“Every GAA unit, be they province, county, or club, operate in a very complex and exacting world. The demands placed upon our volunteers are many and varied, and we all have a responsibility to all our members and the wider community to make sure the GAA continues to be held in the highest esteem,” the Kerry chairman began.

“As I see it, the main governance challenge that faces our association as a whole is that many of our volunteers are being held to account in areas where they either do not have sufficient time to dedicate or may not have sufficient knowledge of.

“The workload and expectations of our volunteers, at all levels, has increased over the last three years at an exponential rate. The challenge we face on foot of this is attracting and keeping good people involved in the association. How we decide to respond to this change will, ultimately, determine whether or not our organisation remains strong in the future.”

Murphy believes it imperative that “outside” individuals are brought onto county committees who possess expertise relevant to that committee.

“Three years ago, we made dramatic changes to our finance committee when we broke from tradition by appointing two people from outside the executive, Michael John Kearney and Aileen Stack, as chairperson and secretary of the finance committee. This has proven to be a great success, and a model which I believe can be applied to all aspects of both leadership and management in the GAA at all levels.

“People with relevant expertise, who are at arm’s length from the day-to-day operation of the board, can examine everything objectively, challenge everyone in a constructive manner, and, ultimately, facilitate debate on all issues, leading to a more successful outcome for all.

“The appointment of Eileen Hartnett as our financial controller was also a key appointment, will ensure all the necessary controls are in place, and facilitate a smoother transition for our volunteer treasurers whose focus can now be more on strategic financial planning and decision-making.”

Although the Kerry County Board increased their income for 2019 by €2.64m to €6.14m, leading to an overall surplus of €140k, Murphy said they must identify a new source of sustainable revenue to protect the operations of the board.

We would hope that a broader list of supporters from both within the county and outside would be identified.

As Peter Twiss did in his secretary’s report, Murphy too expressed concern at the concentration of footballers from the east of the county on the various Kerry teams, by comparison with North Kerry’s low representation. Over one-third of Kerry’s 26-man matchday panel for the All-Ireland final replay hailed from the eastern division.

“There is definitely an imbalance here that needs to be addressed.

“North Kerry, including Tralee, has over the years produced some of Kerry’s greatest footballers, so it is incumbent on us to closely examine the issues with all relevant stakeholders and devise a strategy to address the current situation.

“In 2018, Coaching and Games began a pilot project with St Michael’s College in Listowel in an effort to improve the links between our clubs and schools in the region. This initiative is gaining traction and one which we intend on developing in other schools in North Kerry over the coming year.”

All-Ireland minor winning Kerry goalkeeper Deividas Uosis was among the top performers at last weekend’s AFL European Combine in Dublin. The lure of the AFL continues to be a huge challenge for the GAA, remarked the county chairman, as a voluntary organisation simply cannot compete with professional sport.

“We are doing everything in our power to create and maintain as attractive an environment as possible here at home and convey to our players the benefits of remaining in Ireland, while also assisting them with educational opportunities, career advice, and enhanced employment prospects.” The chairperson revealed, as a primary objective for 2020, that the county board will explore the possibility of streaming games live.

In the sole contest of the night, Emma Sweeney of Ballymacelligott defeated Mark Griffin by 151 votes to 76 to take the position of assistant secretary.