Mayo Millionaire backer withholds Money

[five points]

he could be being used as a stalking horse(by ?)  to get the whole thing into a courtroom where questions would have to be answered

No judge, except maybe in a movie, would allow their court to be used to air or advance a private dispute.

it was only one of a nuumebr of suggestions but that will happen if this goes to court . a lot of birty linen will be washed in Public, the county board have been hiding behind the coat tails of the Law and legal process  but it could well come back to bite them in the arse .
there a reason family law cases are held in camera

Hardly. If he can prove he's a GAA member, any action he takes against the Association would be referred back by a court to the GAA's internal processes up to and including the DRA. If he can't, the GAA can reasonably tell the court that they're not accountable to him. 

If court actions were in any way effective in forcing organisations to wash their dirty linen in public, the FAI would be swamped with them.

[whitey]

Mayo GAA has been embarrased in the last few months with all the stories that have appeared in the media. That a Mayo board member can suggest a meeting that the foundation should be told to keep their €250k and not a word of comment from mayo  people in the media is bizarre. One of the reasons this story has dragged on is it seems very few in the county are interested in calling out the county board for this shambles

Does anyone know, in Mayo, the media or otherwise what it is this O'Leary bucko wants?

It appears to me he started off firing money at us *unconditionally and then at some stage, seemingly after plenty of selfies with the high profile players, the money raised, allegedly, had conditions attached.

*unconditionally - my reading of it is that the first tranche was on the basis of how far we got in the campaign in 2018 and was to be spent on the team to get that extra 1 to 3% out of them...

You can see how there is confusion and anger over this carry on and a reluctance to comment by ex Mayo players when the full story isn't presented.

My best guess is that given the line of work he’s involved in, he has a lot of boxes to check from a legal and tax standpoint to make these donations. One would assume that the processes and transparency required from the county board to facilitate the donations are already in place.....obviously they’re not

(I’m sure Dublin has everything in order, otherwise AIG wouldn’t be able to give them a penny)

[Lar Naparka]

he could be being used as a stalking horse(by ?)  to get the whole thing into a courtroom where questions would have to be answered

No judge, except maybe in a movie, would allow their court to be used to air or advance a private dispute.

it was only one of a nuumebr of suggestions but that will happen if this goes to court . a lot of birty linen will be washed in Public, the county board have been hiding behind the coat tails of the Law and legal process  but it could well come back to bite them in the arse .
there a reason family law cases are held in camera

Hardly. If he can prove he's a GAA member, any action he takes against the Association would be referred back by a court to the GAA's internal processes up to and including the DRA. If he can't, the GAA can reasonably tell the court that they're not accountable to him. 

If court actions were in any way effective in forcing organisations to wash their dirty linen in public, the FAI would be swamped with them.

Yeah, I have had a degree of experience of dealing with internal trade union legal disputes and I can see no difference here. ( I feel the GAA qualifies as a Friendly Society and is bound by the same legislation.)
SO, if a case comes to court, the judge will seek to establish that all possible ways of handling the dispute, using the body's own arbitration procedures have been exhausted before he will consent to hear the case.
I believe that if Gallagher does go to the High Court, he will need to be able to prove he tried every possible means of resolving his issue using GAA procedures if he is to have a chance of succeeding.

[rosnarun]

I think when he counts te pennies he may well decide against it unless he has backing ,
if hes serious about helping mayo Gaa there is always next year  when officers will still be required and I think the remaining officers time is up anyway

[topofthesoil]

Classic case of corporate greed

[Lar Naparka]

GAA to meet with millionaire Mayo backer directly over funding row

Donnchadh Boyle and Shane Phelan

November 27 2019 2:30 AM

 
GAA director-general Tom Ryan is set to intervene directly in the ongoing row that has engulfed Mayo GAA and meet with the county's millionaire backer Tim O'Leary.

Top brass in Croke Park have already met with the Mayo executive and were briefed on the dispute which has rumbled on for months.

The Mayo GAA International Supporters Foundation, which is headed by O'Leary, is withholding €250,000 in funding in a row over governance.

In a letter to Mayo county secretary Dermot Butler, Ryan offered "whatever support and assistance may be required to reach a positive outcome for all concerned".

Ryan also asked Mayo to set up a meeting with O'Leary and asked that Mayo refrain from "making any further public statements".

"Thank you for meeting with me and my colleagues on Friday last," read the letter from Ryan which was dated for last Monday, November 25.

"We appreciate the difficult situation that the County Committee is currently faced with and we will offer whatever support and assistance may be required to reach a positive outcome for all concerned.

"We would be glad to meet with Mr O'Leary in this regard and I would be grateful if you could assist in making the arrangements for such a meeting.
"In the meantime, out of respect to all parties, and in order to better facilitate a resolution, can I ask that you refrain from making any further public statements on the matter?"

The foundation raised the money at an event in New York that coincided with Mayo’s trip to the Big Apple to face the Exiles in the Connacht SFC last May.

It is understood the meeting between O’Leary and the GAA’s top brass could take place early next week.

Meanwhile, a dispute over the exclusion of a journalist from running for a position on Mayo County Board has been resolved.

Michael Gallagher had threatened to issue High Court injunction proceedings after being told nine days ago that due to a technicality he could not run for the position of PRO at the county convention on December 15.

Following consultation with his club, Ballycroy GAA, the board has now accepted he was fully paid up on time.

Gallagher is not linked to the Mayo GAA International Supporters Foundation, but has been calling for the board to enter mediation with it.

In a statement, he said he appreciated Mayo GAA’s response to the situation and thanked his club, saying it “went to great lengths to bring about a fair outcome to this saga”.

[Dubhaltach]

The latest in the saga:
https://www.offtheball.com/sport/mayo-gaa-receive-e1-million-funding-pending-agreement-terms-932039

While the county board should be making every effort to secure the funding in question, these latest demands from the foundation are a step too far IMO.

There should be scope for agreement on most of the conditions however I see there being a major issue with point number 4 which states:

'The bid process for all sponsorship deals to be managed by a Committee with its members to be agreed in advance with the Foundation and to include independent oversight by a representative from the Foundation'.

The idea of an independent body, not elected by the clubs, having oversight on funding that it provides itself is one thing. Having oversight on 'all sponsorship deals' is a very different matter and runs totally contrary to the democratic ethos of the GAA.

[Baile Brigín 2]

The latest in the saga:
https://www.offtheball.com/sport/mayo-gaa-receive-e1-million-funding-pending-agreement-terms-932039

While the county board should be making every effort to secure the funding in question, these latest demands from the foundation are a step too far IMO.

There should be scope for agreement on most of the conditions however I see there being a major issue with point number 4 which states:

'The bid process for all sponsorship deals to be managed by a Committee with its members to be agreed in advance with the Foundation and to include independent oversight by a representative from the Foundation'.

The idea of an independent body, not elected by the clubs, having oversight on funding that it provides itself is one thing. Having oversight on 'all sponsorship deals' is a very different matter and runs totally contrary to the democratic ethos of the GAA.

So the current sponsorship deals are democratically chosen? Voted on by clubs?

[Dubhaltach]

The latest in the saga:
https://www.offtheball.com/sport/mayo-gaa-receive-e1-million-funding-pending-agreement-terms-932039

While the county board should be making every effort to secure the funding in question, these latest demands from the foundation are a step too far IMO.

There should be scope for agreement on most of the conditions however I see there being a major issue with point number 4 which states:

'The bid process for all sponsorship deals to be managed by a Committee with its members to be agreed in advance with the Foundation and to include independent oversight by a representative from the Foundation'.

The idea of an independent body, not elected by the clubs, having oversight on funding that it provides itself is one thing. Having oversight on 'all sponsorship deals' is a very different matter and runs totally contrary to the democratic ethos of the GAA.

So the current sponsorship deals are democratically chosen? Voted on by clubs?

The current sponsorship deals are organised by the county committee which is voted in by the clubs, the same as in every other county.

[Baile Brigín 2]

The latest in the saga:
https://www.offtheball.com/sport/mayo-gaa-receive-e1-million-funding-pending-agreement-terms-932039

While the county board should be making every effort to secure the funding in question, these latest demands from the foundation are a step too far IMO.

There should be scope for agreement on most of the conditions however I see there being a major issue with point number 4 which states:

'The bid process for all sponsorship deals to be managed by a Committee with its members to be agreed in advance with the Foundation and to include independent oversight by a representative from the Foundation'.

The idea of an independent body, not elected by the clubs, having oversight on funding that it provides itself is one thing. Having oversight on 'all sponsorship deals' is a very different matter and runs totally contrary to the democratic ethos of the GAA.

So the current sponsorship deals are democratically chosen? Voted on by clubs?

The current sponsorship deals are organised by the county committee which is voted in by the clubs, the same as in every other county.

Thats different to what you said though

[Baile Brigín 2]

Looks like a serious escalation

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/millionaire-threatens-mayo-gaa-with-legal-action-if-it-wont-repay-his-150000-donation-38752369.html

[weareros]

Looks like a serious escalation

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/millionaire-threatens-mayo-gaa-with-legal-action-if-it-wont-repay-his-150000-donation-38752369.html

And this lad is supposed to be a Mayo supporter, their "biggest supporter" even. He clearly is not.  They need to find a way to get shut of him.

[Baile Brigín 2]

Looks like a serious escalation

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/millionaire-threatens-mayo-gaa-with-legal-action-if-it-wont-repay-his-150000-donation-38752369.html

And this lad is supposed to be a Mayo supporter, their "biggest supporter" even. He clearly is not.  They need to find a way to get shut of him.

If he handed over money for x and y, and x and y don't happen, he is entitled to a refund. They have treated him appallingly so he is taking his ball home.

[Tubberman]

Looks like a serious escalation

https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/millionaire-threatens-mayo-gaa-with-legal-action-if-it-wont-repay-his-150000-donation-38752369.html

And this lad is supposed to be a Mayo supporter, their "biggest supporter" even. He clearly is not.  They need to find a way to get shut of him.

If he handed over money for x and y, and x and y don't happen, he is entitled to a refund. They have treated him appallingly so he is taking his ball home.

Well that's the nub of the issue. What were the terms of the donation? Did Mayo CB agree in advance that any donations from this 'Foundation' would be spent on specific projects, or that the foundation could dictate what the funds were spent on?
If they did, they've made a terrible decision because they've essentially given this guy a veto over how money raised in the name of Mayo GAA is spent, and b) they've left themselves open to this type of action calling for breakdowns and receipts and refunds etc etc

The T & Cs of how Mayo CB and the Foundation would interact and the roles and responsibilities of both parties don't seem to have been nailed down at the beginning and now it's a complete shit-show. O'Leary has some valid points, but he also seems to want to have a far bigger say than he's entitled to. Dangerous ground...

[rosnarun]

If he has a written agreement then sure give him his money back as soon as he hands over the money that was raised in the name of Mayo GAA in new York.
he tried to blackmail the county board with some very unreasonable demands which would have had the elected board Kow towing to him just because he has a few bob.
 while he has done a service in showing up the county board as being eejits he has as I predicted in previous posts decided to pick up his ball and go home like all spoiled brats ,
no doubt he be seen again trying to buy friends in connacht rugby or a broken LOI soccer team where he can be seen as the white Knight