Goodwill of players must be respected insists chairman

“I’m delighted to have got the opportunity, the five years, to do this job but I’m equally happy to be finished and go on to the next chapter,” outgoing Westmeath GAA chairman Frank Mescall told delegates at last Wednesday night’s county convention in the Mullingar Park Hotel.

Reflecting on the ups and downs of his tenure, the Ballynacargy clubman and former school principal summed up his experience with quotes from Albert Einstein (‘A man should look for what is, and not for what he thinks should be’) and the Roman philosopher Cicero (‘Gratitude is not only the greatest of the virtues, but the parent of all the others’).

Mr Mescall asked delegates to focus in particular on the Einstein quote in judging his five years at the helm, and in a nod to Cicero, said how thankful he was at having “the health and the family” to do the job.

In a wide-ranging address, the Clare native thanked clubs in Westmeath for their co-operation, even if occasionally they didn’t see eye to eye.

“I appreciate all of our clubs. Over the course of the five years, I felt, twice, that comments from club delegates were just a little unfair – a bit spiteful,” he said. “Naturally, we will disagree. You have to look after your clubs and what you see as best for you club. We have to try and see the bigger picture for the totality of your clubs. Conflict arises there.

“But I really want to thank and compliment clubs on the way they conduct themselves at meetings. It is heartwarming, the interest you have and the way you go about getting it across.”

Looking at some of that bigger picture, Mr Mescall recalled how last year, the Westmeath GAA community was “mourning the state of football” but he praised the work of the national football review committee in revitalising the big ball game.

“I thank the FRC and the work it has done for us,” he said. “It’s not the finished product. I think a goal should be four points. There is still too much lateral movement. But we should settle now for a couple of years and see. Football is enjoyable to watch again.”

On the inter-county front, Mr Mescall said that one of the saddest realities of his five-year stint was that he was involved in the recruitment of more managers than “most county chairs”.

“None of it was of my doing because I would have kept all the managers,” he added. “But situations change.

“It’s incredible the commitment those county teams give, the pride they display for their county, and the sacrifices they make. They put their lives on the line and, at times, I think their goodwill is abused. In lots of ways, they are treated like animals.

“Where is the rest time? Where is the recovery time? They go from club to county and back to club with no rest periods and they are suffering serious injuries.”

Mr Mescall looked to the future in three key areas: demographics, fundraising and child safeguarding.

On the “hot topic” of demographics and protecting the future of smaller, rural clubs, he said that Westmeath GAA was “ahead of the posse”, but on the issue of fundraising, he admitted to being “fearful”.

With the mediocre club response to the ‘Win a Home in Spain’ initiative in mind, he was disappointed to say that he has not seen Westmeath’s “capacity to deliver” in terms of fundraising.

“I see it in spades in the clubs around the county. I take my hat off to our brilliant clubs,” he remarked. “But we don’t seem to have the same grá or sense of community at county level. We will need it, and for each and everyone of us to row in behind it.”

The funds raised from the draw will go towards the development of a state-of-the-art training and development complex in Mullingar, which Mr Mescall said will be of “huge benefit to everybody”. But he bemoaned the fact that the county board is starting into the project with a lot less funds than expected.

“I wish there was a lot more money in our bank account, but there is not. It is what it is. What did Einstein say? He said it better,” he added.

Another key area of concern facing Westmeath GAA down the tracks is the issue of child protection, the workload for which is getting bigger and bigger every year. Mr Mescall said that in Irene Connell, Westmeath is lucky to have “the best children’s officer in the country”, but he called on Leinster Council to appoint its own full-time provincial children’s officer.

On TEG Cusack Park, the outgoing chair said there was “a lot of work done and more to do”, and that plans are afoot to carry out more works on the roof of the stand, as well as the development of a disabled area where patrons with a disability can sit and watch games in comfort.

Concluding his address, Mr Mescall thanked the county board’s various subsidiary committees, such as the CCC and the Scór committee, for their “brilliant” work during his term. He also had some kind words for the local media.

“I suppose, not once could I quibble with what the media reported,” he said. “We are lucky to have such men of integrity.

“Okay, at times, I mightn’t have liked what was printed. That wasn’t the fault of the media; that was possibly my fault. But never once did they misrepresent anything that took place. We’re in an age where things have nearly gone out of control. We need a bit of objectivity, and our newspapers provide that.”

Finally, before handing over the chairman’s medal to his successor, Multyfarnham’s Paddy Wallace, Mr Mescall paid tribute to the two full-time workers in Cusack Park: office administrator Emma McCabe Byrne and Westmeath GAA head of operations Patrick Doherty.

“Emma works very hard and is very courteous to everyone who comes in [to Cusack Park], and I thank her,” he said. “Patrick I am especially thankful to.

“I don’t think I would have been able to do the five years if I hadn’t Patrick’s help and expertise. It saddens me sometimes when I hear him maligned. He’s an outstanding man with a full grasp of the rules and regulations. His work ethic and passion for Westmeath GAA is second to none.”