Galway’s audit details divulged

GAELIC GAMES SHORTS

GALWAY GAA chiefs were tight-lipped last night after clubs were given some details of the internal financial audit which has rocked the county. The board convened for the first time in three months at Loughgeorge for a crisis meeting with club delegates given a synopsis of the findings. The board is currently servicing a €3.1million debt to GAA’s Central Council. Board treasurer Mike Burke called for the audit at the start of the year, with the initial report understood to have been received by Croke Park officials in early summer. There have been ongoing discussions between Croke Park and Galway officials in the interim. Last year, a study commissioned by board chairman Pat Kearney found ‘serious deficiencies’ in cash handling procedures at venues across Galway, citing one case where gate receipts from one fixture took three months to be lodged.

÷FORMER Armagh All-Ireland winner Justin McNulty has claimed that the political stand-off at Stormont has had a ‘serious impact’ on the stalled Casement Park redevelopment project. The gates of the Belfast venue were closed in 2013, but projected to deliver a 34,500 new stadium have been derailed by planning failures and subsequently the ongoing political stalemate.

÷CARNACON have appealed the two-week bans handed down to their eight players who quit the county panel earlier this year. The All-Ireland ladies champions are due to play Castlebar this Friday and Knockmore in their final group game on Sunday but will be missing those players if their appeal to the LGFA’s Central Council is unsuccessful.