Sinéad Breen declares County Board PRO bid

Sinéad Breen has declared her candidacy for the Donegal GAA PRO role, which will be up for grabs at next month’s annual convention.

The St Mary’s, Convoy clubwoman wants to follow in her mother’s historic footsteps as she aims to succeed John McEniff in the role.

McEniff recently confirmed that he would not be seeking reelection to the role and Breen has become the first person to confirm their name will be in the running for a vacancy ahead of the convention on December 14.

Originally from Rockcorry in County Monaghan, she is a daughter of Siobhan McQuillan, who created a little slice of history in the early 1990s when she became the first woman to serve on a GAA County Board. She had two terms as the Monaghan County Board PRO.

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“From a young age, I was aware of the role of a County Board PRO, although the role has changed so much since I was helping Mammy out,” Sinead told Donegal Live.

“It’s a role I am deeply passionate about. I would like to get a chance to put a stamp on it. I’m sorry to see John is stepping away. I had been working with him and helped with match programmes at various times. I think I would be a dynamic and diligent PRO for Donegal.”

Her family is steeped in the GAA. Her father, Oliver, served as chairman of the Rockcorry club and had several spells as senior team manager.

Sinead has served as PRO of the Northern Regional Board in Donegal and had a spell as acting secretary of the Minor Board.

An underage manager for the last eight years at St Mary’s, Convoy, she is currently the secretary of Donegal GAA’s finance committee while also undergoing a course studying Irish at Magee College in Derry.

“I would be under no illusions about the size of the job of PRO,” Sinead said. “I would want to do justice to a demanding role.

“The cultural aspect of the GAA is important to me too - I actually won quiz titles in Scór - because mammy was cultural officer for 15 years. I am passionate about hurling. My brother manages the Monaghan minor hurling team. I think we could really push on with hurling in Donegal.”

Sinead believes there is an opening for more streaming of matches in the All-County League and Club Championship.

“There is such an opportunity there,” she said. “There are a lot of places dotted around the county that have the capability of streaming games. Donegal has the biggest diaspora of any county; we could do them a service as well as financially benefitting the County Board. It would be win, win for everyone.

“There was a lot of commentary recently where people said they wanted change, they wanted transparency and a fresh outlook. For me, it’s all about the Association and I hope to get the vote from clubs next month at Convention.”