Tipp GAA finalising new 5-year Strategic Plan

By Shane Brophy

Tipperary County Board will publish a strategic plan for the five years from 2024 to 2028 early next year and presented some of the findings of a survey at the November County Board meeting.

County Development Officer Mark McLoughlin, who is overseeing the development of the plan, outlined some of the key findings of a public survey.

In terms of adult games programme, 74.4% were happy with the number with the current situation but this number fell to 66% for the juvenile games programme. 63% fell the current facilities in the county were satisfactory while 58% were happy with PR & Communications, while of concern will be the just 51% of respondents being happy with coaching development.

In a similar survey of the 72 clubs in the county, responded to by just fifty perfect of them, it found that 91% were happy with the adult games programme while it fell to 58% for the juvenile programme. 63% were happy with coaching while facilities was at 86% with PR & communications at 77%.

While the strategic plan has yet to be signed off on, a number of key areas to be targeted over the next five years, including the completion of the redevelopment of the Tipperary training grounds at Dr Morris Park with the construction of a new Pavilion and a fourth playing pitch, while an upgrade of Semple Stadium is also badly needed.

Improving governance and finance is also a key area with greater control of spending on inter-county teams, and to that end a major fundraiser to raise over €250,000 per year is targeted. The plan is also set to include going completely cashless over the next five years which could be a controversial aspect which Shannon Rovers delegate Liam Hogan questioned at the meeting saying: “there are people who will not change from using cash and will not get a (bank) card and these people have to be respected.”