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The name Gerry Kelly is one synonymous with the development of Connacht Rugby to where it is today. Gerry has made a difference and left his mark in many facets of Connacht from his school, Garbally College to his club, Ballinasloe RFC, to the management of Provincial sides and Irish national teams and to the Professional development of what is today Connacht Rugby. After more than 50 years years involved, Gerry has decided to take his next step within the organisation and the wider rugby community in Connacht by taking up the position of Chair of Schools for the Schools Committee.
Connacht Rugby’s first-serving CEO, Gerry started as a teacher in Garbally College and a volunteer on many Connacht committees, including serving as Connacht branch President in 1995/1996. But it was 1999 when he took the lead role of CEO where he served as CEO from 1999 to 2013 seeing Connacht through years of building and signings and hard work.
However, Gerry is returning once again to his original involvement with rugby by taking on the role of Chair of Schools. "I think my first involvement with Connacht schools is probably over 50 years ago. I was coach and Chairman of Selectors for the Schools team in Connacht and then went on to be Chairman of Selectors and Manager of the Irish Schools team back in the late 80s and early 90s and took an Irish Schools team on tour to Australia. I was Manager of that [team] in 1996 and we returned undefeated from that. It was the first time the Irish Schools beat Australia Schools," says Gerry.
Gerry was coaching Garbally College while he was still teaching there before he became CEO of Connacht. Once he retired as CEO, he went back into Garbally a year later as Manager and Coach of the Garbally Senior team for five years.
Schools rugby is very close to Gerry's heart and having seen the development of the schools rugby system along with the challenges over the past number of years, Gerry is already thinking ahead to his new position. "I think my aim would be to reestablish the position of schools within the whole Connacht setup," says Gerry.
With everything going on nowadays, teachers seem to have less time to contribute to school sport than they used to and the thought of getting involved can be daunting. "A lot of schools are dependent on the local club to help and, to the credit of the clubs, they are doing that. But the problem with that is that a lot of schools matches are mid-week," says Gerry.
Gerry is looking to empower teachers within schools to get involved even a little and to then get the support they need to continue. "I think what we need to do is build up a cohort of teachers who are committed to the game within the schools and to do that, we need to show they're appreciated. I think our first thing would be to show appreciation to those who are involved and also to encourage younger teachers, especially teachers who are coming into schools for the first time, to get involved. I think there are a lot of teachers playing rugby and it's to try and get them to take that into the schools when they start teaching."
The passion and drive Gerry has shown over the years of his involvement within Connacht Rugby hasn't waivered in the least and he is able to see the importance of the grassroots game on the whole of the organisation. It's the young girls and boys alongside the dedicated teachers, coaches, parents and staff that keep Connacht Rugby ticking. This is an ethos Gerry will bring into his role as Chair of Schools. "Rugby in schools is important to rugby in Connacht because all children go to school so it's a very obvious catchment area. I think the growth of Mini rugby in all of the clubs in Connacht will create a demand within schools for rubgy as you go forward. And I think it's up to us to provide the structure to schools so they can further develop that demand that's inherent now from the growth in Mini rugby," says Gerry.
Gerry Kelly will commence his new appointment as Chair of the Schools Committee in Connacht in the coming weeks.
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