Code of Conduct at St Sylvesters GAA Club

The Games Disciplinary Committee will be appointed by the Club Committee and will include:

• one member of each Games Development Committee, Football, Hurling, Ladies Football, Juvenile;

• one adult player from each code, hurling, football and ladies football,

with one of them to act as Chairperson, who will appoint three non-involved members to act in any case.

The Clubhouse Disciplinary Committee will be made up of Officers of the Club Committee or any three of them, as appointed by the Club Committee. This Committee will also act in cases of alleged harassment, with an outside person coopted where appropriate.

The Appeals Committee will be made up of three former Club Officers and will be appointed by the current Club officers as required.  Their decisions will be final.

• John Fanning (former club secretary and juvenile chairman), Ciaran Goan (former club chairman and long time secretary) and Michael Stuart (former secretary, chairman and other roles) have been appointed by the Executive as our Appeals Committee.

• Code of Conduct for St Sylvesters GAA Club

  Membership of St. Sylvester's gives rights and privileges, but also imposes responsibilities and obligations that can be summarized in a Code of Conduct.

  The overarching guidence to all respect and disciplinary issues in the GAA are articulated in excellent online documentation at www.gaa.ie/news/gaa-code-behaviour/ and through Official Guide.

  Sy Sylvesters fully support the spirit and intent of these rules and guidelines.

  Code of Conduct at Games

  Players, mentors and supporters represent St. Sylvester's at games and their behavior will reflect on their team, their manager and their club.  When involved in a game or training, all players and mentors should:

  1. Play fair;

  2. Accept manager's advice and instructions;

  3. Accept referee's decisions;

  4. Avoid abusive language;

  5. Ignore provocation;

  6. Encourage players, especially when they make mistakes;

  7. Respect all team members, mentors and supporters of St. Sylvester's and of opposing clubs.

  Points 3 to 7 apply equally well to supporters.

  While the main responsibility for good conduct lies with the individual, team managers and mentors should adopt a proactive role in promoting discipline at games.

  The Games Disciplinary Committee will be appointed by the Club Committee and will include:

  • one member of each Games Development Committee, Football, Hurling, Ladies Football, Juvenile;

  • one adult player from each code, hurling, football and ladies football,

  with one of them to act as Chairperson, who will appoint three non-involved members to act in any case.

  Code of Conduct relative to the Clubhouse or Social Settings

  Members should extend the same courtesy to other members and their guests as they would expect for themselves. In the Clubhouse, all members should:

  1. Be of orderly behavior

  2. Respect other members, guests and bar staff

  3. Observe the requests of the bar staff

  4. Harassment - Members must refrain from all forms of harassment including bullying, sexual harassment and racial harassment.

  The Clubhouse Disciplinary Committee will be made up of Officers of the Club Executive or any three of them, as appointed by the Club Executive. This Committee will also act in cases of alleged harassment, with an outside person coopted where appropriate.

  Disciplinary Procedure

  1. On receipt of a complaint in writing, a report from the Bar Manager or on its own initiative, the Club Executive will instruct the appropriate Disciplinary Committee to investigate the breach of this Code of Conduct.

  2. The Executive members of the Disciplinary Committee may, at the discretion of the Executive, investigate the issue to look for a resolution before starting any formal process, avoiding the appearance of bureaucracy if possible. This will be recorded in the Executie Meeting Minutes.

  3. Alternatively, the Disciplinary Committee will inform the individual(s) concerned of the details of the breaches involved, afford a hearing to the individual(s) concerned, call witnesses as appropriate, report their conclusion and recommendation for action to the Club Committee, possible actions to include

  • verbal warning,

  • written warning,

  • suspension or

  • expulsion

  • other as deemed appropriate.

  4. The Club Executive will make a ruling on the basis of the conclusion and recommendation of the Disciplinary Committee and the Club Secretary will inform the individual(s) concerned. The individual(s) concerned will have the right to appeal to the Appeals Committee.

  5. The Clubhouse Disciplinary Committee will be made up of Officers of the Club Committee or any three of them, as appointed by the Club Committee. This Committee will also act in cases of alleged harassment, with an outside person coopted where appropriate.

  Appeals

  In the case where either party in a Code of Conduct complaint are unhappy with the outcome of the disciplinary process, they msy appeal the ruling to the Appeals Committee who are requested to ensure that the process has been completed thoroughly and fairly. The Appeals Committee are not charged with re-investigating and ruling on the issue, only on ensuring that fairness and equity were applied and were seen to be applied.

  The decision of the Appeals Committee will be final from a club perspective although GAA structures at the Dublin County Board and Croke Park still apply.