EXPLAINED: Full details of loan deal between Mayo and the GAA

Mayo GAA have moved to clarify the details of the financial arrangement between themselves and GAA Central Council.

In a meeting called for last night (Monday, May 27), which was attended by GAA President Jarlath Burns and the GAA’s Director General Tom Ryan, the County Board addressed delegates in the wake of claims made by individuals online on the financial situation of Mayo.

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During the meeting, the county board chairman, Seamus Tuohy, moved to dispel the rumours.

“Let me be very clear at this point, the claims published online over recent weeks about Mayo’s finances are utter nonsense,” he stated.

During the meeting, Director General Ryan offered a presentation to the club delegates in the Nephin Suite at the Knockranny House Hotel outlining the details of the situation regarding a series of loans.

All who took to the podium were bound to some degree by a Non-Disclosure Agreement with the banks from which Mayo GAA had obtained a loan.

In the meeting, Ryan discussed an extension of the repayments to Central Council from Mayo GAA.

Mayo had a loan of €5 million with Croke Park, as well as four separate bank loans, which came to a total of €5 million.

The total of the loans came to €10 million, with an average interest rate of 3.2 per cent, with repayments of €46,000 per month over a twelve to 15-year period.

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In the wake of a revised agreement of the GAA, the debt was reduced from €10 million to €9 million. The reduction of capital totalled one million euro, which Ryan stated was ‘one of the highest single value write offs that transpired’ from the GAA’s ‘Financial Distress Project aimed at assisting clubs and counties in the wake of the financial crisis.

The capital due on the loan totals €7.8 million.

The loan has been divided into two.

Loan A totals €4 million, with a repayment term of 29 years, an interest rate of 1.9 per cent, and monthly repayments of €25,000.

Loan B also totals €4 million with a repayment term of 29 years. However, the loan is amortised annually in parallel with the repayment of Loan A.

The rearrangement of the loans means that Mayo GAA will see a reduction of 1.3 per cent in the interest rates, as well as a €21,000 per month reduction in monthly repayments.

“Nobody had to sign up for this,” said Ryan. “People could very reasonably say, ‘Look, we think we can do better ourselves. Thanks but no thanks.’ ”