All-Ireland winner Sinéad Stagg elected Mayo LGFA Chairperson

ALL-Ireland-winning footballer and manager Sinéad Stagg has been ratified as the new Chairperson of Mayo LGFA at their Annual General Meeting at the TF Royal Hotel and Theatre in Castlebar.

The Ballinrobe native was elected for the top job in Mayo LGFA after winning a contest with Parke’s PJ McDonagh, who replaces fellow Parke club member Siobhán Conlon as county board Secretary.

Stagg (née) Costello won All-Ireland titles with Mayo and Ballinrobe Community School as a player and managed the Mayo U-14s to an All-Ireland ‘platinum’ title in 2023.

She replaced outgoing Mayo LGFA Chairman Des Phillip while Carnacon’s Michael McHale has also stepped down as Vice-Chairman in place of Helen O’Hara of Castlebar Mitchels. 

The county board Treasurer Breda Waldron has been replaced by Brendan Heneghan from Breaffy. Likewise, Clara Kelly has been replaced as Assistant Treasurer by Charlestown’s Eileen McGuinness while Joanne Regan from Kilmovee Shamrocks is the new Assistant Secretary.

County board Registrar Terry Pattinson has been replaced by Stephanie Craughwell from Kilmovee Shamrocks. Similarly, Debbie Lavelle Doyle has been replaced as Language and Culture Officer by Sean Folan from Tourmakeady. Mayo LGFA’s fixtures committee will be chaired by Eamon McGreal, who replaced Hollymount’s Jimmy Murphy.

Aisling Heraty and Jen Murphy will remain in situ as PRO and Assitant PRO, as will Children’s Officer Stella O’Neill, and Development Officer Deirdre Donnelly.

Emma Galligan from Moy Davitts also continues as Player Delegate to Connacht Council while Neil Masterson (Burrishoole) and Aisling McLoughlin (Davitts) will also carry on as Connacht Council delegates.

The Player Delegate to Central Council is the only position currently unfilled following the Mayo LGFA AGM.

“We want to bring positive and meaningful change to Mayo LGFA,” Stagg said following her election as Mayo LGFA Chairman.

Outlining her priorities, Stagg said the county board wanted to grow the profile of ladies football in Mayo and attract commercial sponsorship partnerships that will benefit the entire association. 

The Hollymount club woman pledged to put ‘football and footballers at every age and stage back at the heart of our County Board’.

She said the county board would strive to ensure its dealings are ‘well governed and completely transparent’ and ‘for all members of the executive committee to have their voices heard and for delegates to have a positive forum for their clubs and have an open view of the operations of the executive’. 

“Mayo LGFA belongs to the clubs of the county and its members,” she added. “We want to develop a culture and a spirit of fairness, cooperation and collegiality amongst clubs. Ultimately we are all on the same team, team Mayo. We want to support clubs and coaches with the tools and supports they need to attract, to retain and to develop players. We want to learn from best practices across the country, develop a forum for skills sharing across clubs and to support the County Development officer and their team.”

As well as pledging to support county players, Stagg said the county board wanted to ‘create a meaningful, enjoyable space for those players who are competition-shy and might otherwise leave the game entirely’.

“We want to celebrate and truly value the volunteers who enable and promote our girls and our games, be they organising at club or county, standing a gate or on a sideline, setting the fixtures or behind the lens or a microphone. Volunteers are the absolute life blood of Mayo LGFA, we want to attract them and to keep them, we want them to feel appreciated and to enjoy being part of the association.”