Croke Park offer to mediate dispute between Mayo GAA and supporters group
Croke Park have officially offered to mediate between the Mayo County Board executive and the Mayo International Supporters Foundation.
Following a meeting with Mayo officials in Croke Park last Friday, the GAA leadership are now keen to speak to the foundation’s chairman Tim O’Leary about resolving the impasse.
The foundation are currently withholding €250,000 raised for Mayo GAA as they are concerned about governance in the county board, an unseemly stand-off which has been played out in public over the past few months.
In correspondence to Mayo secretary Dermot Butler dated on Monday, GAA director general Tom Ryan wrote: “Thank you for meeting with me and my colleagues on Friday last. We appreciate the difficult situation that the County Committee is currently faced with and we will offer whatever support and assistance may be required to reach a positive outcome for all concerned.
“We would be glad to meet with Mr O’Leary in this regard and I would be grateful if you could assist in making the arrangements for such a meeting.
“In the meantime, out of respect to all parties, and in order to better facilitate a resolution can I ask that you refrain from making any further public statements on the matter?”
Ryan and Connacht Council secretary John Prenty met with a Mayo delegation in Croke Park last week which comprised chairman Mike Connelly, vice-chairman Seamus Tuohy, secretary Dermot Butler, treasurer Kevin O’Toole and PRO Paul Cunnane.
Meanwhile, Michael Gallagher has expressed relief at the news he is eligible for the position of Mayo PRO. Gallagher had been informed there was an issue with his club membership but that has since been cleared up.
“On behalf of my family and I, I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard to give me the opportunity to re-enter the race to be Mayo GAA PRO," he wrote on Facebook. "It hasn’t been an easy nine days, but the support of the clubs and the general public throughout Mayo and beyond has been nothing short of inspirational.” Gallagher also thanked Mayo GAA for working with his club “to bring the matter to a close”.
Meanwhile, the GAA have confirmed the advanced mark can’t be taken from a kick-out mark as it has been defined a set play. It had not been certain if the mark taken between the two 45-metre lines from a restart constituted a set play. However, Central Council agreed that it was so and therefore it will not be possible for two such marks to be made in succession whether the second one is caught by a member of the attacking or defending team.
The small print of the sin bin, such as the protocol for when a goalkeeper is dismissed for 10 minutes, and the 20-metre kick-out is expected to be made public in the coming days.
