New Cork PRO is ready for the busiest year of his life

BY GER McCARTHY

NEWLY ELECTED Cork County Board PRO Donal Leahy faces the busiest year of his life but the Tadgh MacCarthaigh man is ready to meet the challenges and build on the work of his predecessor Edmund Forrest.

‘It really is a tremendous honour for me, my club Tadgh MacCarthaigh and my family to take on the prestigious role of Cork county public relations officer,’ commented Leahy.

‘I am fully aware that I am following in some big footsteps but I see it as a fantastic opportunity to serve the board itself and of course all of the GAA people across our county. 

‘It is a huge task I am taking on, no doubt about it, but I’m determined to build on all my predecessors’ good work and feel I am more than capable of meeting the challenges that lay ahead.’

The county PRO’s role has changed significantly over the past number of years with social media now playing a massive role in GAA supporters’ lives. Fans, players, coaches and the media themselves want instant updates from their local games and access to all the latest Cork GAA news as soon as it becomes available.

Thankfully, a well-designed and easy to navigate Cork GAA website coupled with their FaceBook page and a Twitter account that has over 52,000 followers is available to Rebels dotted across the globe, allowing them to keep in touch with their latest club and inter-county team’s matches. 

Maintaining that online presence as well as dealing with every single Cork GAA club spread across the entire county is a daunting task on its own but Leahy is set to double-job his new role with that of secretary of the Carbery Division for 2016. So how does he plan on balancing two such time-consuming jobs?

‘The county board and I are confident that we are well equipped to meet the increasing requests for information on all the county championships, inter-county fixtures and any other GAA matters,’ commented Healy. 

‘Next year is going to be even busier than the 12 months gone by and I admit to being taken aback at the sheer demand for information, online or by other means, since familiarising myself with the PRO role over the past couple of months.

‘It is true that I have decided to stay on secretary of the Carbery Division for 2016 as well as taking on the county PRO job. This is the fifth and final year of my term with Carbery, an opportunity I’m honoured to have undertaken. 

‘Maintaining two such high profile positions is not going to be easy and incredibly time-consuming but I have prepared for what lies ahead and will be able to cope with the help of my fellow officers on both boards. 

‘There is a wealth of talent and many years combined experience on the two boards that I can draw on if I need to. The Cork PRO job is something I am looking forward to immensely. I understand the demands coming my way and honestly wouldn’t have put my name forward unless I knew I was capable of doing the job.’