RORY GALLAGHER has threatened legal action against GAA president Jarlath Burns if he fails to retract his comments in an email sent to Naas GAA.
Burns contacted the Kildare club on Sunday to air his concerns over Gallagher’s proposed appointment as a coach in the wake of domestic abuse allegations from his estranged wife, Nicola in 2023.
Gallagher subsequently stood down as Derry manager in the wake of the claims, and categorically denies the allegations.
No charges have ever been brought against him and a PSNI investigation has been concluded and a decision was made not to prosecute.
And he has hit back at the Armagh man’s intervention which saw Naas ditch their decision to recruit him as a coach.
The GAA president warned the club of the wider implications of appointing Gallagher to Joe Murphy’s backroom team for the upcoming season.
Burns also referenced the GAA’s “game changer” project, which was launched last November in conjunction with the LGFA and Camogie Associations and aims to raise awareness around domestic, sexual and gender-based violence.
Ulster council chiefs temporarily barred Gallagher from all GAA activity in 2023, but the Belleek native successfully appealed the decision to the Disputed Resolution Authority, which saw him return to coaching with the Corduff club in Monaghan last year.
And Gallagher declared in a statement that he will instigate legal proceedings if Burns does not withdraw his correspondence with the Kildare champions.
He said: “With great power comes great responsibility. Mr Burns’ actions are premised on a misguided and self-serving compulsion to share his concern.
“Regrettably, whilst this is the first time Mr Burns’ actions have been made public, this is not the first time that I have been informed that he has taken matters into his own hands with respect to me and my family life.
“By Mr Burns’ own admission, his motivation is the “controversy” surrounding my “personal life” that “has created division”.
“These words should be a matter of concern to not just me and my family, but to every GAA member. It seems that social media commentary and controversy now equates to a licence for presidential intervention.
“Most importantly I engaged with the GAA’s own procedures which set aside my disbarment.
“Despite having engaged with due process and procedure, it seems clear that the president has now opted to take matters into his own hands.
“Such action is not only without precedent, it seeks to enter into an authoritarian world where due process and procedure count for nothing.
“I await with interest to see if Mr Burns takes such direct personal action against others who find their private life the subject of social media commentary and hyperbole.
“The chilling effect of these actions cannot be greater. Mr Burns’ actions not only undermine the very principles of fairness and equality to which the GAA is premised, but it sends a clear message that such dictatorial action can and will be taken, when the president sees fit.
“I have never asked for sympathy or support. I do, however, ask that this action is formally withdrawn and the contents of the correspondence is retracted. The president should lead by example and accept when he has overstepped the mark.
“Absent such a retraction, I will have no other alternative but to take legal action to cure the irreparable damage done to me and my family in my ability to continue to work as a manager in the years ahead.”
It remains to be seen if Burns will retract his comments, and a GAA statement issued in response said: “The GAA acknowledges receipt of queries that have been put to us from media organisations in relation to coaching positions with the Naas senior football team. We have no comment to make at this time.”
