Derry GAA respond to claims they knew about Rory Gallagher abuse allegations

"We have no record of receiving any such email."

Derry GAA have released a statement regarding claims that they were informed about abuse allegations relating to their inter-county football manager Rory Gallagher. It had been reported during the week that the Oakleaf County and Fermanagh GAA were made aware of these claims. Nicola Gallagher, the estranged wife of the ex-county star, told the Sunday Independent that both the Fermanagh and Derry GAA county boards knew of the abuse she referred to.

"The GAA knew about all of this, 100%, and the county boards of Fermanagh and Derry knew - because we told them," she said.

"There were senior members of the GAA who knew what was going on, there are incidents that took place at GAA events. It was a well known fact."

Ms Gallagher's father had reportedly informed the Derry management last year. The Derry county board have now released a statement, claiming that this is not the case, and that they have "no records" of any email correspondence regarding domestic abuse claims.

“It was reported in the weekend media that Derry GAA did not respond to an email relating to these allegations which was reportedly sent on May 25th 2022.

"We have rigorously checked our email system and we have no record of receiving any such email then or at any time subsequent to that.

"We have not been able to verify the address the email was sent to, but we believe it may have been sent to a defunct administrator address.

“Derry GAA was unaware of these allegations until they emerged last week. We condemn all forms of domestic violence and we encourage anyone who has experienced domestic violence to report it to the relevant authorities immediately.”

Fermanagh GAA has also said its county board “never received any official complaints” regarding its former manager and player.

In a statement issued also on Monday, the inter-county organisation said: “In relation to the recent media coverage Fermanagh GAA wish to state the following.

“While we will not make any comment on specific allegation or allegations, we can state that Fermanagh GAA has never received any official complaints."

Gallagher stepped back from his role as inter-county manager and released the following statement.

"This decision is borne out of a desire to protect my children from the ongoing turmoil,” he stated.

"They will always be my priority.”

Related links:

• Rory Gallagher "stepping back" as Derry manager, with immediate effect
• Derry manager Rory Gallagher releases statement on "very serious allegations"