LAST UPDATE | 15 May 2023
DERRY GAA SAY they have no record of receiving any email in respect of the allegations against senior football manager Rory Gallagher.
Domestic abuse allegations were made against Gallagher by his estranged wife, Nicola Gallagher, in a post on social media last week.
Derry GAA said on Monday evening that they were “unaware of these allegations until they emerged last week”.
Gallagher, who stepped back as Derry manager on Friday evening, managed his native Fermanagh for a two-year term from 2017-2019 before taking the Derry job in 2019.
In an interview with the Sunday Independent, Nicola Gallagher said “the county boards of Fermanagh and Derry knew [about her allegations] – because we told them.”
The Sunday Independent also reported that it had seen an email making claims against Rory Gallagher sent to Derry GAA by Nicola Gallagher’s father on 25 May 2022.
“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,” Derry said in a statement.
“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.”
Earlier on Monday, Fermanagh GAA said they have “never received any official complaints”.
A statement read: “While we will not make any comment on specific allegation or allegations, we can state that Fermanagh GAA has never received any official complaints.
“Fermanagh GAA does not condone any form of domestic abuse.
“We echo the words of Ulster GAA; we encourage and support anyone who has been a victim of such abuse not to suffer in silence but to avail of the statutory and voluntary support services that are available in the community.”
In response to the allegations made against him by Nicola Gallagher, Rory Gallagher said last week that they had been “investigated and dealt with by the relevant authorities”.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland investigated a number of reported incidents and two files were sent to the Public Prosecution Service last year, but the allegations were not pursued in the courts due to a lack of evidence.
Gallagher stepped back as Derry manager “with immediate effect” last week, with Ciaran Meenagh overseeing yesterday’s Ulster final success against Armagh.
