Offaly GAA accounts show record profit recorded in 2022

THE Offaly GAA accounts for the past year are showing a sensational profit of over a half a million euros.

The accounts that will be approved at annual Convention next Tuesday evening show a massive surplus of €514,452 for the past twelve months on their day to day running.

Their overall profit is €410,321 when the losses for O'Connor Park and Faithful Fields are taken into account – the County Board suffered a deficit on both, as expected, but their own income and expenditure account has more than compensated for this.

It is a remarkable figure though it does come with a very big caveat as it includes the revenue from most of the big 2021 finals and semi-finals including senior hurling and football.

That does skewer the figures somewhat but even taking that into account, Offaly GAA would still be showing an extremely healthy surplus for 2022 and are clearly in a very strong financial position.

The reason for this anomaly is that Offaly GAA's financial year has changed. It used to finish at the end of October but now concludes on September 30. Because of this change, last year's accounts were only for eleven months and missed out on the county finals. This year's are for the full twelve months but include 2021 and 2022 finals – and this is significant in a record surplus being shown.

Last year's senior hurling and football semi-finals and finals yielded a combined total of €143,147 but even if you take that away from this year's figure, there is still a profit of well over €350,000 on their own income and expenditure account – or over €250,000 when you take the accounts in their entirety.

By any standards, that is a very satisfactory situation and the Offaly GAA accounts make for very good reading. The money paid in for this year's senior hurling and football finals jumped considerably to €183,616 but a factor in this would have been bigger attendances as anxiety around Covid has subsided.

Income from other club matches for the past year came to a considerable €471,205 compared to €211,596 for the previous eleven months. Apart from the longer year, Covid 19 and restrictions on matches affected the 2021 figure. Offaly's income from all their club games was €815,243 for this year, compared to €211,596 the previous year. The above mentioned factors are the primary reasons for this.

Offaly's total income for the year was €2,537,904, almost a million euros higher than 2021. Expenditure was € 2,127,583, up from € 1,367,568. That resulted in a surplus of €410,321, compared to €197,969 – that still represents a nice jump, even when you take the 2021 finals and the shorter year into consideration.

The board's own income and expenditure account and the general running of Offaly GAA outside of O'Connor Park and Faithful Fields provides the bulk of the figures. Income was €2,057,407 and expenditure was €1,542,955. This showed a profit of €514,452 compared to €387,431 in 2021. On the surface this suggests that the board actually did better last year when you take the 2021 finals into account but this is not a valid comparison.

The reasons are very simple. The cost of running county teams in 2022 was a huge €1,209,334. It was €683,318 for the 2021 accounts and this huge discrepancy has absolutely nothing to do with a truncated year – county teams would incur very little expense in the missing month, October. In 2021, the inter-county season was curtailed because of Covid and in the latter months of 2020 and early months of 2021, there were restrictions on training etc.

2022 was a normal season and the 2021 figure was not a true reflection of what would normally be spent on county teams. Having said that, this expenditure on county teams is still massive and it is easily the board's biggest expense.

However, when you take the difference in county teams costs into account and the reasons for this, the realisation hits home that this was the board's best financial year even, a record one.

The above outlined gate receipts were Offaly's biggest source of income while they also got €438,763 from commercial income – this would include sponsorship from Glenisk, money raised through their partnership with golf star Shane Lowry -, €469,821 from associated bodies and €333,580 from other sources. They got €359,664 from sponsorship and €76,019 from royalties.

Apart from county teams, their primary source of expenditure was: match expenses – €247,592 and administration expenses - €65,057. The figure for other income includes the club levy of €100,500 which is then transferred to service the debt on O'Connor Park while €150,522 came in from various fundraising ventures.

The figures for county teams are once again huge: catering - €191,246; players travellng expenses - €213,194 (the figure was just €94,801 in 2021 and all amounts have jumped accordingly); team administration expenses - €365,913 (this includes expenses for managers and their backroom packages); €53,096 – buses and accommodation; €250,127 – sportsgear, equipment, gym, laundry; €133,518 – medical expenses and physio.
O'Connor Park showed a loss of €38,263 and this was much better than 2021 when the figure was €118,751 . The reasons for 2021 being so bad were Covid related. Expenditure remained more or less constant but income in 2022 was €334,900 - €247,497 was the 2021 amount. Rent from matches accounted for this as Offaly got €91,219 in 2022, compared to €12,785 in 2021 -The fall off in income was a factor in Offaly GAA's row with Tullamore GAA over the lease terms for O'Connor Park, an issue that has now been resolved in a revised agreement.

Expenditure for O'Connor Park was €373,163, up marginally from €366,248. There is still an outstanding debt of €1,357,071 on O'Connor Park and a club levy is servicing this mainly.

While Faithful Fields in Kilcormac was built debt free, statements at the time that it would cost the board money have been proven correct as Offaly had a loss of 65,868 in 2022, down almost 5,000 from the previous year. Income was €145,597 and expenditure came to €211,465. The biggest cost of €150,156 was for repairs and upkeep of the ground and equipment but this expenditure is unavoidable. Faithful Fields is one of the jewels in the Offaly GAA crown, providing a state of the art training facility for county teams and it has helped Offaly teams at all levels.