Galway GAA in the firing line over handling of its financial affairs in the past

THE finances of Galway GAA were laid bare in the Claregalway Hotel on Tuesday night when club delegates were left stunned by a damning presentation from an international auditing company.

Mazars, appointed by Croke Park to carry out a review of financial controls, policies, procedures and staffing levels in Galway GAA, pulled no punches in revealing the findings of that audit which reflected negatively on how the county was running its financial affairs over a number of years.

The involvement of the GAA at national level followed an internal audit initiated by new County Board Treasurer Mike Burke, who was assisted by Michael Larkin, Chairman of the Galway Hurling Committee, Paul Bellew of Padraig Pearses and Gerry Naughton, a former Treasurer of the Hurling Board.

Ger Mulryan, the GAA’s Finance Director, along with Tom Doherty and Brian Cormack of Mazars, raised concerns about expenses, bonuses and the use of credit cards on Monday night, suggesting that there was little accountability or control when it came to Galway running their financial activities.

One delegate who contacted the Connacht Tribune in the wake of the audit presentation said that the report amounted to labelling Galway as “not fit for purpose” when it came to handling money. “It was an embarrassing night for us.”

Tuesday night’s meeting came only hours after it was revealed that Galway had settled an historical debt of €390,000 to GAA headquarters over the sale of All-Ireland final tickets. Galway GAA is now dealing with an annual turnover of around €5m.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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