Mayo supporter group issue email over board spat

An email has been issued by the Mayo GAA International Supporters Foundation to all clubs in the county to explain the breakdown of its relationship with the board.

The fundraising group, which is only a year in existence, felt compelled to contact clubs after claiming there was “misinformation in circulation in relation to the breakdown of the relationship between the foundation and the county board. Given the significant money raised by the foundation and the commitments provided to donors, it is critical that we clarify the foundation’s position.”

Dated on Monday, the statement reiterated that the foundation has ceased “funding to Mayo County Board until appropriate governance structures are put in place. The lack of financial governance is at the centre of the ongoing dispute between the foundation and the county board which led to the foundation withdrawing its support.

“It is clear to the foundation that Mayo GAA need significant financial support to sustain and develop GAA games in the county. The foundation’s support is now at risk due to the serious deficits in financial governance at board level.”

It continues that the foundation’s chairman and founder, international financier Tim O’Leary, made a personal donation of €150,000 to the senior team last year “on the understanding that appropriate receipts would be forthcoming to support how the €150,000 was spent”.

According to the statement, those receipts only arrived this month and included “copies of multiple invoices and receipts seemingly randomly picked from the financial files”.

The statement claims that the foundation was keen to support the development of a centre of excellence at Lough Lanagh, an academy for the county, as well as a worldwide Mayo supporters club but no business plan for any of them was forthcoming.

Details of Mayo’s game in New York at the outset of the Connacht championship in May is also revealed in the document.

The foundation paid $52,000 for the team’s training camp in Rocklands as well as $15,000 towards a team meal and night out in the city. The gala event that was organised to coincide with the New York game raised almost €150,000, excluding close to €275,000 put forward by O’Leary personally this year alone.

The foundation say they explained to a member of the county board that money would only be released to projects which were “properly planned and resourced, and most importantly which were strategic in nature to Mayo GAA”.

As none were forthcoming, no funding has been released and while there have been attempts to resolve the impasse, the foundation “held firm to its position that it could not release funds if the business plans were not forthcoming”.

No formal contact has been made by the county board to the foundation since late August.

The letter alleges that the county board did not honour an agreement for 10 All-Ireland final tickets, which were purchased by a donor at the gala auction and as a result the foundation had to pay for them.

The statement concludes: “The foundation currently holds €250,000 in cash which it wishes to release to Mayo GAA and we very much look forward to engaging with the county board at their earliest convenience.

“The foundation can also confirm that it has received significant financial pledges from its donors to help provide Mayo GAA with a sustainable funding source into the future.”

The foundation had asked county secretary Dermot Butler that the statement be read out at last night’s county board meeting. Explaining the breakdown last month, O’Leary hit out at the Mayo board’s “unprofessional” way on social media.