GAA chiefs pledge to recover missing cash

GAA chiefs in Waterford have vowed to recover the €140,000-plus in ticket revenues at the centre of embezzlement allegations, which have prompted the resignation of one long-serving official.

Gardaí in Waterford city are now investigating the loss of €143,000 in ticket proceeds, which was revealed at an emergency meeting of the county GAA board on Monday night.

An official, described locally as “a hugely respectable man” and “the last person you’d believe it of” has stepped down from his post in recent days and it’s thought that gardaí will be speaking to him in the near future.

A resident of the east Waterford area, he is also involved in other community organisations but is said to have had some personal difficulties in recent years.

Attempts to contact the former official for a statement on the controversy proved unsuccessful last night.

Civil legal proceedings have also been initiated by the county board in relation to the ticket money.

It is understood that the lost money arose from ticket sales made during Waterford’s extended run to last year’s All-Ireland senior hurling semi-final. More than €600,000 was due to be lodged in the board’s accounts following a series of high-profile matches and consequent large attendances, but the amount actually returned fell €143,000 short.

The financial dent in the board’s accounts comes just weeks before the start of the intercounty championships, with much funding being spent on preparation of the Waterford senior hurling team, in particular.

However, senior officer and PRO Joe Cleary said yesterday evening that the board fully intended to get the money back: “It certainly isn’t been written off. No way. We’d be hoping to retrieve all of it.”

Asked if that was a live possibility, he said: “It is realistic, we will get it back.”

The money has been the subject of an internal county board investigation in recent months and it’s believed that attempts were made to recover it privately, but these efforts proved unsuccessful.

Mr Cleary said that those involved in Waterford GAA were greatly shocked by the developments. “It wasn’t even that there was anger at the meeting, it was just shock, for everybody. It will take a while for it all to sink in.”

Members were also surprised when they learned the identity of the former official at the centre of the allegations, he said.

It is now thought that the scandal could prompt an investigation by GAA headquarters into how ticket sales are handled and how the cash receipts are processed.

Croke Park refused to comment on the matter when contacted yesterday evening.