Tipperary GAA’s costs pass €1m but board remain in the black

The cost of preparing Tipperary teams has crashed through the €1m barrier for the first time in three years - but county board officials still managed to reveal a financial surplus for 2015.

Premier County top brass are €129,521 in the black, following on from a healthy €319,613 profit reported 12 months ago. Total income this year is €4,054,442 and expenditure comes in at €3,924,920,encouraging results considering loans totalling €200,000 were paid back to the four divisional boards.A payment in the region of €100,000 was also submitted to Croke Park in relation to an existing loan.

Gate receipts also rose considerably to €403,013 this year, up €89,023 from last year, but this sum includes €47,710 from fixtures held last November, including the 2014 county senior hurling final.

After failing to reach the final of the competition, Tipp’s National League share dropped by €53,321 but this drop was more than offset by increases in commercial income and fundraising activities. An extra €28,818 was generated in commercial income, with a total of €702,296 revealed, while fund-raising activities raised an extra €57,908 this year, totalling €197,551.

The concern from an administrative point of view is the big spend on inter-county teams, which topped the €1m mark for the first time since 2012.

“It’s quite disappointing we went over the €1m mark,” outgoing county board treasurer Eamonn Buckley admitted. “We’ll have to look at panels, buses, medical (expenses).”

Independent auditor Ronan Spain praised county board officials for the recent upturn in financial fortunes but warned: “Just an overall comment - the board need to make sure finances are kept on a sustainable footing. One-off things like the Galway Races and London trips shouldn’t really be used to fund the ongoing costs of the county board but things are improving and have improved over a period of time. It is welcome to see.”

Meanwhile, Michael Power was elected new county board treasurer, succeeding Buckley after defeating Willie Lennox 128 votes to 90. Lennox also lost out in the race for the assistant treasurer role, which will be taken up by Liz Flanagan. She defeated Lennox 132 votes to 85 while Joe Bracken, acting PRO in recent times, will take up the role on a full-time basis. Bracken received 173 votes to Fogarty’s 45.

Meanwhile, the legendary Matt Hassett has taken over as Tipperary GAA President, succeeding the late Tommy Barrett. The Toomevara clubman captained Tipperary to All-Ireland SHC glory in 1961.