Secretary's Report AGM 2005

TUARASCÁIL AN RÚNAÍ

A Chairde Go Léir,

As Rúnaí of the famous Rockies Club, it is my duty to present an Annual Report to our members at the AGM, and while some people may consider it an onerous task, I really consider it an honour and a great privilege to do so.

I feel very fortunate to be involved in this great Club, and since I first joined it back in 1960 as a player, I have received far more from it than I could ever hope to give back.

This is a great and successful Club and we should all be proud to serve it in any way we can.

We are very fortunate to have so many good people who are prepared to give freely of their time and talents each year to the benefit of the Club. Without our volunteers we would cease to function and we owe each and every one of them our deepest gratitude.

With so many demands on people nowadays, it is very gratifying to report that we still have a lot of good people who are prepared to get involved in the Club. There are so many areas of activity in our Club now that it takes a lot of hardworking people to keep it ticking over.

Despite the lack of trophies, it was, nevertheless a long and busy year on the playing field and we acquitted ourselves well in all competitions at Adult and underage level.

Senior Hurling Championship

At Senior level we bowed our early in the Championship when we were defeated by Cloyne in Carrigtwohill on May 28th. We got back on the winning track again with a victory over C.I.T. on July 11th and we followed this up with another win over Delaneys on July 29th. This set us up for a quarterfinal game against The Barrs on August 20th. Despite the fact that we were short 7 of our first team players due to injury, this was without doubt the best performance our Senior Hurlers had given in a long time. We all knew it was going to be a struggle against The Barrs, but our team responded magnificently to the challenge. After falling behind in the first half, we not only caught up but also went ahead by 2 points. Despite the valiant efforts of our courageous team we were defeated by 4 points, and so bowed out of the Cork Senior Hurling Championship 2005.

Senior Hurling League

The Senior Hurling League has taken on a new status over the past two years, thanks mainly to the involvement of the Clubs in the organising of the competition, and the sponsorship and publicity provided by the Evening Echo. This is now a very important and useful competition and second in importance only to the S. H. Championship. This year we completed our full complement of 14 games and even though we amassed a total of 13 points in the League Table, we failed to qualify in the top 6. When you consider how successful we have been in this competition over the past 10 years or so, this was indeed a great disappointment not to qualify for the final stages. Of the 14 games we played, we won 6, lost 7 and drew 1. Hopefully we will recover lost ground next year and get back to our winning ways.

Let us face the new season with renewed vigour and optimism and let's make sure that we have some trophies to display at next year's AGM.

Our Players

Our Players will be glad to put the past year behind them, and I have no doubt that when we assemble again next year with a full squad of players, we will again be a force to be reckoned with. Our Players are our greatest asset and we are grateful to them for all their efforts and sacrifices on behalf of the Club, and for the immense pleasure they give us each year.

Mentors

Every team needs help and leadership and for this we depend on our mentors. Our Coaches, Selectors, Physio, First Aid and our Team Doctor, Dr. Paddy Hayes are all to be commended for their huge effort throughout the year. Our backroom team of Noel Flaherty (hurleys), Jim & May O'Brien (jerseys) and our catering ladies Helen Ronan and Mary Caplis deserve great praise and thanks for all their help.

Grounds Committee

The Grounds Committee continues to play an important role in the upkeep of our pitches and general surroundings of the Club. We welcomed a new member, Daw Harding, to the committee this year.

Condolences

On behalf of the Club, I wish to extend sincere condolences to all those who have suffered bereavement during the past year. The 9.00 am Mass in St. Michael's Church today was offered for the happy repose of their souls.

Rúairí Ó Riain

Rúnaí