It was great to see our juvenile hurling and camogie teams returning to the pitches on 26th April, a little bit of normality in strange times. A special thanks to the many volunteer coaches who are facilitating our juvenile members to be the best that they can be.

I would also like to thank the coaches and parents for diligently complying with our Covid protocols. I ask that parents (on behalf of juvenile hurlers) and adult hurlers continue to complete the Covid questionnaire on Clubzap before each hurling session. Once completed the first time, it is simply a matter of reconfirming that there is no change using Clubzap. Following these simple Covid protocols will ensure our games can continue to be played and our community remains safe.

Another positive is the return of our adult players to the pitch on Tuesday evening and I wish them well for the season ahead under the management of Dave Guiney, Michael Doyle and Nicky Kenny. Dave has been putting them through their paces on Zoom for the past couple of months but no doubt everyone is anxious to get back on the field.

Covid has posed many challenges for our Club since March 2020. One of the many significant challenges has been the financing of our day to day operations. Last year, our Committee made the decision to significantly reduce membership costs in response to many members being forced out of work for a period. Retaining the reduced membership costs long term isn’t sustainable, but the Committee felt the membership packages should remain unchanged for 2021.

Membership is now due and the packages are available on our Clubzap app. To pay membership, simply click on the “My Club” button on the bottom right corner of the app. The on-line payment system is an extremely secure and convenient method to pay membership. It is essential that membership is paid now to ensure our players are covered by insurance. If membership isn't paid, players will not be permitted to participate in training.

I encourage our supporters where possible to support our ongoing Club development projects by subscribing to either of the Gold Membership packages on offer €150 for a Couple and €175 for a Family (parents and school going children). Included in these packages and also in the €175 Membership for the adult player is a €100 development draw ticket.

I am proud of the many great projects we have completed in the Rower and Inistioge, thanks in large part to our Golf Classic and Development Draw. Your support is never taken for granted and always appreciated. The next projects we plan on undertaking is the construction of an all-weather pitch with ball wall and floodlights in The Rower, and the development of the building and site adjacent to Cois Abhann in Inistioge.

Finally, with the roll out of the vaccination programme, it is hoped that supporters will be able to resume attending matches over the coming months, I hope to see your there.

Richard Tierney

Rower-Inistioge GAA Club Chairman