With our Juvenile and Minor Sections already back training, and our Adult teams set to return next Monday, this is a gentle reminder that the Annual Club Membership for 2021 is now due.

Renewal emails have been sent out to all our members. The club wishes to thank everyone in advance for their ongoing support. If anyone didn’t receive an email or is having difficulty renewing online, please email our club registrar Gerry at [email protected]

A letter from our Club Chairman Ciaran Maguire follows:

Fellow Ballyboden St. Endas Members,

The Club Executive would like to wish all of our members a very happy and safe new year. Gaelic Games, at both club and county level, were one of the few normal activities which helped us all through 2020 and players, mentors and supporters enjoyed the opportunity to play in a safe environment when lockdown was lifted. As we look ahead to the uncertainty which will undoubtedly continue into 2021, we can only hope that we will soon be able to get back to playing, training, watching matches and socialising together soon.

As you can imagine, the drop-off in revenues from sponsorship, fundraising, bar and rent due to lockdown, has impacted severely on us in Ballyboden St. Endas as it has on all sporting organisations across the country. At the same time, many of our costs for registration, insurance and maintenance remain fixed which meant that the club ran at a deficit for 2020. There is considerable uncertainty about our ability to raise funds and earn revenue for at least for the first half of 2021. For this reason and in order to help with cashflow and keep the club running at the level and standards we have come to expect, we ask all of our members to pay their 2021 membership fees as early as your personal circumstances allow. As always, if members are experiencing financial difficulty, they can speak in confidence with their section registrar, and a suitable arrangement will be made.

The strength of our community and spirit will bring us through this pandemic, and we will emerge even stronger when it is all over – níl tuile dá mhéad nach dtránn.

Ciarán