STAY IN YOUR OWN LANE

DRA rules Ulster Council had no jurisdiction to ban Gallagher after domestic abuse claim

FORMER Derry manager Rory Gallagher is free to resume coaching after the Disputes Resolution Authority threw out his temporary ban from GAA activity.

The suspension was imposed by the Ulster Council in September as its safeguarding committee carried out a review in the wake of allegations of domestic abuse made against Gallagher by his ex-wife.

While the details of that review have not been made public, Gallagher contested the decision through the DRA, which ultimately concluded that the “Council did not have power to debar the Claimant [Gallagher] in the manner it sought to” in a lengthy 19-page ruling.

The DRA tribunal hearing was conducted by Micheal O’connell SC, Fiachra Breathnach BL and Con Hogan, with former Offaly hurler Rory Hanniffy acting as secretary.

Held on February 1 in Dublin, Gallagher attended remotely, as did current

Tyrone joint-manager and solicitor Feargal Logan who was part of his legal team.

Ulster GAA made no comment when contacted about the DRA ruling.

Gallagher stepped aside before Derry’s Ulster final against Armagh last July and then resigned his position two days after it having said that “allegations against me have been investigated and dealt with by the relevant authorities”.

But the provincial body moved to debar him some time later after he had allegedly been involved with Monaghan club side Corduff in a coaching capacity.

The Ulster Council twice wrote to Gallagher seeking clarification on this and received no reply before contacting the club, with the DRA saying that the response from Corduff “was, frankly, evasive and the query remained unanswered”.

Gallagher was then written to, on September 10, and informed that he was “temporarily debarred from any role or participation in GAA activities”. The

Fermanagh man brought a three-pronged challenge to the DRA, the most significant of which challenged the authority of the safeguarding committee to impose debarment on him.

Ultimately, the DRA upheld this view, saying that any report from the safeguarding committee would be to assist any disciplinary action but

“would not have the status of evidence”.

“Our award will declare invalid the decision of the Respondents

(Ulster GAA) to impose debarment on the Claimant and to refuse the appeal taken by the

Claimant against that decision,” said the DRA.

It remains to be seen where Gallagher, who previously managed Donegal and Fermanagh, will work next in a coaching capacity.

Our evidence will declare invalid the decision made by the Ulster GAA