Mayo GAA to commence work on new €15m. centre of excellence

Mayo GAA will commence plans to develop a state-of-the-art centre of excellence in 2025, which will comprise four playing pitches, dressing rooms, gym facilities, and other ancillary meeting rooms and facilities.

The proposed new Centre of Excellence for Mayo GAA will be located in Bohola, after the county board was recently gifted a parcel of land by Mr Bill Durcan.

Addressing up to 170 club delegates at the county’s annual convention in the Great National Hotel in Ballina, Seamus Tuohy, chairperson of Mayo GAA, thanked Bill Durcan for his generosity and support on this proposed project.

“This is something we in Mayo GAA will be eternally grateful for.

"A centre of excellence can be the most exciting project ever undertaken by Mayo GAA and who is to say it won’t prove to be the missing brick in our ultimate dream for this county since 1951,” Seamus said.

With the proposed centre of excellence set to cost in excess of €15m to develop, Tuohy said it was “critical” the County Board commences the fundraising process early in 2025.

To achieve this, Mayo GAA will seek to appoint a dedicated commercial manager to drive the project forward, develop new sponsorship opportunities and explore all available grants.

As part of the annual convention, club delegates voted to elect Michael Diskin as the new vice-chairperson of Mayo GAA.

Michael Diskin has been heavily involved in Mayo GAA for a number of years and recently held the position of assistant treasurer.

During his address to delegates at the annual convention, Seamus Tuohy also expressed his thanks to all of the volunteers who gave their support to the running of Mayo GAA throughout 2024.

The Mayo GAA chairperson used his address to call for greater professional supports in the running and administration of County Boards.

He said the bedrock of the GAA is the support it receives from volunteers up and down the country, but warned the demands placed on volunteers is becoming unsustainable.

“The days of running a county board solely with the support of volunteers may be coming to an end. It’s something we seriously have to look at.

"Practically every county board in Ireland now operates a multimillion-euro budget, and the demands of serving as a county board officer are becoming unsustainable.

"I think there is a need for more professional support in the running of our county boards, particularly on the commercial side,” Seamus said.

The Mayo GAA chairperson also told the convention that the county board is committed to supporting referees in the county, and reassured officials that expense payments would be maintained.

The Revenue Commissioners are currently examining the potential tax liability on expense payments to referees, as well as managers, players and other costs in the running of the association.

Seamus Tuohy said the County Board is determined to give referees clarity in relation to the expenses they receive for officiating matches as soon as possible.

“I know that many referees are concerned about what this will mean for the expenses payments they receive for officiating a match, but I am confident we will arrive at a settlement with Revenue on this.

"Our target is to clear up some of the grey areas on expense payments and we should have clear guidelines in the New Year,” he said.

The County Board also informed delegates that it made a second voluntary disclosure to the Revenue Commissioners last week in relation to its 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 financial years.

"The voluntary disclosure relates to potential tax liabilities on expenses payments made to management, coaching staff, and referees as well as other player costs during those years.

Touhy said the finances of Mayo GAA are in robust shape to cover any outstanding liabilities that may arise from the engagement with Revenue, and that the county board will launch a review of how expenses are claimed and approved in the New Year to prevent similar issues arising in the future.

The issues raised by the Revenue Commissioners do not solely relate to Mayo GAA, and other counties are also currently engaging with Revenue over the tax treatment of certain expense payments.

Seamus Tuohy told the convention that Mayo county board will continue to update club delegates and officials as the engagement with Revenue progresses.