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Irish Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Mayo GAA finances Q&A: Why were the GAA's top officials in Westport?
Even by Mayo's standards, it was an eventful few days. As the county came to terms with their footballers' unexpected home defeat by Cavan on the first weekend of the All-Ireland series , word emerged on the Friday of last week that GAA president Jarlath Burns and director general Tom Ryan would be arriving in Westport's Knockranny House Hotel the following Monday to attend an extraordinary meeting of the Mayo county committee. Speculation was that they would be addressing financial issues, believed to centre on allegations that included a charge that Croke Park had not passed a reduction negotiated with the bank after it had assumed responsibility for loans taken out by Mayo. By then football manager Kevin McStay had suffered a medical episode at training last Saturday and it was announced just before Monday's meeting that he would be stepping back from his involvement with the team, leaving assistant and coach Stephen Rochford in charge of affairs for this weekend's critical group match against Tyrone in Omagh . How did we get here? The problem began with the redevelopment of MacHale Park in Castlebar, which was completed at a cost of €18 million and opened in 2009, not great timing in financial terms. READ MORE By 2014, Croke Park had loaned Mayo €5 million and taken over an additional, consolidated €5 million as part of a scheme to alleviate distressed loans to GAA units. Last Monday, the GAA's most senior officials were attending the meeting in Westport to deal, inter alia, with allegations that a debt 'haircut' of 50 per cent had not been passed on to the county. What happened? GAA director general (DG) Tom Ryan dealt with the matter of the loan – eventually – after the meeting had opened with condemnation of the intimidatory treatment suffered on social media by county officers and others in the GAA. Ryan, previously the association's director of finance, explained that the outstanding loan, confirmed at €7.8 million, was based on the original total of €10 million – two loans at €5 million each, the second, Loan B, of which had been taken over from Ulster Bank. He strenuously denied that Croke Park had failed to extend the whole reduction to Mayo, saying that it in fact represented 'one of the highest single-value discounts' obtained by any GAA unit. But what does that mean? Ryan outlined that a €1 million reduction on Loan B had been secured, in other words 20 per cent, as opposed to the alleged 50 per cent. The €1 million remains on the balance sheet but reduces as the rest of the loan is paid. Repayments have been brought down over the past 10 years from €46,000 per month to the current €25,000, now payable over 32 years at 1.9 per cent. The DG has a reputation for measured presentation and was very effective, for instance, when the GAA were before the Oireachtas committee on sport and media for its hearings on the 'future of sports broadcasting' and more specifically the GAAGO streaming service. Those present were largely convinced by what he had to say on the loan and the passing on of the discount. Everyone is happy, so? GAA president Jarlath Burns with GAA director general Tom Ryan. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho Although there was no counting of hands, there is believed to have been more or less unanimous support for the officers at a vote taken afterwards. Delegates, who were looking for dissent, report that they didn't see hands not raised and no objections were raised. There is a difference of opinion though between those who attended the meeting, who were impressed and persuaded by Ryan's presentation, and those who weren't present, some of whom felt unconvinced by what they heard back and viewed as vague details. As one said, the priority should have been to equip members with the tools to refute the rumours, which they felt hadn't been done. One delegate acknowledged that financial details can be hard for delegates. 'They come from clubs, which have a different approach. You fundraise – you build. You're not dealing with balance sheets. You're dealing with a set of accounts,' the delegate said. This isn't peculiar to Mayo but a fact of life in a voluntary organisation where there is a growing list of demands on the time of officers given the expanding governance requirement. To cope with this, counties are now required to have an audit and risk committee to advise the treasurer on governance matters and to report back at least annually to provincial and national equivalents. How did abusive social media activity become an issue? After this year's league final in which Kerry beat Mayo, Burns in his presentation speech expressed support for and solidarity with Mayo officers, who had been under fire because of these allegations. At Monday night's meeting, this online hostility was highlighted with examples shown to delegates in an unexpected presentation by county secretary Ronan Kirrane. County chairman Seamus Tuohy said: 'The nature of this campaign includes threatening and abusive emails targeted at individual members of the county board, social media posts making a raft of false accusations about officers of the county board as well as inaccurate and defamatory articles that were published online.' Burns added that the communications had 'gone way beyond' anything that could be 'considered acceptable.' Was the initial emphasis on the abuse of officers counterproductive? Even by Mayo's standards, it was an eventful few days. Photograph: Donall Farmer/Inpho For some outside the meeting it was unhelpful, generating too much smoke and giving the opportunity to depict it as deflection. For others in attendance, it was of sufficient scale and gravity to merit being raised. Not everyone would have been familiar with what had happened. 'It was shocking,' according to one of those present. What about the five players? A strange addendum to the presentation on abuse of officers came from Burns. 'I'll tell you one example of toxic activity,' he said. 'I received an email saying 'are you aware that there are five members of the Mayo senior football panel living in Dublin in an area where it is not laid out for residential use? I am reporting those five players to Dublin City Council .'' The players under threat left what is believed to have been a customised warehouse space but for some of those present, it was an odd line to take. After all, in this case the whistle-blowing appeared to be justified. 'If I were Mayo GAA, I'd be ashamed that our players were living in those conditions,' said one, 'and not drawing attention to it.' What now? Nobody is quite sure whether enough has been done to quell any disquiet but delegates and officers clearly want to move on. There have been recent suggestions that the county might commit €15 million to a centre of excellence, the lack of which former Mayo manager James Horan recently lamented on the Examiner football podcast. Presumably, with a legacy debt hanging around – albeit with flattened repayments – for another three decades, a major infrastructural project would have to be funded in advance.
Irish Times
27-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Mayo GAA deny claims of financial mismanagement and reveal threats to county board members
Mayo GAA has denied claims of financial mismanagement while revealing An Garda Síochána have been informed of 'threatening and abusive' emails sent to county board officers. Monday night's special county board meeting in Westport was attended by GAA president Jarlath Burns and association director general Tom Ryan. During the meeting Burns condemned what he labelled as 'toxic activity' targeted towards Mayo County Board officers while delegates unanimously passed a motion condemning such abuse and also supported a motion of confidence in current county board officers. Mayo GAA released a statement afterwards saying the meeting had been called to 'address a very serious adult safety issue that is facing the Co Board, due to an ongoing campaign of harassment and intimidation that has been targeted at its officers over the past number of years.' READ MORE The statement continued: 'At the special meeting of more than 100 club delegates, Mayo Co Board outlined the nature of the threatening and abusive email correspondence that its officers continue to receive. Given the seriousness of the situation, a decision was taken to inform club delegates of the nature of the campaign against Mayo GAA, which constitutes an adult safety issue for all Co Board officers. 'The Co Board confirmed it has reported the matter to An Garda Síochána and that it intends to seek legal advice on the matter in the next week. 'Mayo GAA delegates unanimously passed two special motions, which were proposed from the floor. The first was a motion to unequivocally condemn the campaign of abuse and intimidation that is continues to be targeted at Mayo Co Board officers. 'The second motion was a unanimous vote of confidence in the current officers of Mayo Co Board to continue their work and seek to bring an end to this campaign.' The presence of both Burns and Ryan highlighted the seriousness of the situation. Burns said: 'Mayo is a proud county with incredible GAA pedigree. It's a county that is respected by the entire GAA family across the island of Ireland. But without unity there can be no progression. 'The GAA has a duty of care to the officers in every club and county, not only under adult safeguarding policies, but also to promote and value the selfless work of the volunteers that make our Association what it is. 'I've been very concerned about the threats, intimidation and toxic activity that has been directed against the officers of Mayo Co Board, which is bound to have a negative impact on all aspects of the administration of Mayo GAA. It's now time for this to stop.' Financial issues were also discussed during the gathering, including the board's explanation on details of the repayment rate for Mayo GAA in relation to a €5 million loan taken on by Croke Park in 2015. Mayo GAA stated the meeting had also been called to address 'a series of false allegations and inaccurate claims that have been published online and on social platforms over recent weeks relating to the financial management of Mayo GAA, and the wider GAA organisation.' Ryan made a presentation to the meeting, outlining how Croke Park had acquired the €5 million bank loan relating to Mayo GAA. Mayo GAA added: 'Under the terms of the agreement, the GAA secured a €1 million reduction in the capital value of Mayo GAA's loan, extended the repayment schedule to 29 years and reduced the loan interest rate from 3.2% to 1.9%. 'This arrangement helped reduce Mayo GAA's monthly loan repayments from more than €46,000 per month down to €34,000 per month – a change that resulted in a cash saving of €150,000 per annum for Mayo GAA. This renegotiated loan arrangement greatly improved the Co Boards cashflows, and helped direct more funding towards the preparation of County Teams each year. 'Tom Ryan outlined to club delegates how the loan arrangement has been reorganised further in recent years, with the loan term extended out to 32 years and repayments reduced further to €25,000 per month. In total, the new loan arrangement has saved Mayo GAA over €100,000 in loan repayments to date. 'The figures outlining these reductions in loan repayments and the amortisation of the loan has been fully disclosed in the accounts of Mayo GAA for the past several years.' The meeting took place just hours after Kevin McStay stepped away from managing the Mayo senior football team indefinitely due to health reasons.
RTÉ News
24-05-2025
- Business
- RTÉ News
Jarlath Burns and Tom Ryan to meet with Mayo officials amid financial situation
GAA president Jarlath Burns and director general Tom Ryan are to attend a special meeting of the Mayo county board on Monday evening. Mayo have been in the headlines recently concerning a revenue audit during which a voluntary disclosure of almost €120,000 was made in relation to potential tax liability for the Cúl Camps programme. At their county convention last December, Mayo GAA stated that the amount was a "legacy issue relating to outstanding tax liabilities from our Cúl Camp's programme in 2018 and 2019." Furthermore a loan extended to Mayo by the GAA's Central Council in 2015 to assume the county's debt has been the subject of speculation which was denied last week by the treasurer of the Mayo board. After March's Allianz Football League final in Croke Park, which Mayo lost to Kerry, Burns made remarks in his presentation speech which were clearly supportive of Mayo's officers. Burns' and Ryan's presence at the special meeting on Monday night in Westport is seen as extending further support as well as giving delegates an opportunity to clarify any queries.
The Irish Sun
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Mayo GAA call county board meeting to clarify financial situation with Jarlath Burns & Tom Ryan to answer questions
MAYO GAA have called a county board meeting for Monday to clarify their financial situation. Croke Park chiefs Jarlath Burns and Tom Ryan will attend the Westport gathering as their debt repayments to Central Council in relation to the rebuilding of MacHale Park will be laid bare. SunSport understands Burns and Ryan will answer questions regarding concerns from club officials in attendance and nothing will be off limits. Clarity is also expected on Mayo GAA's status with Revenue after an audit took place last year, which piled pressure on their under-fire executive committee. The meeting will also be open to the media and takes place in Westport's Knockranny House Hotel at 7.30pm. Meanwhile in hurling news, Shane Dowling Read More On GAA And four-time All-Ireland-winning captain Declan Hannon makes his first start of the year at the Gaelic Grounds. Cormac O'Brien, Brian Roche, Ger Millerick and Séamus Harnedy come into the Cork team to face Waterford after last week's 16-point thumping by the Treaty. Dessie Hutchinson starts on the bench for the Déise. CORK (SHC v Waterford): P Collins; G Millerick, E Downey, S O'Donoghue; C O'Brien, C Joyce, M Coleman; T O'Mahony, B Roche; S Barrett, D Fitzgibbon, S Harnedy; P Horgan, A Connolly, B Hayes. Most read in GAA Football WATERFORD: B Nolan; I Kenny, C Prunty, I Daly; M Fitzgerald, T de Búrca, P Leavey; D Lyons, G Fives; S Walsh, S Bennett, J Barron; J Prendergast, M Kiely, P Fitzgerald. LIMERICK (SHC v Clare): S Dowling; B Murphy, D Morrissey, M Casey; D Byrnes, D Hannon, C Coughlan; D O'Donovan, W O'Donoghue; G Hegarty, C O'Neill, T Morrissey; S Flanagan, S O'Brien, P Casey. Limerick GAA fans troll RTE pundit Donal Og Cusack after win over Cork CLARE: E Quilligan; A Hogan, D Lohan, R Hayes; C Galvin, J Conlon, D McInerney; S Rynne, C Malone; T Kelly, M Rodgers, S Meehan; R Taylor, P Duggan, D Reidy. 1 GAA president Jarlath Burns will be in attendance at Monday's meeting
Irish Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Jarlath Burns to attend Mayo county board meeting amid questions over county's finances
GAA president Jarlath Burns and director general Tom Ryan are to attend a special meeting of the Mayo county board on Monday evening. Although county officers have made no comment on the meeting's agenda, it is believed to relate to financial matters. Mayo have been in the spotlight recently concerning a Revenue audit during the course of which a voluntary disclosure of €119,778 was made in relation to potential tax liability for the Cúl Camps programme. More recently, a loan extended to Mayo by the GAA's Central Council in 2015 to assume the county's debt has been the subject of speculation, denied last week by county treasurer Valerie Murphy. READ MORE According to a report of the meeting in the Western People, Murphy 'dealt specifically with two accusations, firstly that Mayo GAA never benefited from a write-down of its debt which Croke Park negotiated with lender Ulster Bank, and secondly that Croke Park held a surplus of Mayo GAA's money in an 'unexplained account'.' The treasurer said the write-down had been passed on to the county but was subject to a non-disclosure agreement with the bank. She also said the county had moved money from a bank account to a Croke Park fund, offering better interest payments to units of the association. After March's National Football League final, which Mayo lost to Kerry, Burns made remarks in his presentation speech supportive of Mayo officers. His attendance at Monday's meeting along with the director general is seen as extending further support as well as giving delegates an opportunity to clarify any queries. The meeting will be held at Knockranny House Hotel in Westport. Clubs have been invited to send one of their officers, chair, secretary or treasurer, together with their county board delegate.
