COUNCIL ASKS FOR MORE DETAIL ON FUND CONTRIBUTION
Council asks for more detail on fund detail on fund contribution
OMAGH TOWN FC is set to make a donation of approximately �29,000 to the Omagh Fund from last year's three glamour friendlies with Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool, according to accounts presented to the local council.
Accounts for the matches were published in draft form on Friday and presented to the council in the course of a two-hour informal information meeting, which got underway shortly after 12pm.
No one leaving the meeting was prepared to break ranks on the confidentiality of the accounts, which are subject to final adjustments, and so far there has been no official comment from the council on its findings to date.
However, the Tyrone Constitution has learned that the secretary of Omagh Town, Mr. Pat McGlinchey, was in attendance, and although the meeting is understood to have been amicable, a number of points were raised - not least in connection with the gala dinner held in the town when the visiting footballers were guests of honour at �200-a-head tables.
The 'Con' has also learned that the independent accountant appointed to oversee the accounts, Mr. Brian Mellon, was also in attendance, as was a member of the council's finance department and representatives of all of the main political parties and some independent councillors.
It is understood that the draft accounts were solely based on information received by the independent accountant, and both Mr. Mellon and Mr. McGlinchey are to come back to the council with additional information on certain aspects of the information at a later, undisclosed, date.
While councillors, reportedly, are not in a position to comment on the meeting and what was discussed, it is believed that many feel there is little relevance in their being involved in the draft account, and many have been left wondering what the accounts have to do with them.
Council members have had no input into the accounts or into the Omagh Memorial Fund, and some questioned the need to be involved at this late stage, particularly as they are not in a position to question the figures so far tabled.
Some councillors are understood to have suggested that the accounts need further detailed analysis, and others have claimed that senior council officials are less pleased with the statistics produced so far.
The Constitution has been told that senior council officials are to be involved in a meeting with representatives of the bereaved about the club's accounts for the fundraising matches.
A spokesperson for the council said officers were not in a position to make a formal comment at present, as the accounts were still in draft form.
"The council will meet again when the club makes available some additional information which they have been asked to provide," the spokesperson said.
OMAGH TOWN FC is set to make a donation of approximately �29,000 to the Omagh Fund from last year's three glamour friendlies with Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool, according to accounts presented to the local council.
Accounts for the matches were published in draft form on Friday and presented to the council in the course of a two-hour informal information meeting, which got underway shortly after 12pm.
No one leaving the meeting was prepared to break ranks on the confidentiality of the accounts, which are subject to final adjustments, and so far there has been no official comment from the council on its findings to date.
However, the Tyrone Constitution has learned that the secretary of Omagh Town, Mr. Pat McGlinchey, was in attendance, and although the meeting is understood to have been amicable, a number of points were raised - not least in connection with the gala dinner held in the town when the visiting footballers were guests of honour at �200-a-head tables.
The 'Con' has also learned that the independent accountant appointed to oversee the accounts, Mr. Brian Mellon, was also in attendance, as was a member of the council's finance department and representatives of all of the main political parties and some independent councillors.
It is understood that the draft accounts were solely based on information received by the independent accountant, and both Mr. Mellon and Mr. McGlinchey are to come back to the council with additional information on certain aspects of the information at a later, undisclosed, date.
While councillors, reportedly, are not in a position to comment on the meeting and what was discussed, it is believed that many feel there is little relevance in their being involved in the draft account, and many have been left wondering what the accounts have to do with them.
Council members have had no input into the accounts or into the Omagh Memorial Fund, and some questioned the need to be involved at this late stage, particularly as they are not in a position to question the figures so far tabled.
Some councillors are understood to have suggested that the accounts need further detailed analysis, and others have claimed that senior council officials are less pleased with the statistics produced so far.
The Constitution has been told that senior council officials are to be involved in a meeting with representatives of the bereaved about the club's accounts for the fundraising matches.
A spokesperson for the council said officers were not in a position to make a formal comment at present, as the accounts were still in draft form.
"The council will meet again when the club makes available some additional information which they have been asked to provide," the spokesperson said.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE CONSTITUTION
Ref: TC/1447
Published Date: 27-Apr-00
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