Rory Gallagher pledges legal action unless GAA president Jarlath Burns withdraws Naas email

Rory Gallagher has pledged to take legal action unless GAA president Jarlath Burns withdraws an email sent to Naas GAA around his potential appointment as a coach.

Naas abandoned plans to add the former Donegal, Fermanagh and Derry boss to their management team on Sunday night following a meeting of the club executive at which Burns’ email, which cautioned against his appointment, was read out.

Gallagher has come out strongly against the president for his action, which he described as an “unprecedented move in an effort to sabotage my potential appointment” in a statement issued to the Irish Independent. He said that if Burns does not retract his email, he 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”.

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Gallagher stepped aside as Derry manager in the run up to the 2023 Ulster final amid allegations of domestic abuse from his estranged wife Nicola before resigning altogether days later. Derry seriously considered reappointing him after both the 2023 and ‘24 Championship seasons but ultimately opted against it.

In the meantime, Gallagher has taken on a coaching position with Monaghan club Corduff, a role which he retains and was due to carry out in tandem with the Naas job before the four-in-a-row Kildare champions got cold feet.

When the controversy first erupted, Gallagher said that authorities had investigated and dealt with the allegations and in his latest statement has moved to “categorically deny the allegations levelled against me”.

Last September his solicitors outlined how he “fully intends” to return to inter-county management and that there was “no legal impediment” to him doing so, but while that didn’t come to pass this close season, getting involved with a high profile club like Naas would have been a significant stepping stone.

However, Burns intervened when it emerged that Naas had lined him up, with an email to the club reportedly referencing the "potential implications for Naas GAA and the wider association".

GAA President Jarlath Burns
(Image: ©INPHO/James Crombie)

He also mentioned the GAA’s Game Changer initiative launched last November which is aimed at tackling domestic, sexual and gender-based violence, adding: "The controversy surrounding his personal life has created significant division and concern within the wider GAA community. Such a decision by Naas GAA could have far reaching consequences."

Although acknowledging that he had “no authority” to dictate to Naas, Burns said that “by choosing not to proceed with this appointment you will be making a statement about the principles that define Naas GAA”.

In his own statement, Gallagher said: “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.”

He added: “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."

The GAA was contacted about the matter and said that it “acknowledges receipt of queries that have been put to us from media organisations in relation to coaching positions with the Naas senior football team” before adding that “we have no comment to make at this time”.

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