A prominent member of a Gaeltacht club has claimed the Donegal LGFA is refusing to give them a disciplinary hearing in Irish.
As a result Donal O’Searcaigh, of Naomh Muire Íochtar Na Rosann, said he has been left with ‘no choice’ but to resign as the association’s County Cultural and Language officer.
The issue arose after the LGFA brought a disciplinary matter against the west Donegal club over an alleged incident involving two of their players and a manager.
In his letter of resignation, seen by Donegal Daily, Mr O’Searcaigh said Irish is ‘the first language of our club members’ and added it was discriminatory to suggest a hearing could not take place in ‘our mother tongue’.
He is also calling on State authorities to ‘withdraw cultural funding’ to the LGFA.
“In light of the recent refusal to hold a hearing as Gaeilge for our club members as requested, I feel I am left with no choice but to resign my position as County LGFA Cultural and language officer,” Mr O’Searcaigh wrote.
The association’s Rule 5 (Aims and Ethos), he adds, clearly states that ‘we will endeavour to support the promotion of the Irish language’ to facilitate such requests, “and yet our club’s legitimate request was dismissed out of hand”.
He continued: “It is hypocritical and dishonest to have a position of cultural officer and then ignore the very foundation of our association by denying the right to speak our native tongue. In light of this decision, I feel it is incumbent on me to step down with immediate effect”.
Mr O’Searcaigh concluded by saying he wanted his concerns, and those of his club, relayed to all clubs at the August county board meeting and “to those in higher authority who have endorsed this decision”.
A spokesperson for the Donegal LGFA confirmed to Donegal Daily they received Mr O’Searcaigh’s email of resignation yesterday morning.
However, they added, the county executive is not allowed to have any influence on any of the association’s Complaints, Objections, Disciplinary and Appeals (CODA) process.
“No decisions on any ongoing appeals, etc…are made by the county executive or the county board. Therefore, we cannot comment on any CODA hearings,” they said.
Gaeltacht clubman claims Donegal LGFA refusing to hear disciplinary case in Irish was last modified: August 27th, 2025 by Staff Writer
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