The GAA's Tom Ryan. INPHO/TOM O'HANLON
GAA Director General Tom Ryan has admitted the Association is staring into a potential €60 million black hole due to the coronavirus shutdown and lack of games. Ryan said it seems “churlish” to be discussing finances with no end currently in sight to the pandemic and an increasing death toll though acknowledged it is likely the GAA will be hit hard and will ‘suffer.’ Just weeks on from the publication of the GAA’s annual accounts for 2019, which detailed record revenues of €73.9m, around half of which came from gate receipts, the Association’s top official admitted the financial outlook now looks bleak. Ryan said: ‘‘It’s already having a really serious impact on things. Central Council-wise, there is probably about €60 million at risk. All we have is matches. That is all we have. We don’t have an international organization that can come to our aid. Everything that we generate is generated pretty much on the island of Ireland and it’s all generated within probably a two or three-month period of the year which is the period that could be lost to us income-wise. Yeah, we will suffer.’’
— Sean Creedon
