No financial crisis in Tipperary, insists PRO Ryan

TIPPERARY GAA chiefs have shrugged off suggestions the county board is in serious financial difficulties.

The All-Ireland hurling champions are carrying a deficit of €126,000 from the 2010 season, but officials say that while they aim to cut expenditure, there is “no crisis” in the Premier County’s finances.

“Nonsense,” said Tipperary County Board PRO Ger Ryan.

“Everything’s progressing fine in Tipperary. People will be aware that there was a deficit in our accounts, and part of our plan for the year is to reduce expenditure by 10%, but that’s not a secret plan or anything — that has been mentioned at county board meetings and so on.

“There’s an issue we’ll be addressing with referees within the county at a meeting this evening, but there are no crisis meetings about financial matters in Tipperary or anything like that.”

Last Friday Tipperary referees called off a strike against cost-cutting measures such as restrictions on match passes for umpires, and the county board will meet match officials this evening.

Tipperary’s spending on intercounty teams hit an all-time high last year, coming in at over €1.2m, and figures at last December’s annual convention revealed the detail of that expenditures. Tipperary collected the All-Ireland senior and U21 hurling championships, and a first Munster U21 football championship title, but spending on the various teams amounted to €1,233,392, which is some €150,000 higher than 2009.

Board accountant Gerry Spain told delegates at the convention that the figures showed a deficit of €126,000 for the year, compared to almost €60,000 in the previous year, and advocated looking at where savings could be made, with gate receipts unlikely to recover during the recession.

In addition to team expenses, Tipperary’s financial resources have also been stretched by the redevelopment of Thurles’ Doctor Morris Park, which is estimated to cost over €1.3m.

County board chairman Barry O’Brien vowed to decrease expenditure across the board by 7.5% across the board at that county convention, but Croke Park finance officers met with Tipperary officials last week to discuss the possibility of central funding being directed towards the costs of Doctor Morris Park.