‘Some hate mail was so bad I had to tell the gardaí’
GAA bosses tell of ordeal of fans’ abuse
‘They sit down and write harsh stuff’
LIMERICK hurling manager John Kiely and former Mayo football manager James Horan have spoken of the toll of the abusive hate mail they have received.
The pair spoke out after Éamonn Fitzmaurice resigned as the Kerry senior football manager at the weekend, saying he got abusive letters.
Fitzmaurice, who led the Kingdom to All-Ireland glory in 2014, said players were getting anonymous letters too. He stepped down following Kerry’s Super 8s defeat at the weekend.
Ahead of Limerick’s clash with Galway on Sunday week in the AllIreland hurling final, Kiely revealed he gets hate mail even when the team wins and said that he can sympathise with Fitzmaurice.
Kiely said: ‘I find that strange, that even when you win you get a letter of criticism.
‘It’s a free world, and I know you’re up for criticism. That is the bottom line.
‘People want the team to win and to do well, and other people have their ideas about how it could be done or should be done, the tactical approach, whatever it may be. ‘But [hate mail] comes.’ Kiely said his wife sorts through it all and does not let anything too serious come his way.
He even said he keeps much of the hate mail he receives in a box.
Former Mayo boss James Horan even said he had required the assistance of the gardaí following some of the hate mail he received while he was in charge of the Yew County.
On Newstalk radio’s Off The Ball programme, Horan said he had received a considerable amount of hate mail.
Horan said: ‘After defeats, and particularly in championships, it can be very raw for some people.
‘It can be related to players from certain clubs that aren’t playing and there’s a club member who is disgruntled as a result.
‘With the forums and social media it is so easy to get messages across but it’s a different sort of level when someone sits down and writes some very harsh stuff.’
Horan stepped down in 2014 following defeat to Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final replay.
During his time in charge of the Mayo team he had led the team to four successive Connacht senior football championships and two All-Ireland final appearances.
Speaking about the subject of hate-mail, Horan said it does have an impact.
He said: ‘I brought it to the attention of the guards and that’s really what you need to do with some of those.
‘Some of them would be very concerning without going into what they were.
‘You needed to go to the appropriate authorities with it.’