RONAN MCCORMACK EX-GAA COACH SENTENCED TO 7 MORE YEARS IN SLIGO FOR SEXUAL ABUSE

In November 2017, Ronan McCormack, a 75-year-old former Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) coach and farmer from Cloonloo, County Sligo, was sentenced to an additional seven years in prison for a series of sexual assaults carried out decades earlier. The court found that McCormack had committed dozens of indecent assaults on two boys during the 1970s and 1980s, including grooming boys as young as ten.

McCormack had previously served a sentence of seven years and ten months in 2014 for related abuses involving schoolboys. He faced a total of 26 charges alleging he indecently assaulted two boys aged between seven and 13. He denied all charges, claiming he was not guilty.

The convictions this year included 14 counts of indecent assault on two victims, one of whom was 7 to 13 years old at the time of the offenses. The 75-year-old man, who is a father of three, had convinced families that their children could stay safely at his home, and he abused boys during trips to Croke Park in Dublin and in other settings.

Details of his crimes emerged over a court trial that lasted two and a half weeks. During the proceedings, evidence was presented of McCormack using various opportunities—such as football matches, trips, and private visits—to commit his abuse. One victim recounted how McCormack convinced him at age 11 to examine a county championship medal in his darkened bedroom, which led to his first sexual assault. That victim also described how McCormack told him about reproductive matters, saying, “He told me about the birds and the bees, how everything works, how people make love.”

Other victims, now aged between 38 and 43, recounted multiple assaults, including incidents at McCormack’s home, his car, and during fishing trips. One told the court how McCormack arrived naked in a bedroom before a semi-final match and climbed into bed with him, verbally encouraging him not to be shy while sexually assaulting him.

Testimony also revealed that McCormack assaulted boys on trips to Croke Park, including before the 1983 All-Ireland final. One victim recounted how he had to stay overnight at McCormack’s house before the match, and how McCormack arrived in bed with him and assaulted him repeatedly during the night.

Evidence included instances where McCormack touched the boys’ genitals, forced some to touch him, and sexually molested them in various locations—such as lakes, kitchens, and sporting fields. One victim described being fondled after returning from a football tournament at age 11, and another detailed an incident with McCormack at his parents' home where he was briefly groped when he was just 11.

During sentencing, Judge Petria McDonnell remarked to the jury, “The complainants were dishonored as children and you have now honored them in your work as jurors.” McCormack’s legal team requested bail pending sentencing to allow him to address family matters, but he was remanded on bail until June 17 for sentencing.

This case highlights decades of abuse by a man who exploited his role in sports to manipulate and harm young boys in County Sligo.