, the draw netted in excess of €160,000, which was a major achievement in the present economic climate. The success of the draw is solely due to the efforts of Joe Gilligan. In relation to the sponsorship of Sierra Support Services, Stenson said the county was "very sorry" to lose a company he described as "excellent sponsors". "We must now seek a new sponsor, which is a major ask in the present economic climate, but thankfully we already have some offers. We have made great progress over the past five years in getting our finances in order, but we must be vigilant and prudent. We have submitted to Croke Park a financial plan that would see us clear our debts and help bring Hyde Park up to the required standard over the next ten years. This is a very ambitious plan but is achievable with the full backing of clubs and members," he continued. League 'shambles' On the down side, Stenson described the attitude of some clubs attitudes towards the Division 1 League (O'Rourke Cup) as insulting and he labelled the semi-finals "a shambles." "One club put out a 'token team' in their semi-final, while in the other semi-final one team got a walkover. Regardless of what happened in either instance, this was an insult to the O'Rourke Cup competition, the second biggest senior football competition in the county. "Clearly there were misunderstandings about when and where one game was to be played, but surely heads could have come together from clubs and CCC to find a resolution. This was a totally unsatisfactory conclusion to a very successful league, and should not be allowed happen again. "Unfortunately, there was also a concession in one semi-final of the John Corcoran sponsored O'Gara Cup Division 2 League. Is it that clubs are satisfied to consolidate their league status for the coming year and then lose interest once that's achieved and the championship over? Stenson also said the new championship format was somewhat successful, but must continue to be monitored. "This new format provides more games for all teams in the senior and intermediate, but is more complicated when sorting out quarter-finalists," he said, adding that "the down side is that six teams are idle while waiting for completion of the three-way play-off." The Roscommon secretary is also confident about the future of Dr Hyde Park. "Unfortunately, on the down side, the Slattery Report on Dr Hyde Park did not bring great news, with the sizeable reduction in capacity. However, we should not despair because with some simple solutions the capacity can be increased considerably, and eventually brought back to the 30,000 figure. I am confident that with the correct approach, under the guidance of Eamon Collins, Dr Hyde Park will host the 2012 senior championship game against Galway. Through no fault of anyone locally, the ownership of Dr Hyde Park has not been finally signed, but the legal process has moved on considerably in the past month. Legal issues have also held up the completion of the purchase of the training ground in Runnabracken. The matter is with the solicitors and hopefully it will be sorted in the near future," he said.