Emails reveal intense intimidation of Mayo officials

When John Gibbons, the delegate for Louisburgh GAA club, said he didn’t think someone “could stoop that low”, he seemed to speak for an entire room. Perhaps never before has a GAA meeting anywhere in the country exposed such vitriol as what was presented to club representatives at a specially convened gathering of Mayo County Board last week.

“I’m horrified by what I have heard,” added John Farragher, the Garrymore rep.

“We didn’t want to do this,” explained Ronan Kirrane, the Mayo GAA secretary. But they did. And it was explosive. And necessary. And only a snapshot.

In the last three months alone, according to Mayo County Board, in the region of 90 emails have been sent to their officers by one source. Kirrane talked delegates through some of the most recent correspondence, the content of which made for unpleasant listening. And reading too. Each email was displayed on a big screen, the name of the sender always redacted.

“Most of them have been directed to both Valerie and myself,” Seamus Tuohy told the meeting. Seamus is the chairman of Mayo GAA. Valerie Murphy is its treasurer. But nor has GAA President Jarlath Burns escaped the wrath.

“Your speech today from the steps of the Hogan Stand was truly unique, not even Biden or Trump has pardoned as many criminals in one go,” the emailer told Jarlath Burns just hours after this year’s Allianz Football League Division 1 final between Mayo and Kerry, where the GAA president had praised the work of Mayo officials in his post-match speech.

“What we witnessed today was one of the clearest examples of organisational narcissism; the GAA president who sees himself as superior, resists accountability, manipulates the public image of the organisation and prioritises the interests of the leadership over its volunteers.” 

The emailer subsequently declared it an “early Christmas present” that Burns had chosen to publicly back Mayo County Board because that only “raised alarm bells to the whole GAA community” about their conduct.

“There’s a huge target on all of your backs,” the emailer warned officers.

Matters escalated – and became more personal – early last month when the correspondent singled an individual Mayo GAA official as participating in and covering up corruption and threatened to expose them “in the most public manner”, warning also that they had “serious intellectual and financial resources available… to develop and sustain a campaign” and were “fully committed to go all the way with this”.

For Mayo County Board, a nadir was reached on Tuesday, May 13 last. Chairperson Seamus Tuohy had received a short-notice appointment which required his overnight admission to hospital on the same day the board had scheduled its monthly meeting. Secretary Ronan Kirrane and treasurer Valerie Murphy agreed the meeting should proceed in Tuohy’s absence, with vice-chairperson Michael Diskin to deputise. The meeting ended at around 9.30pm and by 10.17pm, Seamus Tuohy was told my email, in hospital, that his “failure” to attend the meeting “shows you are a lying coward”.

“You had one job and you f****** it up big time again,” the message continued.

The following morning, May 14, Seamus Tuohy was threatened that if he didn’t resign as chairman, he would be sued and reported to An Garda Síochána and to the Revenue Commissioners.

“If you are still an officer of the county board after June 1, 2025, I will escalate immediately,” they wrote. The threat was reaffirmed in another email that same day to another officer who was told that if they didn’t get the chairperson to resign, they too would be sued and that everything would be “done in the public spotlight”.

Both Seamus Tuohy and Valerie Murphy received further emails from the same individual two days later, May 16. The chairperson was again asked to resign “ASAP”, to enjoy his retirement, spend time with loved ones and focus on his health because “the alternative is not going to be very pleasant and is going to involve a public humiliation for you and a certain legal action against you.” 

Ms Murphy, the Mayo GAA treasurer, too was threatened with a public humiliation but also possible consequences to her occupation, while the emailer warned how her “friends and family will turn their backs on you”.

“You are now the number one target. If we take you out, Mayo GAA will have a much brighter future,” Ms Murphy was told.

Both chairperson and treasurer were in receipt of an email on May 18 that said new revelations about their “illegal and corrupt behaviour” would be released that week and get “serious traction”.

“The hole you are both in gets deeper and deeper and the pressure is mounting every day,” the unnamed claimed.

Ms Murphy did not comment at last Monday week’s meeting about the various correspondence but Seamus Tuohy said the purpose of sharing a “small portion” was to give a “gist” of their nastiness.

“We have never responded to one of these emails,” said Ronan Kirrane who over a longer period of time, together with past and other present Mayo GAA officers, and even players and management of Mayo teams, has also been subject to emails from the same source.

“We could be here for a long time if you want to go through them all,” the secretary added. But the delegates had heard enough. Mick Duffy of Kilmovee Shamrocks proposed a vote of unity. And after duly condemning the ongoing campaign of abuse and intimidation, delegates again unanimously passed a second motion, that of confidence in the Mayo GAA officers to continue their work and seek to end the campaign against them.

Seamus Tuohy and Valerie Murphy would that by week’s end they would submit formal statements to An Garda Síochána on the matter. Silence was no longer their best policy.