Glin club lottery dispute ‘could divide village’

A dispute over a soccer club lottery ticket has the potential to divide a rural community, ruin friendships, and put the club in financial danger, a judge warned yesterday.

Michael Wallace, a farmer from Tullyleague, Glin, Co Limerick, and a supporter of Glin Rovers club, claimed at Limerick Circuit Court that he bought three tickets, for €2 each, for the club lottery draw on February 9, 2013, in Barrett’s pub.

The draw was to be held three days later and the tickets collected from all of its agents beforehand. The jackpot was to be €12,600, Michael Purtill, counsel for Mr Wallace, said that, for some reason, Conor Sheehan, in his capacity as club chairman, had not ensured all tickets were collected.

He said that the plaintiff’s tickets were not in the draw even though he had selected the correct numbers.

Subsequently, Mr Wallace brought this to the attention of the club and its committee, but at a meeting held on February 19, 2013 it was decided not to pay out.

Mr Purtill said that this was a “wrongful decision” at the time and that Mr Wallace had paid for a winning ticket but because of a breakdown in the club’s system of handling the lottery, the money was withheld.

Mr Purtill claimed that Mr Sheehan and two other nominees of the club, Tommy Wallace from Tullyleague, Glin, and Liam Culhane of Marion Place, Glin, were negligent on behalf of the club.

Following more than six hours of evidence Judge Eugene O’Kelly ruled that he was satisfied that Mr Wallace had to succeed in the case he brought.

“From the beginning of this controversy, Michael Wallace said that he was going to take the matter further,” he said. “The club saw fit and chose not to set aside the disputed jackpot but in fact chose to gamble it again and it was subsequently won seven weeks later.”

Judge O’Kelly said that, “as a result of this action and the manner in which they [Glin Rovers FC] met the case, they are likely to be in financial difficulty and that was foolish for the club”.

Judge O’Kelly found faults in the running of the lottery, noting that the lottery tickets did not bear key pieces of information that the club should have been bound by statute to do.

Neither side was unable to resolve the matter despite a 30-minute break to reach a deal.

Judge O’Kelly noted that all those who gave evidence were clearly “hard-working and decent members of the club, but the decision here today has the potential to divide a community, divide friendships and possibly have a detrimental effect on community life”.

Judge O’Kelly said that he would grant a stay on condition that €5,000 be paid to Mr Wallace, €5,000 be paid to Mr Wallace’s solicitor to be held on account pending the outcome of any appeal.