Address of new President Liam Hennessy 
As I take this chain of office from Michael I would like first of all to express my personal appreciation to him and a few others, who have not sought re election at this Congress, for the great service they have given to the sport. For Michael it was his courage and conviction that enabled the amalgamation of BLE and the NACAI in 1999. In recent years he has overseen the difficult but essential process of the administration of the sport moving into the professional era. This has lead to a massive increase in funding for the sport and indeed the consequential responsibilities that has brought. He can be proud of his accomplishments. Michael I know will continue to contribute effectively to the sport. Paddy Marley has served for 20 years on competition. He has given unstinting service to the sport in that area. I have had the great pleasure to work with Paddy on many projects over that time. I have great admiration for the way he was able to build up such a loyal and highly effective team around him. Paddy has many irons in the fire still - President of Clonliffe; President of the Morton Memorial Meeting and Event Presentation Manager for the Spar European Cross Country in 2009. Sean Naughton and I are good friends for over 30 years. We have collaborated on so many things at all levels in that time not least of which is our abiding obsession with statistics. In 1980 when I saw that no national rankings were being done I started doing them and Sean came on board with me and to this day Sean has continued with his in depth rankings. This is a real labour of love for Sean. It would be impossible to list Sean' s accomplishments but let's mention just one - the indoor arena. The building of that facility helped to transform the sport. Sean like the others will continue to be involved in the sport in a myriad of activities. And again like many more speakers over the weekend I wish Breda Synnott every good wish for her restoration to good health. As I take on the responsibility of leading this great organisation for the next 2 years I would like to outline a few of the challenges and indeed opportunities facing us. I have a firm belief that we must immediately put together an effective system of communication within the sport. This is fundamental. In two years we have progressed to a professional structure. In recent times I have seen the clear benefits of this in critical areas like development and coaching. The quality and enthusiasm of the existing professional staff is impressive. Shortly we will have on board a new CEO in Mary as well as an Events Manager. When all of that is in place I feel we need to do a full review of the roles and responsibilities of all our staff and then consolidate our structure. I feel the best way to effectively monitor the structure (to the board) is through regular meetings between the President, CEO and the 5 Chairs of the key committees. This should have clear benefits for all. We still have huge challenges around facilities. The provision of a national indoor arena has and still is our top priority. I am optimistic that we will be included in Phase 1 in Abbotstown. There is however a lot of work to be done in the next few months. The lobbying will be incessant. The opportunity exists for us to take over the running of the Morton Stadium. Considerable positive work has been done on this by Mary Coghlan. I would hope that this can be concluded by the autumn. The board has endorsed and will work with various groups around the country for the installation, in particular, of indoor facilities. We are extremely fortunate to have such strong support from the ISC and the Dept of Sport. I think we provide them with an excellent return on their investment. However we need to reduce that dependency through the generation of funds ourselves from sponsorship and other sources. We have improved in the past 2 years but it is a tough marketplace out there. The sport is also going through some rough times on a universal basis due to changes in society and the negative perceptions of the sport due to recent high profile drug cases. Can we buck the trend. A major challenge indeed Can the hosting of the 2012 Olympics in London be the catalyst for the above. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to exploit the powerful symbolism of the Games. There will be saturation coverage. It provides us with a glorious opportunity to inspire the younger generation. We need to put together in conjunction with the relevant agencies a clear strategy on all of this. In 18 months time we will be the centre of European Athletics when we host the Spar European Cross Country just down the road from here in Santry Demesne. We have a strong LOC in place; strong support from the critical institutions and critically a strong team management under Ann Keenan Buckley which hopefully will deliver some success. As a federation we should have a policy of hosting major events. Perhaps it is time to consider applying for a European Team Competition which is more attractive than the European Cup which it replaces in 2009 or perhaps a European Junior or under 23 Championship. Where is the warm up track? - well ALSSA is closeby. .. I have left till last the integration of the schools', universities and other bodies. In tandem with that there is the requirement for a root and branch review of the total competition structure. These issues will demand infinite patience and resilience. Let's openly debate them. They will be on the agenda at an early stage at board level. In conclusion I would like to express my deep appreciation for all those who have helped me in the sport over the years. I was fortunate to have some great mentors at an early stage. I should of course thank my wife Teresa for her forbearance over the years and I suppose I am fortunate that she has an interest in the sport and even some of you will remember her as a former Competition Secretary of BLE. Although now in advancing years I still have the passion and enthusiasm for the sport. I look forward to the many challenges. I will as always be available on the phone by email or in person. I look forward to working closely with you over the next 2 years Thank you very much and a safe journey home Photos courtesy of Tomas Greally
As I take this chain of office from Michael I would like first of all to express my personal appreciation to him and a few others, who have not sought re election at this Congress, for the great service they have given to the sport. For Michael it was his courage and conviction that enabled the amalgamation of BLE and the NACAI in 1999. In recent years he has overseen the difficult but essential process of the administration of the sport moving into the professional era. This has lead to a massive increase in funding for the sport and indeed the consequential responsibilities that has brought. He can be proud of his accomplishments. Michael I know will continue to contribute effectively to the sport. Paddy Marley has served for 20 years on competition. He has given unstinting service to the sport in that area. I have had the great pleasure to work with Paddy on many projects over that time. I have great admiration for the way he was able to build up such a loyal and highly effective team around him. Paddy has many irons in the fire still - President of Clonliffe; President of the Morton Memorial Meeting and Event Presentation Manager for the Spar European Cross Country in 2009. Sean Naughton and I are good friends for over 30 years. We have collaborated on so many things at all levels in that time not least of which is our abiding obsession with statistics. In 1980 when I saw that no national rankings were being done I started doing them and Sean came on board with me and to this day Sean has continued with his in depth rankings. This is a real labour of love for Sean. It would be impossible to list Sean' s accomplishments but let's mention just one - the indoor arena. The building of that facility helped to transform the sport. Sean like the others will continue to be involved in the sport in a myriad of activities. And again like many more speakers over the weekend I wish Breda Synnott every good wish for her restoration to good health. As I take on the responsibility of leading this great organisation for the next 2 years I would like to outline a few of the challenges and indeed opportunities facing us. I have a firm belief that we must immediately put together an effective system of communication within the sport. This is fundamental. In two years we have progressed to a professional structure. In recent times I have seen the clear benefits of this in critical areas like development and coaching. The quality and enthusiasm of the existing professional staff is impressive. Shortly we will have on board a new CEO in Mary as well as an Events Manager. When all of that is in place I feel we need to do a full review of the roles and responsibilities of all our staff and then consolidate our structure. I feel the best way to effectively monitor the structure (to the board) is through regular meetings between the President, CEO and the 5 Chairs of the key committees. This should have clear benefits for all. We still have huge challenges around facilities. The provision of a national indoor arena has and still is our top priority. I am optimistic that we will be included in Phase 1 in Abbotstown. There is however a lot of work to be done in the next few months. The lobbying will be incessant. The opportunity exists for us to take over the running of the Morton Stadium. Considerable positive work has been done on this by Mary Coghlan. I would hope that this can be concluded by the autumn. The board has endorsed and will work with various groups around the country for the installation, in particular, of indoor facilities. We are extremely fortunate to have such strong support from the ISC and the Dept of Sport. I think we provide them with an excellent return on their investment. However we need to reduce that dependency through the generation of funds ourselves from sponsorship and other sources. We have improved in the past 2 years but it is a tough marketplace out there. The sport is also going through some rough times on a universal basis due to changes in society and the negative perceptions of the sport due to recent high profile drug cases. Can we buck the trend. A major challenge indeed Can the hosting of the 2012 Olympics in London be the catalyst for the above. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to exploit the powerful symbolism of the Games. There will be saturation coverage. It provides us with a glorious opportunity to inspire the younger generation. We need to put together in conjunction with the relevant agencies a clear strategy on all of this. In 18 months time we will be the centre of European Athletics when we host the Spar European Cross Country just down the road from here in Santry Demesne. We have a strong LOC in place; strong support from the critical institutions and critically a strong team management under Ann Keenan Buckley which hopefully will deliver some success. As a federation we should have a policy of hosting major events. Perhaps it is time to consider applying for a European Team Competition which is more attractive than the European Cup which it replaces in 2009 or perhaps a European Junior or under 23 Championship. Where is the warm up track? - well ALSSA is closeby. .. I have left till last the integration of the schools', universities and other bodies. In tandem with that there is the requirement for a root and branch review of the total competition structure. These issues will demand infinite patience and resilience. Let's openly debate them. They will be on the agenda at an early stage at board level. In conclusion I would like to express my deep appreciation for all those who have helped me in the sport over the years. I was fortunate to have some great mentors at an early stage. I should of course thank my wife Teresa for her forbearance over the years and I suppose I am fortunate that she has an interest in the sport and even some of you will remember her as a former Competition Secretary of BLE. Although now in advancing years I still have the passion and enthusiasm for the sport. I look forward to the many challenges. I will as always be available on the phone by email or in person. I look forward to working closely with you over the next 2 years Thank you very much and a safe journey home Photos courtesy of Tomas Greally
