Years 1992 - 1996
1992
President, Ken Gleeson. Captain, Tom Sheridan. Vice Captain Donnchadh O’Buachalla. Hon Secretary, Pat Corkery. Hon. Treasurer, Charles Purcell. Lady Captain, Della Meade.
Council Members. Jim Scott, Tom Dalton, Sean Skehill, Peter Wallace, Terry O’Brien, Kevin O’Leary Jim Ennis and Brian Mangan.
At the initial Council Meeting, the Captain proposed that in view of the difficult and contentious period that the Club had come through, every effort would be made by all Council Members to have a positive business-like approach to the running of the Club. The need for unity on Council was stressed. The Captain announced that the new Vice Captain would be Judge Donnchadh O’Buachalla. The need for better communications between Council and Members was stressed with Jim Scott appointed P.R.O. A regular monthly newsletter was initiated along with the need for an upward flow of communications. The newsletter would have input from the Ladies Club. The Lady Captain expressed full support of the Ladies Club to Council. Council agreed that plans for the full year be drawn up for the February meeting, with them being implemented later.
The importance of the Managers role in the Club was stressed, along with the support of Council for his position, with an extra management support team of Club Officers set up.
The Hon. Treasurer outlined his objectives as bringing the financial records up to date was necessary, with a view to having an E.G.M. early in the New Year. He stated that there was an issue with liquidity and high borrowings. A new computer and software package was approved as a necessity. A financial consultant was employed to assist in the matter.
At the Council Meeting of the 20th January, the Hon. Treasurer presented provisional unaudited accounts for the six month period to 31st December 1991. They did not show a positive position financially. He stated that the financial situation of the Club had been deteriorating over many years; the situation now needed to be corrected and the whole Club would need to be restructured. At the meeting of the 3rd February it was agreed to hold an E.G.M. on the 4th March, and proposals were adopted to deal with the situation. Following much discussion, a proposal for 5 Day Membership and a Pavilion Membership category was accepted, with the Entrance Fee to be charged at 60% of the Full Entrance fee for Full and £230.00 for Pavilion, with an Annual Subscription of £150.00 for Pavilion. The 5 Day category would not be open to Ladies. Full Members were allowed play on Tuesdays with the Ladies having priority. Following a request to the G.U.I., the 5 Day Members handicaps were a matter for the Club. The Club’s structure was reorganised to include competitions for 5 Day Members. At this E.G.M. Council put forward an interim report on the Club finances, along with a financial plan for the remainder of the year that showed a small surplus. This included the rescinding of the 60% refund proposal. Other measures taken at this time included the raising of some bar prices, reviewing the bar margin, a new Cold Store for the bar with increased security, and a thorough examination of all costs associated with the running of the Club. The Management of the Bar was taken over by members of Council. The catering contract was awarded to Pat Coleman and improvements were seen immediately in the quality and turnover of the caterer.
Following various meetings with the Caretaker, a decision was reached where he would vacate the Caretakers cottage by 6th March. The issue of insurance coverage in the event of not having a Caretaker on site was investigated, with the Insurance Company not pressing the Club to continue the system.
The General Manager submitted his resignation at the Council Meeting of the 6th April. The Vice Captain was assigned the task of finding his replacement along with another member of Council. The position remained vacant at the Meeting of 10th August with continued speculation in the Club about the post and the Captain expressing his view that the position would not compromise his position as Captain. It emerged that a Council Member was interested in the position. The Captain later expressed that there was a conflict of interest in the case.
At the Meeting of 19th October, the Vice Captain reported that there were 59 applications for the post of General Manager. Following extensive discussions a Sub-Committee of four Council Members was appointed with the power to short list three or five of the applicants. At the Meeting of 30th November Council approved Robert Edgar for a probationary period of six months, with a detailed contract drawn up outlining his functions.
A budget for the tarmacing and lining of the car park was agreed, along with various works in the area of the Green Staff facilities for both work and catering facilities, with a review of the machinery taking place.
Eddie Connaughton visited the Course on 4th January, and reported that he was very happy with the general state of the Course, while leaving a work programme which included the monitoring of the Greens on a daily basis. He suggested the purchase of a hollow tining machine, which was approved. On the May visit by Eddie, a programme was produced again for ongoing maintenance of the Course. A meeting with the Head Greenkeeper followed discussing Council’s dissatisfaction with the presentation of the Course. The quality of and position of sand in the bunkers was also on the agenda, with a long term plan for the course to be brought forward for discussion.
A children’s Christmas party and New Year’s Eve party was successfully organised.
Brian O’Kelly was appointed Trustee.
The Board for past Captain’s Prize winners was presented to the Club by the Ladies Club.
The selling of Tee Boxes to Societies on an hourly basis was accepted, along with Green Fees being accepted half an hour after competitions on a Saturday and Sunday. To avail of a reduced Green fee, all Members must play with their guests.
Agreement was reached with the Trustees with regard to when they would receive Council Minutes, while also agreeing that any legal action pending be recorded in the Minutes. This was later confirmed that the Trustees receive signed Minutes within fourteen days of their signing.
The Club had made the final of the Fitzgibbon Cup.
A very successful Corporate Day was held with a significant contribution made to Club Funds.
Open Week took place with a good surplus shown for the week.
Arrangements for getting on the weekend time sheet were put in place, with Sunday evening at 8 pm being the time selected for the following Saturday and Sunday. One person supervised each sheet, with the Pro Shop taking over the sheet each Monday morning and only Council Members entitled to priority on sheet. Golf results to the newspapers were to be sent in on a week behind basis, as the Club was not in a position to avail of the next weeks papers. It was strongly felt that the advertising benefit to the Club outweighed the arrears week in publication.
Following the payment of all Annual Subscriptions, there was 11 Full, 13 Lady and 29 Junior vacancies, with over 40 applications for full, in excess of 100 for the 5 Day Membership and 35 for the Junior positions. A secret ballot took place to fill the positions. Following the filling of the positions, it emerged that some of the successful applicants had not been properly proposed in line with the Constitution and an extensive debate took place on the matter at Council. To resolve the issue, part of the proposals were Special General Meeting (S.G.M.) was sent to Council with 58 signatures. Many were undecipherable and it was returned with the note saying that an S.G.M. would be called pending receipt of the names clarified. This S.G.M. took place on the 9th December, at which all the issues involved under the Rules of the Club were clarified.
The Entry Fee for new entrants was set as follows:
£2,400.00 Full Membership
£1,000.00 Ladies, or £750 if husband already a Member
£80.00 Juniors
£5.000.00 Corporate Membership.
Council agreed with the Lady Captain’s suggestion that the Lady Captain be provided with a Club Blazer in the future.
Following a review of the 4 months accounts to end of April, despite them showing a loss, it was under half that budgeted for the period. Council was encouraged with the result, but still concerned with the bar result.
A complaint was received from the householder to the left of the 13th fairway, where a golf ball had hit his car. Following discussion’s this was resolved in a friendly manner. The Hon. Secretary wrote to the individual stressing his personal safety while walking the Course.
The Honorarium for both Captain and Lady Captain was revised, as following checks with other Clubs, our Honorarium was well short of other averages.
Plans were put in place for a revised Pro Shop, with a planning application prepared and submitted by the Club’s architect. A number of builders submitted prices for the contract with the two lowest bids being re discussed with the bidders. This resulted in a reduction on the original bid. Crowe Halpin won the contract. The plans were posted on the Notice Board for the Members, with the building completed later.
Following a review of the accounts to the 30th June, where a surplus of £5000.00 was envisaged, a profit of in excess of £20,000.00 was shown. The Hon Treasurer congratulated the Council Members, in particular those associated with the turnaround in the bar trading account.
A new automated Subscription System was installed in the Office.
A Special Council Meeting was held on 27th August to discuss draft changes to the Constitution submitted by the Vice Captain. The view was expressed that in effect we had two Clubs, one comprising of Full members (Men) and the other Associates (Ladies) and some 5 Day Members. Equal status was on its way. The Council voted unanimously for the proposal with Council to have time to fully research proposals. At this meeting Council approved the setting of the Club’s term loan rate for a further 3 years as the previous agreement had worked well in the Club’s favour.
Membership was tidied up and the following figures emerged:
Life Members 25
Full Members 522
5 Day 49
Transition 2
Lady Members 200
Junior 98
Total 896
As a number of vacancies existed, applications that were on hold were voted in following a secret ballot to fill the remaining slots.
When the 8 months accounts were presented, it transpired a huge turnaround in finances had taken place, with the bar showing a profit while catering a loss. This turnaround continued to the end of the financial year. A transfer of funds from the Deposit account to the term loan account took place as a direct result of the turnaround.
A Club Crested table cover for prize giving was purchased.
The weekend away took place on the first weekend of October.
A letter was received from Ken Haughton, Secretary G.U.I. Leinster branch expressing appreciation for Barton Cup hospitality, while our Barton Cup Team was narrowly beaten in the final by Slade Valley.
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A comprehensive audit took place of all machinery, computers, with serial numbers, values, etc for all items included under the various policies covered.
The G.T.I. (Grass Technology International) report was presented to Council, with Council expressing that the results of complying with their work programme was there for all to see in the Course.</p?
New storage areas for chemicals, fertilisers etc were in progress, along with the upgrading of Green staff facilities.
Dress code and general demeanour of certain people was raised at Council, with Council seeking legal opinion as to the correct procedures to adopt.
The planning permissions that the Club had been granted for nine sites to the right hand side of the 18th fairway came up for discussion with Council seeking a meeting with the Trustees on the Matter. It was agreed that negotiations continue on a confidential basis and if agreement reached to hold an E.G.M to finalise the matter.
The tragic loss of a member, Michael Horan, in a traffic accident, left shock waves throughout the Club, with the Club holding a benefit golf weekend for the family, along with setting up a Trust Fund.
The Captain nominated Pat Corkery to the position of Vice Captain, while Eilish Moroney was nominated for the Ladies.
Following publication of the 10 months trading period and with budget planning for the following year taking place, great emphasis was placed on keeping budgets in line with income.
Time on the time sheets for low handicap Juniors was discussed with Council concerned at the possibility of our best Juniors players being poached.
The boundaries of the Course were under review, with a number of points on the boundaries requiring urgent attention. The Club surveyor undertook a survey of the areas requiring attention with discussions taking place with various neighbours. This item continued on to the following year.
Various motions were put forward to the A.G.M. with one requiring serious attention from the Lady Captain in that if passed, Lady Members would have no time on sheet on a Sunday. This motion failed to pass.
Having come through a very difficult period, major progress had been made in both the financial end, work completed on the course, the Club operating within its budget, and Council working together for everyone’s benefit.
1993
Officers for 1993. President: Ken Gleeson, Captain, Judge Donnchadh O’Buachalla, Lady Captain, Brenda Vines, Hon, Secretary Con Gallagher, Treasurer Charles Purcell.
Council Members, Jim Colgan, John Dignam, Jim Ennis, Kevin Greene, Terry O ‘Brien, Kevin O’Leary, Jim Scott, Tom Sheridan & Peter Wallace.
Trustees. John Davitt, Conor Maguire and Brian O’Kelly.
The new Pro Shop for Professional Niall Murray was completed and was subject to discussion on compliance with the original Plans. This was later resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. Over the following period of time various discussions took place with regard to the role of the Professional within the Club, the outcome being a new agreement was reached with Niall Murray.
The Captain asked the Treasurer to bring forward policies relating to Capital expenditure.
As was the case over the previous years, Fund Raising was an important part of the scene due to what was an ongoing shortage of cash flow to maintain progress in the Club.
Boundaries again were an issue with Trustees writing of their concerns to Council.
As progress was being made with the Caterer, a Committee was set up under Pat Corkery to look into improvements to be made to the kitchen and dining area.
As the Club had been granted four planning permissions, Council and the Trustees were beginning to look into what value could be achieved by the sale of the sites and their permissions. Trustees appointed a Valuer and Architect to bring forward proposals to Council. A Sub Committee was set up comprising of the Trustees, along with Ewan Byrne, Tom Sheridan and John Dignam.
1993 saw the first discussions and plans for development of the Clubhouse in the form of an extension in a phased form, Aidan Kavanagh, and Fitzgerald Reddy and Associates drew up plans with a estimated cost in the region of £80,000.00 to £100,000.00. Council decided that they did not have the authority to spend that amount and plans were put in place for improvements to the kitchen. The work on the kitchen took place and came in under budget. New menus were put in place along with a general improvement in standards of catering.
A Special Committee was put in place to organise the Corporate Days on Friday 28th May and Friday 24th September. The Committee was comprised of John Dignam, John L Byrne, Eddie Kenna, Rory O’Nuallain, Marian Larkin, Sean Donnelly, Jimmy Whan, Anne Coyle, Bernard Murphy and John Beggan. Sponsorship through Michael Cummins for a Corporate Day and a Mid Week Competition was achieved through his association with Irish Distillers.
During the year a situation developed whereby the Council Member responsible for the Greens/Course had a difficulty with the Head Greenkeeper and Club Secretary/Manager the result being that the Council Member was replaced as Greens Chairperson by the Captain. Not all Council Members were happy about the decision, however, the decision stood. Later a letter signed by 102 Members was sent to Council expressing concern at the situation.
A new contract with the Professional Niall Murray was agreed during the year, along with delegation of the 1st Tee operation to him.
Club adviser Eddie Connaughton attended a Special Council Meeting on 16th April, along with Head Greenkeeper Paul McGrane. The outcome was that Eddie was happy with the progress of the new Greens. In particular, the fact that they had been played on continuously since the previous spring.
Equality was beginning to become an issue with both the G.U.I. and I.L.G.U. writing about the practical difficulties in its implementation. Jim Scott and Lady Captain, Brenda Vines were nominated to join the subcommittee headed by Jim Colgan.
The Fitzgibbon Cup was won by Old Conna.
During the year there were approximately 10 vacancies in the Ordinary Membership category and 5 for Junior. There were 39 applications for Ordinary Membership and 25 for Junior Membership. In the Lady Membership there were 34 applications for 1 vacancy. After interviews 12 applications were put forward for the 10 positions available in the Ordinary category.
Following a meeting with Officers of the Club, Robert Edgar, the Secretary/Manager resigned his position. At the next Council Meeting, a Sub-Committee was tasked to make a three month contract appointment with a view to make the position permanent by mid September. Later Council decided that as part of the criteria that no employee could be concurrently a Member of the Club or on Council or on any Sub-Committee once their application had been tendered to the Club. Dave Diviney was appointed on a 3 month contract. At the Council meeting of the 11th October, Dave was appointed as permanent Secretary/Manager giving him authority over both the Professional and Head Greenkeeper.
The Corporate Day was cancelled and rescheduled for 3rd September due to bad weather, at a cost of £1700.00.
The Club reached the semi-final of the Jimmy Bruen competition which was played in the Curragh G.C. and went on to win the Leinster Final of the competition. The National Final took place on 17th and 18th September. Club sweaters and shirts were provided for the team players.
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During the Council Meeting of 5th July that old bugbear of golf Slow Play was again raised, with the usual recommendations made. As can be seen over the years not much improvement has taken place to this day.
Finance was an ongoing concern as the 8 months accounts had shown a loss of £10,638.00 and a tight rein was kept on expenditure.
The Race Night for 9th October was expected to raise £6000.00 - £7000.00, along with whatever profit that may be made by the Corporate Day.
Later in the year, the Captain’s Dinner was cancelled by the Captain and at the following A.G.M. gave his reasons for the cancellation.
In the Hon Treasurer’s report, Charlie reported an income of £420,639.00 and expenses of £387,381.00 leaving a surplus of £33,258.00.
He complimented:
- Kevin Greene and Kevin O’Leary for their work on competitions and the Sponsors for their support.
- John Dignam and his Sub-Committee for achieving a surplus £8,000.00 on the Corporate Day in spite of the fact that it had to be cancelled twice due to the weather.
- Jim Ennis and his Race Night Committee achieving in excess of £4000.00.
Again, Sean Donnelly had proposed a £50.00 bar levy and on a show of hands was defeated this time around.
Tree planting and the sponsorship of same had been undertaken by Michael Silke, with hundreds of trees planted along with a list produced of where each Members sponsored tree was planted.
During 1993 the I.L.G.U. celebrated its Centenary year and during the year a special Foursomes Competition was held with the winners receiving a Special Centenary Medal. During the year the Ladies Club raised £1600.00 for Club Funds by holding three Open Competitions and a Bridge morning.
The Club held a very successful fund raising Gala Race Night on 16th October.
1994
Officers for 1994. President, Ken Gleeson. Captain, Pat Corkery. Vice-Captain Jim Brookes. Hon. Secretary, Con Gallagher. Hon. Treasurer, Charles Purcell. Lady Captain, Eilis Moroney. Council Members, Michael Cluskey, Jim Dignam, Jim Ennis, Pat Mulcahy, Eamon O'Sullivan, Tom Sheridan, Peter Wallace, and Dave Wilkie. Trustees, John Davitt, Conor Maguire, and Brian O’Kelly.
At the first Council Meeting of the 199, the Council stressed the need for ongoing fundraising during the year setting at target of £16,000.00 but expecting £20,000.00 to be achieved. The Hon. Treasurer invited both the Captain and Vice-Captain to join his Finance Sub-Committee as a lot of expenditure was planned for the coming year.
At this stage initial discussions were taking place with regard to putting in place a 5 Year Plan for the ongoing development of the Course, staff training, along with the care and upkeep of machinery. Council Members and Ordinary Members were asked for their input. Later in the year Eddie Connaughton drew up a plan for the future development of the Course.
During the year a number of improvements to the Course took place, including:
Landscaping around the 1st tee.
Fairways were shaped.
The drain in front of the 13th Green was filled in.
The Bridge to the left of the 5th Green was constructed.
A meeting with the Trustees and Council took place following a letter from them to Council, in relation to the sale of the sites with the benefit of planning permissions. The outcome was that both parties were to meet on a regular basis to discuss any matters concerning the Trustees.
Boundaries were again an issue and meetings were held with the various people concerned with a view to firmly establish Club boundaries. This was ongoing throughout the year with the piece of ground to the rear of the 14th tee being discussed along with access to the Course from the mid way access at the 13th Fairway.
Tree pruning along Ferndale Road was taken care of during the year to minimise any risk of a tree coming down. The possibility of a 2 acre purchase of land at the corner of the 7th fairway from Mr Whelan was brought to the attention of the Council by Tom Sheridan. It was agreed would be appraised.
At the September Council Meeting, Brian O‘Kelly indicated that he was not going forward for re-election as he was not in a position to give the commitment required. Ken Gleeson, President, also indicated that he was also not seeking re-election.
Improvements to the Locker Rooms took place at a cost of £6283.00.
Niall Ruane and Mark Sheridan took part in the Inter Provincials with Council making a contribution to their expenses.
A card setting out Club Dress Code was issued to Members along with the banning of mobile phones, both on the Course and in the Clubhouse.
Corporate Day was held on 13th May and was again sponsored by Irish Distillers with the overall result showing a profit of £10,000.00. George Hunter, Sonny Knowles and the Values were booked for the evening entertainment.
Finance was an ongoing issue during the year with close monitoring deemed required after the 6 month figures showed a substantial loss of over £36,000.00, being £20,000.00 over budget. After the 10 month period that had shown a surplus of £21,167.00 which was £29,639.00 under budget.
Later in the year Open Week took place, with the bar recording a turnover in excess of £10,000.00.
During the year there were ongoing discussions with the Professional, Niall Murray, as to the terms of his contract. A meeting took place between Niall, his financial adviser, the Vice Captain and the Secretary/Manager. Niall indicated that he was prepared to leave the Club, subject to certain conditions being fulfilled. A Sub-Committee was formed to deal with the matter. Towards the end of the year the matter had still not been resolved.
At the end of the 8th month of the trading period of the year, the accounts were still showing an operating loss of £7752.00. Consideration was given to the imposition of a levy and the difficulty of raising funds was to be communicated to the Members.
| Ordinary Member | £430.00 |
| Lady Member | £205.00 |
| Lady Member (Wife) | £230.00 |
| Transition Member | £210.00 |
| 5 Day Member | £270.00 |
| Pavilion Member | £155.00 |
| Senior Member | £105.00 |
| Junior Member | £95.00 |
| Junior Member, Son, Daughter | £ 80.00 |
1995
Officers for 1995. President Dermot Hitchcock. Captain Jim Brooks, Vice Captain, Jim O’Mahony. Hon. Secretary, Jim Colgan. Hon Treasurer, Charles Purcell. Lady Captain, Marie O’Neill. Council Members, Philip Brennan, John Mooney, Gerry O’Doherty, Gerard O’Gorman, Eamon O’Sullivan, Derek Rath, Peter Wallace and David Wilkie.
Following on from the discussions that had taken place between the previous Council and the Professional, Niall Murray, agreement was reached with Niall that he would tender his resignation to Old Conna and that the Club would purchase his fixtures and fittings at a price that was suggested following a valuation by Hamilton Osborne King, subject to title. This created a vacancy for a professional, which was advertised both in the National Papers and with the P.G.A. A Sub-Committee was set up under Peter Wallace, Dave Wilkie and the Secretary Manager, Dave Diviney to conduct initial interviews and report back to Council. 10 applications were received and after the Hon. Secretary was added to the Sub-Committee further interviews were held. After second interviews with the Officers of the Club, Paul McDaid was appointed Club Professional. A get together with Paul and New Members was organised along with the all Council Members, Trustees and Members as a means of getting to know each other.
The Lady Captain, Marie O Neill, clarified with Council how the Ladies Green’s Sub-Committee would liaise with the Council Greens Committee, chaired by Eamon O’Sullivan.
Around this time also improvements were taking place in the workshops in relation to equipment layout and the safe and secure storage of fertilisers and chemicals. There was also concern with regard to the security of the workshops along with the diesel stocks.
Mid Week Competitions continued the format of sponsorship from the previous year, whereby a sponsor and 7 guests could play before 12.30pm for a fee of £70.00. A proposal to Council was rejected where the guest fee was to be reduced to £7.00 from £8.00 and the Members Fee increased to £8.00. The Committee were to have the Caterer prepare a Special Menu for the Wednesdays to encourage those playing to remain on in the Clubhouse.
At the January Meeting, Council acceded to a request from Brendan Burke and Des Prendergast for the use of the Clubhouse for their combined Birthday Party. This proved to be a great success.
The Fred Daly Trophy was hosted by the Club.
Work commenced on building new retaining wall on both the 10th and 12th Tee Boxes by our own staff using concrete blocks and finished with granite. Proposals took place with regard to the 3rd, 6th, and 11th tees. Council was requesting that detailed costing take place with regard to upgrading the 1st Tee Box which was completed later in the year. In the later part of the year during the winter period, the staff was concentrating on the development of the pathways and roadways.
As the machinery was in constant need to be upgraded, plans were being put in place for the purchase of both new and reconditioned machinery, i.e. tractors and mowers.
The first Lady Member to join as a Corporate Member took place during the year with the same facilities as a Male Corporate Member, where they were entitled to pre book their name on the time sheet following contact with the office. Council requested that the Hon. Secretary contact Sean Donnelly to thank him for the superb job he was doing in assisting the President, Dermot Hitchcock in the matter. 8 additional Corporate Members joined over the course of the year.
At the March Meeting the first draft of a Five Year Plan was produced by the Vice-Captain Jim O’Mahony and Working Teams were appointed later for the five major elements envisaged in the Plan. Later as part of the Course Plan, three golf course architects and designers were approached, Ruddy and Craddock, Sporting Concepts and G.T.I. through Eddie Connaughton, to come up with a long term development plan for the Course.
There were ongoing issues with boundaries and rights of way during the year, along with the Club solicitor writing concerning our inability to properly register Title due to the unavailability of an original Map. A Sub-Committee was appointed comprising of John Mooney, Jim O’Mahony, Jim Colgan, Charlie Purcell and the Secretary Manager Dave Diviney to deal with the matter. Letters were written to Binchey’s Solicitors for the Vendors by Ger Butler seeking discovery of all documents in relation to Title.
During the year further efforts were made to secure the boundaries by purchasing the Cottage to the left of the 13th fairway for £65,000, selling it on for £50,000 while retaining a portion of the land. In September 1995 the Club’s Trustees were indemnified by John L. Byrne were this transaction not approved by Members.
The “Cabbage Patch” at the back of the 14th Tee was also investigated. As an interim measure Council approved of fencing this area off and planting some fast growing trees around the area. The boundary with Mr Gerry O’Malley’s property was finalised and maps were produced to reflect same. This was later ratified by the Members at the S.G.M. the following year. The agreement of the right of way with Mr L McCabe at the 13th fairway and to which maps were prepared to reflect this agreement was also concluded.
Initial plans to hold a Black Tie Casino Night in Fitzpatrick’s Castle did not come to fruition due to a low take up. As part of the Social/Fundraising a draw for a car was accepted by Council, and successfully held under the auspices of the Captain.
Discussions took place at Council with regard to unapproved work taking place on the Course, filling in of drains, cutting of trees etc. It was agreed that no further work would take place without Council approval. The Term Loan was coming up for renewal. Lombard & Ulster was prepared to continue to offer favourable terms to the Club.
During the year 6 vacancies arose in the Full Member category. Council decided that the vacancies should be filled by ballot from the 5 Day Members. When selected the number of vacancies in 5 Day was 10, which were then filled. There being only 2 vacancies in the Ladies Club, both were also filled. The Entrance Fee of Membership was raised as follows: Ordinary £2800.00, Ladies £1400.00 and 5 Day £1650.00.
A request by a Trustee that Trustees be allowed to have their names pre-booked on the time sheets was turned down.
When the 8 months accounts were produced, a shortfall of £52,645.00 was reported against the budget. The Hon. Treasurer expressed concern at the overspend in Course and Admin budgets, and a serious restriction was placed on all spending for the remainder of the year. At the end of the 9th month of trading the deficit had been reduced somewhat while a month later he was confident of better than break even. However at year end the deficit amounted to £22,000.00. At the A.G.M. the reasons for the overrun on the budgets were explained as mainly due to machinery repairs, security of workshop, ex gracia payment to Professional and Council Expenses.
The Lady Captain presented a Cheque to the Hon. Treasurer for £1000.00 from the Ladies Section stating that this brought to £1300.00 the amount that the Ladies Club had raised. She stated that if the Ladies were to hold more Ladies Opens that the appropriate times be made available without any complaints of them hogging the Course.
At the Council Meeting of 18th July Captain Jim Brooks suggested that and consideration be given to a special Old Conna event similar to other Clubs, such as a Seniors Trophy. There was born the “Old Conna Seniors Invitation Trophy” which is now played for by 16 local Clubs on a knockout basis, with the final taking place on Old Conna, generally on the last Monday in August each year. The initial organisation of the event was by Captain Jim Brooks and the then President Dermot Hitchcock.
The Captain, Jim Brooks held a successful fund raising draw on 2nd December.
1996
President, Dermot Hitchcock. Captain, Jim O’Mahony. Vice-Captain, Tom Maguire. Hon. Secretary, Jim Colgan. Hon. Treasurer, Barry Rhodes. Lady Captain, Anne Coyle. Council Members. Philip Brennan, Gerry O’Doherty, Derek Rath, John Mooney, David Wilkie, Eamon O’Sullivan, Brendan Burke, and Neville Thompson.
At the first Council Meeting the Captain circulated Standing Orders as to how they would apply and stressed the need for strict confidentiality with regard to Council Meetings and particularly how Council Members voted. The need for ongoing communications between Council and Members was also stressed by the Captain.
In the early part of the year the Planning Committee from 1995 continued to be chaired by the Captain until such time as the Plan was presented to the Members with a time frame of mid April. Again, finance was under discussion with great care being taken over expenses as the Club was exceeding the overdraft facility, and a draw down on the Term Loan was envisaged. However, this was not required as the 1996 Subscriptions were coming in.
The Head Greenkeeper, Paul McGrane, was invited to the March Council meeting to discuss with Council the ongoing situation with regard to the maintenance, upkeep and improvements required on the Course for the forthcoming Golf Season. It was agreed that work be carried out on landing areas, and approaches to the Greens. Later on the Captain stressed the need that the Greenkeeper should be allowed to manage the Greens activities, and report to the Secretary/Manager and not the Greens Committee. He re-iterated that the work of the Committee was to propose policy to Council and if agreed that it be passed to the Secretary/ Manager for implementation.
As part of the Five Year Plan from 1995, Sporting Concepts and G.T.I. produced plans for the development of the Course. The Head Greenkeeper showed preference for the proposals of Sporting Concepts at a Council Meeting, where both parties presented their proposals to Council.
A Special General Meeting of Members was held in the Clubhouse on the 18th June 1996 at which 176 Members attended. The Agenda was as follows:
1. To obtain approval of the Agreement with our neighbour Mr O Malley for the redefining the boundary between our properties at the 9th hole. This was passed on a show of hands.
2. Long Term Development Plan.
a. Finance
It was proposed and carried that a Capital/Development Fund be established whereby all Entry Fees and 50% of all Green fees be used for this Fund.
b. House.
A proposal by the Planning Committee for Development of the Clubhouse on a phased basis was narrowly defeated on a show of hands.
c. Course.
The Planning Committee had requested three companies, Tom Craddock, G.T.I. (Eddie Connaughton) and Sporting Concepts to outline proposals for the development of the Course and had requested Sporting Concepts to develop their proposals further. Peter McEvoy and Craig Cooke on behalf of Sporting Concepts presented their proposals to the Meeting with the aid of slides, discussion and a question and answer session. The proposals included the redevelopment of the Course over a period of years with the initial development taking place on Holes 4, 5 and 9. Following a long discussion among the Members, with the Members not wanting to have their Golf interrupted again by development work, the motion was proposed and following a show of hands the motion was lost. Later a new Planning Sub-Committee was formed under the Vice Captain, Tom Maguire comprising of Eddie Kenna, Tony Sayers, Gerry Kestell, Michael Watson, Pat Trundle, Pat Hayde, Paula Healy and the Hon. Secretary, Jim Colgan.
3. Agree the proposals put forward by Sporting Concepts in the Development Plan for improvements to the Course on a phased basis.
Following the S.G.M. Council proceeded with the completion of the agreement with Mr O’Malley and appointed Gerard Butler Solicitors to deal with the matter; he was involved in the original purchase of Old Conna and was familiar with the area.
Following a Meeting of the Course Committee along with the Head Greenkeeper, Sports Turf Research Institute were appointed as Club Agronomists replacing G.T.I.
At the August Council Meeting the Hon. Treasurer expressed the view that he expected a shortfall of £15,000.00 in the accounts, and he considered that this would be a good outcome taking into account the overall performance to date. However by mid-October this had turned around to a surplus of £7000.00 with the expectation of its holding to year end.
The Old Conna Seniors Trophy inaugural competition was proposed by the Captain and approved by Council. The date was fixed for 26th September with four teams taking part, namely Delgany, Milltown, Stackstown and Old Conna.
FIVE MORE TEAM PHOTOS HERE
Council requested in writing to all Past Captain’s that relevant Club material in their possession was returned to the Club for filing.
Again, Corporate Membership was discussed with a proposal for a mail shot to 400 companies. The 3 year Membership at £5,500.00 plus V.A.T. at 12.5% was agreed.
Dress Code in the Clubhouse was a matter that came up frequently, with notices prepared and published. Jim O Mahony, Captain, produced a detailed paper for Council on Leave of Absence requests, which set out the terms under which Leave of Absence would be granted. The underlying principle being compassion with the Member’s request and that Leave only granted on a current year basis.
During the year, Membership remained full and pressure was on the time sheet with suggestions being made to reduce the numbers to 500 in line with original commitments. However, as we know, this did not come to pass. A motion to approve a Country Member was approved by Council.