By Eanna O’Reilly

PAUL Bellew was handed a thumping mandate to continue as Galway GAA’s top official at Monday night’s annual County Convention in the Lough Rea Hotel.

The Padraig Pearases clubman was overwhelmingly ratified as County Board Chairman for a fourth year after emphatically seeing off the challenge of Alan Mongey (Tuam Stars) by 195 votes to 55.

The election for the board treasurer’s position saw Corofin clubman Tommy Kelly emerge victorious. Kelly will succeed Mike Burke (Kinvara) who served in the position for the last seven years.

Kelly overcame Enda Mulkerrins (St. Thomas’) and Mark Brennan (Turloughmore) to take the position for 2025. It’s a case of as you were for the remaining county board positions, as all other officers were returned unopposed for the new year.

In his chairman’s address, Bellew paid tribute to the infrastructure committee for successfully delivering upgrades on Galway GAA facilities. The opening of the new stand at Tuam Stadium, as well as the drainage works at Kenny Park in Athenry, and the recent development of floodlights at Pearse Stadium were highlighted by the chairman as projects which would benefit Galway GAA well into the future.

Bellew alluded to the healthy financial position of Galway GAA, which has recorded a €1.5 million surplus over the last three years. He said that Galway GAA’s commercial value has risen significantly during that time, and he expects it to rise again in 2025. The streaming of club matches generated additional revenue in 2024, and the county board will be announcing details of a new fundraising project in the new year.

The chairman pointed to the 18% rise in adult participation in Gaelic games in Galway since the Covid pandemic, which makes the county an outlier, as participation rates have stagnated and fallen in other counties during the same period.

Bellew described the split season as a resounding success, which has benefitted players at club and county level since its introduction. In response to treasurer Mike Burke’s comments on excessive spending on county teams, Bellew pointed out that the success of Galway’s county teams has major repercussions for Galway GAA’s commercial value and future generation of income.

Bellew also made the point that Galway’s underage county teams now play more championship matches than ever before, which necessitates additional spending in order to ensure that the teams are as well prepared and competitive as they can possibly be.

Pictured: Paul Bellew