Mayo chair hints at need for full-time county board officials
In a lengthy address at Wednesday night's Mayo GAA Convention, chairman Seamus Tuohy expressed an opinion that the days of running the County Board by volunteers alone are coming to an end.
A lonely and stressful journey for volunteer officials is how Mayo GAA chairman Seamus Tuohy has described the county’s ongoing intervention by Revenue.
Speaking at the annual Mayo GAA Convention held in Ballina on Wednesday night, Tuohy said he was confident an end was in sight to Revenue’s investigation into aspects of the county’s financial affairs but repeated his previous warning that whatever Mayo’s potential tax liabilities are, they are almost certain to apply to other county boards also.
Mayo GAA has become the focus of national attention as together with the county boards of Galway and Wexford GAA, Revenue is conducting investigations that include the respective county boards’ methods of how expenses are paid, including to players and referees.
Surprisingly, not one question about the circumstances of Revenue’s audit of Mayo GAA, or about its financial situation in general, was asked by any of the 167 delegates in attendance at the Great National Hotel. A surplus of €78,442 was reported for the year but that represented a massive drop from the €776,357 recorded in the 2023 accounts.
In a lengthy address, Seamus Tuohy did express an opinion that the days of running Mayo County Board by volunteers alone are coming to an end and that there is “a need for more professional support, particularly on the financial side”.
The chairman said the county board was doing its utmost to protect GAA volunteers, particularly referees, whose payments for matches are understood to be of particular interest to Revenue.
Referees coordinator Sean Mac Éil informed delegates that the average amount paid to referees for their year’s work is between €1,600 and €1,800, based on officiating between 40 and 50 games at standard fees of €30 or €35 per underage game and €40 per adult game.
“If government can give a concession of €80million in tax free winnings to the greyhound industry, surely they can give a concession to GAA referees who are volunteers,” said Mac Éil who expressed grave concerns for the ability to retain or attract new referees.
On the playing front, Seamus Tuohy was of the opinion – following its recent bonding weekend in Belmullet – that the Mayo senior football squad was “well-aligned” and displays a good blend of youth and experience entering the 2025 season. Encouraging everyone to get behind all Mayo’s inter-county teams and to “leave the negativity to others”, Tuohy highlighted that in seven senior championship matches last season, Mayo lost only one in normal play which itself was by one point to a Galway team who went extremely close to winning the All-Ireland SFC.
In the only election of the evening, outgoing assistant treasurer Michael Diskin (Castlebar Mitchels) won a contest with Dermot Butler (Crossmolina) to become vice-chairman of Mayo GAA. The outgoing Con Moynihan (Ballaghaderreen) was unopposed in his appointment as Central Council delegate.
Newcomers to the Mayo GAA executive who were elected unopposed included assistant treasurer Sinead McLoughlin (Knockmore), coaching officer Seamus Smyth (Ballycastle) and cultural officer Daithí Gallagher (Castlebar Mitchels).
