Outgoing Donegal GAA treasurer Boyd looking forward to catching up on lost time

At this year’s annual Convention in December Alan Boyd will have completed his five-year term as county treasurer and in many ways he will be happy to hand on a post that has become much too big for a volunteer.

With turnover increasing year on year, the job of looking after the Donegal GAA’s county finances is very demanding. Boyd, who has given most of his adult life to the GAA, is looking forward to a break.

“The first three years were really enjoyable, getting things done and trying to do your best to keep the county going. There are all sorts of challenges. Obviously, finance is a big one. We did well around the House Draw, which was really successful.

“Then when Covid came in, there were difficult times. Fundraising was difficult and we gave clubs a break with their own fundraising. We probably fell back a little with our own fundraising, but we generally balanced the books. But you would like to have a surplus and certainly this year there are big demands on finance going forward,” said Boyd, who wants the best for all the teams in football and hurling.

“I suppose overall, cumulatively, I have been about 15 years in the Executive. Listen, I enjoyed my time. Mick McGrath rang me five years ago and looking back should I have answered the call at the time,” laughs Boyd. “I have given a lot, I have given 55 years to the GAA now. “I started off at U-14 and I got my first medal when I was 14 in Tirconaill Park, but we didn’t get any medals. I remember that final as it was the only goal I scored in my life. I was full-forward that day. Traditionally I was a back or goalkeeper.

“From that into club managing, refereeing, club chairman and treasurer, club representative on county committee before youth officer and cultural officer.”

He took over in the 1990s as youth officer, succeeding Tom Daly and was Cultural Officer, or Oifigeach na Gaeilge as it was then, in the 2000s. But by far his biggest task was when he took over as county treasurer five years ago.

“Now it gets more demanding every year because of all the regulation and documentation. For volunteers it’s crazy. It’s a full-time job,” said Boyd, who pointed out that there was just one full-time administration post.

“For the three main officers, it’s 24/7. You’re not doing the job if you’re not 24/7, the phone calls never stop. Fixtures is the same, a big demanding officer. And even now our children’s officer, that’s a big area, and rightfully so, difficult to control to ensure safeguarding.”

With the appointment of an Operations Manager imminent for the county, Boyd says it is only part of what is wanted.
“I did say that we needed help a number of years ago. I remember going to the little office in Ballybofey; then you go to Convoy and the running costs that that demands. In fairness to the development officers Charlie Kerr now and David McLoone for getting all that up and running with the pitches.

“But it is another expense. There are more full-time staff needed there. At the moment the Administrator (Noreen Doherty) is doing about 20 jobs and she should be doing maybe 10,” said Boyd.

All of the extra investment and provision of top class infrastructure brings extra cost and that ends up at the door of the county treasurer. But Boyd agrees the ew facility is great for all Donegal teams going forward. It has been a difficult year for Donegal GAA, on and off the field, and Boyd was disappointed with much of the negativity that surrounded the past year, especially on social media.

“It was a big disappointment, and I don’t want to reflect back on negativity, but it was disappointing on social media about the county board. There are good people on that board and there was a lot of stuff that came out on social media that didn’t reflect what was really going on. People were just taking shots.

“People don’t remember going to old prefabs that were leaking water and eating their meals in them. Some of those shots were fired from within, which was disappointing. It is disappointing when personalities come into it because I would never be one who would have a shot at somebody, when you realise the demands involved.

“Having cheap shots at people without checking the facts, which is the worst thing, that’s not in my nature to do that,” said Boyd, who said they had taken them without actually saying anything. I was talking to a journalist recently and he said it was probably the best way to deal with it. But it’s not easy to do that,” said Boyd, who said the media were very important to the GAA and he always liked to be honest with them.

“It’s when they don’t get information that they start adding things on. But generally, we have to work together and that includes the media. The worst thing in any committee and in volunteering in any organisation is these splits and people with their own agenda. You should never go into any organisation with an agenda, but I feel some people have an agenda, and it makes it difficult for everyone else.”

But looking forward, the outgoing treasurer is optimistic and would always like to concentrate on the positives.
“Judging by the recent golf classic, there is goodwill out there. That probably wouldn’t happen with anyone else other than Jim McGuinness. That’s the profile Jim has. Yes, there will be demands but it will come in with positivity from good businesses and good sponsors that realise that.

“That will be a real plus going forward because we battled for a few years there where we found it hard with the negativity, going to people asking for money. Everything is relevant, when you’re down nobody wants you, but when you’re up they do. We’re up now.

In terms of structures, Boyd revealed that he had an Audit and Risk committee in place in March which was planning to do the work which the Croke Park review committee then undertook.

“It was ironic the way it happened. Every county was due to do this, we were probably a year later getting to it along with five or six other counties. We took our time and hand-picked five people with different skills, from finance to HR to legal.

“They had a meeting in March before the Croke Park review committee and it’s ironic that Croke Park were doing the same business as our own review committee were tasked with.”

Boyd feels the Croke Park review report was unfair in many aspects and didn’t reflect the work that was being done. “There was governance there. A lot of the things that came up in the report, apart from not being written down, we were doing them, but that was not portrayed in any of the report, which was a little bit unfair by the committee, and they have admitted that since.”

The arrival of a Steering Committee provided by Croke Park under Billy Bennett will conclude its business in December or January and then Donegal will have to pick up the pieces.

Boyd feels that what has happened in Donegal in the past year will become a Croke Park template for other counties.
As regards finance, the outgoing county treasurer points out that the big problem for Donegal and other counties on the western seaboard is size and geography.

“You see what it takes to bring players together in Donegal at adult and underage level and then look at the likes of Dublin, who can bring everyone from a 10 mile radius.

“In Donegal you are bringing buses from Glencolmcille, Gaoth Dobhair and Inishowen. You want that but it comes at a cost. Apart from the travel costs, there is a large expenditure on medical bills and food. Maybe there can be cutbacks in some of these areas. If we are spending €100,000, could we look at doing the same for €80,000? Could we get clubs pooling resources and shouldering some of the cost. It is easier to save money than to try and go looking for it,” says Boyd.

And what does the future hold for Alan Boyd?
"I want to enjoy my retirement. In five years I haven’t seen my own children, Helen in London and Nick in Canada," he said.
“They have grandchildren. I got invited last year but couldn’t go because of the GAA. Every officer job is like that now, but especially the main officer jobs, very demanding. This year has been extremely demanding. I was in there in the office in June looking out at the good weather, trying to answer queries on the laptop.

“But we wouldn't do it if we didn’t enjoy it. I look back on the 55 plus years that I have been in the GAA. If the club wasn’t there, what would I be doing?” said Boyd, who adds that it has probably cost him money and especially time in recent years travelling over and back to Convoy.

He wants to get back to working for his club, Gaoth Dobhair again. “I won’t be leaving the GAA. I will get to more of my own club matches and enjoy games. But you always meet friends, be it team mates or people you work with at all levels and on the board and in the press,” said Boyd, who referred to an incident he recalled when doing an interview with Andy Watters of the Irish News earlier this year.

“I was at a Gaeltacht meeting in Kilcar once and on the way home I got a puncture in Ardara. I looked up the GAA booklet and rang Larry Gallagher. He was in the pub. I couldn’t get the nuts loosened on the wheel. He went to Charlie Mooney (a former player and Ardara steward) and he sorted it out.

“That’s the kind of relationships you build up at club, county or national level, you’ll always remember. You meet them afterwards, say hello and you treat them as friends. That’s what the GAA is, a network of good people like Charlie.”