NY GAA: Galway and Cavan the big winners in transfer window

Finbar Flood, Mayo to Kerry; Martin O’Connor, Cavan to Kerry; James Mitchell, Down to Leitrim; Liam Clifford, Kerry to Mayo; Mossie Dore, Kerry to Mayo; Kieran Potter, Cork to Mayo; Michael Creegan, St. Raymond’s to Mayo; Robert O’Neill, Rangers to Monaghan; Gary Donoghue, Cork to Rangers; Thomas Fennell, FDNY to Rockland.

Austin Cunningham, Mayo to Roscommon; Steven Gomez, Dublin to St. Raymond’s, Ronan Garvey, St. Barnabas to Tyrone; Declan Garvey, St. Barnabas to Tyrone; Peter Kelly, St. Raymond’s to Tyrone; Vinny Gavin, Offaly to Westmeath; Raymond Keenan, Offaly to Westmeath.

 
Divisions Have a New Look
 

The New York GAA divisions will have a new look in the new season. While teams play with championships at stake, relegation a fear and competition the goal, New York has a new skyline for the 2010 season.

First, the senior division will have eight teams competing – last year’s champs Down, beaten finalists Cork, Leitrim and Tyrone, who bowed out at the semifinal stage last year, and Cavan and Kerry, who both played in the quarters. Rounding out the eight are Sligo and Donegal.

Four Provinces have been told that they cannot play in New York from now on and must return to the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, while last year’s intermediate winners Roscommon are not moving up to the seniors, but instead will stay put.

The championship will have seven games for each team, with a knockout competition (which badly needs a name) also projected to take place.

The Roscommon scenario is unsettling as the club won both the John Brady Knockout and Charlie Sweeney Championship last year. They were the class of the division when the playoffs arrived for both trophies.

The club submitted a letter last week to say that they would not be able to compete at the senior level this season. This was due to both the lack of players and the commitments financially that playing at the highest level would necessitate.

The letter to the board was called out of order by the chairman Larry McCarthy, but a motion from the floor by the delegates was passed to allow them to stay in the chase for the intermediate championship.

It is worth noting that the problems Roscommon have are very real, and it is always in the best interest of the clubs to help them to stay active.

The rulebook which was under scrutiny at the rules convention just two weeks ago took another hit, however. It lives on a year to year basis and is certainly not the law, but a scroll that is used for reference only.

Following hard on the heels of Roscommon were the reversal of two transfers from this past month, with another on hold. The rule says the players show in person to avoid such controversies, but more on that next week in another rule book fiasco.

On to the intermediate division then. This year nine teams will vie for the crown, eaten semifinalists Astoria and Dublin, Armagh, Rangers, who took home the junior crown and move up to this level, Kerry, last season’s runners up Offaly, Brooklyn/Long Island, Mayo and of course Roscommon.

​
Nster.com