Sparks fly at Mayo Board meeting

THERE were heated exchanges at Monday night’s Mayo County Board meeting when delegates uncovered irregularities in the financial running of the supporters’ club.

But the board’s proposal to abandon a strategic plan created by an independent body and adopt Galway’s one created the most anger.

The discussion was part of a debate on the Mayo GAA draft strategic action plan, which called for an audit of finances as well as the appointment of a commercial director to raise money to pay off the €10m loan on the McHale Park development in Castlebar.

The county board proposed adopting the elements they liked from the draft plan with another one they had drawn up separately.

“If there is a (separate county board) strategic plan, we were never shown it,” chairman of the strategic committee Liam Horan said.

“You were given it,” replied Mayo secretary Seán Feeney, but Horan responded: “No, we were given aGalway document with words crossed out.”

Board chairman Paddy McNicholas said while some of the report’s recommendations were contrary to GAA rule, 70% would be incorporated into the board’s own strategic plan, which has to be sent to Croke Park by next summer.

Kilmaine club delegate Kevin McDonnell said he was “deeply troubled” to learn that not all monies raised by a supporters’ club appears in the end-of-year accounts.

“If the Revenue Commissioners came in tomorrow, would they have questions?” he asked at Monday night’s county board meeting.

McDonnell was responding to a statement by supporters’ club organiser Paddy Muldoon, who said the money his group raises “doesn’t always go direct to the county board.”

“We pay the bills,” said Muldoon, who added that the supporters’ club was there to support players and teams in football, hurling and handball.

“Some people contribute anonymously towards Mayo football, not the county board,” he added.

Muldoon’s explanation came after PJ Monaghan, chairman of a committee who looked into county finances, noted that the accounts for 2008 showed a return of nothing from the usually profitable Dublin-based supporters’ club.

“We’ve never provided less than €80,000 (a year),” said Muldoon, but Monaghan said the accounts didn’t reflect that.

Treasurer JP Lambe said the board “would be in a financial crisis” if it wasn’t for the supporters’ club. However, Ballinrobe club delegate Alan Flannery argued that financial planning had to be “fully transparent” and said he would like to understand “what’s going on in the supporters’ club.”