Earlier this year one of Dublin's oldest GAA club, Parnells, was liquidated.
The club, serving the parishes of Coolock and Artane, had been in financial difficulty for some time, having been ordered to pay a redundancy lump sum to 11 staff members who were not given work after the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However in 2008, Parnells GAA club sold lands near Dublin Airport for €22 million, making it the wealthiest of Ireland's 1,610 GAA clubs.
Last night's Prime Time investigation detailed the club's precipitous fall.
For a period in the last decade the club, chasing a first county title since 1988, was synonymous with the recruitment of inter-county stars from outside Dublin.
Internal club documents – seen by Prime Time – show the scale of money allocated to some within the club. One player received almost €20,000 over a 16-month period – €8,050 for coaching and €11,600 for travel and subsistence.
A number of years later, a coach was paid €16,820 in travel and subsistence payments over a nine-month period.
However, the most successful inter-county footballer at Parnells (or any other club for that matter) is nine-time All-Ireland winning goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton - Parnells through and through.
Just as Dublin were beginning to dominate, he took the unusual decision to drop down to the club's second team.
As the goalkeeper has never been one for speaking to the media, his reasons for doing so were never made clear.
However Prime Time last night revealed that in late September 2014 Cluxton wrote a letter to all members of the club executive.
He outlined the reasons why he had taken the highly unusual decision to regrade down, to play for the club’s second team.
He also detailed his "frustration at the direction in which the club is being lead".
The letter stated: "I don’t agree with the policy of head-hunting players" and "I don’t agree that county players are treated to various perks".
He added that he was "disgusted with the tax situation having to be settled in the manner in which it was" and "I am disgusted that the club is now in debt".
Follow a live blog on the All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals on Saturday on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Saturday Game at 9.30pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
Watch two All-Ireland Football Championship quarter-finals, Meath v Galway and Armagh v Kerry, from 1.15pm on Sunday on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to commentaries on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 10.15pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player
