Offaly set for financial bailout from Croke Park

Offaly GAA chiefs look set to receive a financial bailout from Croke Park.

The Faithful County have revealed a cash crisis partly linked to ongoing repayments for the redeveloped O’Connor Park.

According to local reports, more than €200,000 is also owed to creditors with the GAA’s National Finance Committee recently intervening.

It’s understood that the National Finance Committee will revert to Offaly with a bailout plan later this month.

This is expected to be ratified by a full county board meeting in Offaly next month.

“O’Connor Park needs to be more self sustaining,” said Offaly chairman Pádraig Boland. “It has the potential to do it.

“We need to be more focused on that. We have been run like a voluntary organisation.

“We need to be more professional.

“We are not casting aspersions on anyone who has been here before. The people who were here before did very well to keep the ball in the air while playing into a gale force wind but we are where we are and my job as chairman is to lead us out of it. We will get out of it but we need help from Croke Park.”

The Tullamore Tribune reports that Offaly players only recently received vouchers for football boots originally due last year.

Offaly aren’t the first county to seek financial assistance from central GAA funds. Neighbours Kildare have been helped out by Croke Park as have Sligo.