Cork GAA confirm undisclosed payment made to Revenue to cover potential tax liabilities

Where other counties have made public in recent weeks the total calculated tax bill paid to Revenue, Cork have decided not to reveal the sum of money handed over.

Tue, 02 Dec, 2025 - 18:53

Eoghan Cormican

Cork GAA have paid Revenue an undisclosed sum to cover potential tax liabilities for the period 2021-24.

Following a self-assessment of their 2024 finances, the figure arrived at by the Cork executive was multiplied by four to cover the agreed four-year period, as set out by Croke Park and the Revenue Commissioners earlier this year.

Where other counties have made public in recent weeks the total calculated tax bill paid to Revenue, Cork have decided not to reveal the sum of money handed over.

The voluntary disclosures made by counties have ranged from €15,000 up to €200,000.

“We won't be publicly announcing the figure until Revenue comes back to us,” Cork GAA chairman Pat Horgan told the Irish Examiner on Tuesday.

“We have completed our self-review. We are unable to comment on the specific details of the self-review at this time, until the unprompted voluntary disclosure has been accepted by the Revenue Commissioners.

“We feel any comments at this time could negatively impact or influence the outcome of the review for our county. Feedback from Revenue may not be received for several months.”

Horgan did reveal that if tickets for the two Zach Bryan concerts, taking place at Páirc Uí Chaoimh in June of next year, sell out later this week, there is the possibility of the American country star playing a third date at the home of Cork GAA.

Pre-sale tickets for Zach Bryan's two Páirc Uí Chaoimh gigs are available from Wednesday, December 3, with the remaining tickets going on public sale this Friday, December 5.

“We are delighted to have these two concerts and if they sell out, we might possibly get a third. That would be brilliant, if it materialises.”

Horgan said the hope, going forward, is for at least two concerts a year at Páirc Uí Chaoimh as the years in which no concerts visit the ground leave Cork GAA “under pressure” financially.

But given Cork officials have no control over delivering the stated target of two concerts per year, Horgan agreed with the remarks of Cork CEO Kevin O’Donovan from the 2023 convention when he told delegates it was dangerous practice to be reliant on concerts for much-needed revenue injections.

“It is a very dangerous model for us to base a business plan on three concerts a year, which was done previously. They are windfalls. They come, they go,” O'Donovan observed at the time.

“That is the big problem, that is the difficulty,” Horgan said. “You are totally at the mercy of the artists and whether they are touring in Europe. We are lucky to be on the circuit, and we are delighted to be on the circuit.

“We would like to have a minimum of two concerts every year. Two concerts every year would be brilliant. They are vital from a revenue-raising perspective for us. What Kevin said earlier this year about concerts being the only thing that will move the dial on the debt is precisely right.”

Despite no concerts taking place at the venue in 2025, Horgan said the stadium finances, which will be published later this week ahead of next Tuesday’s convention, are “steady”. The separate Cork county board accounts he described as “healthy”.

Debt arising from the €96m redevelopment of Páirc Uí Chaoimh stood at €31,157,000 at the end of 2024. Bank debt amounted to €19.181m. Monies owed to Croke Park, meanwhile, totaled €11.9m.

“Overall, the returns on the business side of the stadium have been good for a year without concerts. There is a huge difference between a year with concerts and a year without them.

“The stadium has made steady progress in a year without concerts. Without concerts, we are not really doing the business. The year you don't have concerts, we are under pressure. We did reasonably well for a year without concerts. The ordinary Cork county board accounts are healthy. We are very pleased with them.”

Elsewhere, Tomás Mulcahy has stepped down as chairman of One Cork. His successor has not yet been appointed.

One Cork - a fundraising branch of Cork GAA - was launched in November 2020 and its stated vision “is that all Cork teams are put in the best possible position to succeed, ensuring they can fulfil their potential at all times.

That Cork GAA is fully resourced from a financial point of view and that the SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh’s financial position is stabilised”.