DONEGAL’S LOSS to Monaghan in the Ulster final and subsequent defeat by Mayo in the All-Ireland quarter-final resulted in significantly reduced income and expenditure for the County Board in 2015.
The County Board Treasurer, Cieran Kelly, showed a tidy profit of €7,859 for the year ended 31 October 2015.
Income dropped by €448,616 this year – when €1,199,268 was taken in – while expenditure totalled €1,191,409, a drop of €214,194 from 2014 and the early exit from the race for Sam Maguire was put forward by Kelly as the main reason for the reduced sums.
Fund-raising income plummeted to just €36,083 having been as high as €323,857 in 2014, when Donegal contested the All-Ireland senior and minor finals.
“Most of our fund-raising in 2014 was done around the All-Ireland semi-final stage, but this is something that we have discussed at Management Committee level as recently as Wednesday night,” the Treasurer said.
“We are looking at ways of improving this going forward.”
Sponsorship took a €67,000 hit this year, when €161,068 was taken in and royalties from merchandise sales this year was €87,216 – a drop of almost €50,000.
The County Chairman Sean Dunnion confirmed to the Convention that a new Donegal jersey will be launched in January and will contain ‘one or more sponsors’, although Donegal Creameries will remain as the main sponsor of the jersey.
Supporters Club revenue was €1,244 as against €36,747 in 2014 with Our Donegal – a new fundraising wing launched last year – took in €9,046 this year having raised €90,084 in 2014.
Income from the Ulster Council and from Croke Park also dropped significantly with no ticket administration grant coming in this year, due to Donegal’s early exit from the Championship.
Team administration expenses was down €165,830 from last year, with overnights and team holiday expenses falling by €156,000 and medical expenses falling by around €38,000.
The Treasurer paid tribute to the Donegal team doctor, Mr Kevin Moran, who he noted ‘hasn’t charged a cent for his services’.
An increase on the actual team admin bill was down largely to the purchase of a GPS system that is now being used by the county teams.
Being in Division 1 of the Allianz League resulted in Donegal’s National League shares rising to €139,856 from €77,367 in the previous year, while the number of complimentary tickets being handed out by the Board saw the ticketing bill decrease by over 50 per cent, going from €33,253 in 2014 to €15,785 this year.
The catering bill rose by €15,000 with an increase in the number of meals being provided to county teams, at underage level in particular, resulting in this rise.
Also in 2015, Donegal GAA’s creditors amount was reduced by 210,438 while the debtors figure now stands at €24,512.
At the January meeting of the county committee, clubs will be furnished with a breakdown of Donegal’s expenditure on coaching and games development, following queries by Cormac McGarvey (Naomh Muire) and Michael McMenamin (Naomh Padraig, Muff).
Bundoran delegate Mickey McMahon wondered as to the source for Donegal’s sports gear and was assured by the Treasurer: “What we can buy locally, we do buy locally.”
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