Limerick treasurer 'excluded from decision-making' on finances

Outgoing Limerick GAA treasurer Donal Morrissey has claimed he was “excluded” from decisions relating to finances for the past 18 months.

The accounts presented to delegates at yesterday’s annual convention were anything but healthy, with team expenses increasing by €258,099 to €1,148,631. This represented a 29% jump on the 2016 figure of €890,532 despite the fact that Limerick had only one team, U21 hurling, still alive in their respective championship beyond July 1.

Providing a rough breakdown of the €1.1m spend on Limerick’s flagship teams, Morrissey said €270,000 went towards team management, players’ travelling expenses came in at €188,000, gear (€170,000), meals and catering (€156,000), medical (€125,000), hurleys/helmets/sliotars/footballs/complimentary tickets/video meetings, etc (€80,000) facility hire (€70,000), transport (€40,000), U21 hurling (€30,000).

As a result of the rise in team expenses, the board had an overall deficit of €43,551.

Peppered with questions by disgruntled delegates as to why team expenses had been allowed spiral, Morrissey claimed he was not privy to decisions relating to spending for the past year-and-a-half. Donal Fitzgibbon of Mungret described this as “an awful admission” from a county treasurer.

In February 2016, it was reported by the Irish Examiner that Morrissey, a chartered accountant by trade, was considering resigning from his role on the Limerick executive. This stemmed from his alleged dissatisfaction with procedures surrounding the proposed reappointment of county board secretary Mike O’Riordan.

“As treasurer, my role over the past 18 months has merely been to record or book-keep the transactions. The control of finances, and management have been aware of this, has not been with the treasurer for some time,” Morrissey told delegates in Cappamore.

“I am not privy to the decisions. I am not consulted in decisions. I was excluded from the decision-making process. Management is aware of this. The role of Limerick county board treasurer has been reduced to that of book-keeper. For whatever reason, my opinion in relation to financial matters was never sought or considered.”

Claughan’s John O’Brien urged those present to consider what they were saying for the good of Limerick GAA.

“All we are doing here is giving an opportunity to dig a hole and to throw ourselves into it,” O’Brien remarked. “I would suggest people stop and consider what questions are being asked and what responses are being given. Nothing good is going to come if we continue in the vein. The standing of Limerick GAA is taking a pasting here for the last 15, 20 minutes.”

Outgoing county board chairman Oliver Mann said he was responsible for certain decisions hich impacted on team spend spiking by a quarter of a million euro. Finances were disappointing but manageable, he added. County board officers agreeing not to claim expenses when travelling inside the county saw administration expenses fall from €28,347 in 2016 to €8,622 in 2017.

Former Fianna Fáil TD John Cregan beat outgoing vice-chairman Liam O’Sullivan by 140 votes to 57 to succeed Mann as chairman of Limerick GAA. Cregan, outgoing football board chairman, was a Fianna Fáil TD in Limerick West from 2002 to 2011. He did not run in the 2011 general election. He previously served as a senator.

“I was initially appointed to the Limerick GAA management team by Oliver Mann. I must confess I always felt slightly inhibited as there is a clear distinction between being appointed and being elected. Today, I have been given a mandate by the clubs in Limerick,” said Cregan.

In the other election, outgoing PRO Eamonn Phelan beat Alan Kehoe for the position of assistant secretary.