Club left in fight for survival after thousands embezzled

Bute Council did not respond to requests for comment.

Oban Lorn Shinty Club ladies team said: “Unfortunately, at this moment in time the club is not able to make a comment until such time as sentencing has occurred.”

Prosecutor Eoin McGinty told the court that Martin was treasurer of the club, set up in 2015, and one of two signatories of the bank account.

McGinty said: “In 2016, the accused applied for a debit card that was linked to the account.”

In 2017, Martin took a step back from the club and at the end of that year, the senior team was disbanded.

The under-14 branch continued until October 2018 before suffering the same fate.

A women’s team was established and it was agreed all the assets would be transferred to the new club.

But Martin’s foul play came to light when he delayed notifying the bank about the club changes.

The other signatory contacted the bank and failed the security questions when he was asked about the most recent transactions.

He was summoned to the local branch and helped identify 129 of 506 transactions on the account as questionable.

Committee members met on April 25 and decided to call in the police, who arrested Martin.

Prosecutor McGinty said: “His initial position was that he himself, at the end of the shinty club, had set up a business from his home where he supplied shinty equipment.

“His position was that he simply ‘overlapped’ the funds by mistake.”

But when it was suggested many purchases were personal transactions at service stations, cash withdrawals and Netflix, he accepted there “came a point” when he began to use the funds for himself.

The court heard Martin wished to repay the money.

Martin will be sentenced next month but Sheriff Patrick Hughes warned he was considering a jail sentence.