Derry GAA has ruled out the possibility of former manager Rory Gallagher returning as their senior men’s football manager.
The ex-Fermanagh star had been linked with a return to the high-profile Oakleaf job, which he left under a cloud of controversy last year.
He stepped down as Derry manager in the days before the Ulster final in May 2023 after his estranged wife Nicola made allegations of domestic abuse against him, which he denied.
She claimed she was the victim of abuse for more than 24 years and that GAA chiefs in Derry and Fermanagh were told but took no action.
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In a statement reported by The Irish News on Friday, Daragh Mackin of Phoenix Law said “there is no legal impediment to our client undertaking or accepting a role as a GAA senior football manager”.
However, in a dramatic twist later on Friday Derry GAA officials issued a one line statement confirming “he is not in consideration for the post”.
Gallagher stood down in the build-up to the county’s Ulster final appearance in 2023.
He was then “temporarily debarred” by the GAA in September 2023 when an independent panel was asked to investigate claims.
The former Donegal and Fermanagh coach successfully challenged that disbarment in February this year, and a statement from his solicitors on Friday read that there was no “legal impediment” to prevent him returning to a senior role in the game.
“Our client fully intends to return to inter county management in the near future,” the statement continued.
“Two separate investigations have led - rightly - to decisions by the PPS not to prosecute. Mr Gallagher has not been charged with a single offence.”
On Friday The Irish News approached the Derry County Board for response to a letter sent to them by SDLP MLA Policing Board member Mark H Durkan last month in which he voiced concern about the potential reappointment of Mr Gallagher.
No charges have ever been brought and in a statement issued through his solicitor last year, Mr Gallagher said the “allegations against me have been investigated and dealt with by the relevant authorities”.
The Ulster Council later established a review, chaired by consultant Gareth McGibbon, to examine the GAA’s response to adult safeguarding practice when concerns are raised about domestic violence and abuse.
In February the Disputes Resolution Authority (DRA) lifted the ban, clearing the way for Mr Gallagher to return to management.
Details of recommendations contained in the McGibbon Safeguarding Review have not been made public, although a special task force has been set up by GAA president Jarlath Burns to implement its findings.
It is understood plans by the Derry County Board to reappoint Mr Gallagher were scuppered last year after he was “temporarily debarred”.
Mr Mackin said his client had “successfully challenged the decision to disbar him from the GAA, before the disputes resolution authority (DRA)”.
The solicitor added that following the allegations made against his client he “has engaged with every statutory process pertaining to his private family situation, and countered the allegations made against him by his ex-wife”.
“Crucially, he has engaged with all criminal investigations and answered all questions posed to him by the police,” he said.
“At all stages of this process, our client has firmly and steadfastly denied his guilt and refuted all the allegations levelled against him.
Mr Durkan said he didn’t believe the reappointment of Mr Gallagher was the correct course of action.
Speculation about Mr Gallagher’s possible return to the Derry job had divided opinion in Derry.
Speaking last month former Derry All-Ireland winner Gary Coleman said he would boycott future games if Mr Gallagher was reappointed.
A member of Derry’s historic 1993 All-Ireland winning team, Mr Coleman is the son of former Oakleaf boss Eamonn Coleman, who guided the county to national glory over three decades ago.
Former Derry ladies star Nodlaig Ni Bhrollaigh previously said trust in the GAA “has been shaken” over the controversy.