Louth GAA club claims it was target of ‘devious’ tarmac scam

A Louth GAA club has issued a warning to other clubs and businesses, after they were left with a bill for thousands of Euro from a shoddy tarmac job.

Naomh Fionnbarra & St Anne’s GFG in Togher, Co Louth, were subjected to an ‘elaborate and devious scam’ with tarmac contractors carrying out unauthorised work at the pitch and then seeking what the club chairman has described as ‘an obscene payment’.

After receiving up to 30 phone calls a day from various numbers demanding immediate payment, gardai advised them to make a payment to ‘make them go away’.

“It is too late for us unfortunately, but I would like to get the word out to as many as possible not to even engage with these people and just say you’re not interested at the very first opportunity,” says club Chairman Mark McArdle. “You honestly can’t say no quick enough, and they are so professional and convincing; what happened us could easily happen to others.”

The unfortunate incident began on Monday January 15 when a volunteer groundsman was approached by a worker in a well-marked van, offering tarmac at €8 per square metre.

“He was told it would have to be done straight away, and our volunteer said that someone from the club would come down and take a look, but by the time someone came, more workmen had arrived, and they threw a load of, what looked like black paint, and a sprinkling of gravel all over the place, and were looking to be paid multiples of thousands of Euro,” explains Mark. “It was very poor workmanship – they didn’t even take the bumps out of it or anything – and that was followed by incessant phone calls from multiple different mobile numbers, both UK mobile and Irish mobiles, from a selection of different individuals”.

He says some of the calls were of a threatening nature, and following a visit to the local garda station, the club learned these unscrupulous men were well known for pulling the same stunt on many other unsuspecting people.

“They all had Northern Irish accents and looked the real deal, with two different signs on the vans, “Highway Maintenance” and “Motorway Maintenance”, and had lots of equipment with them,” adds Mark. “The gardai said they had dealt with them over the past five years in the Mid Louth area, but it was a civil matter, and the best thing people can do is to report them if they are seen in the area again.”

In the end, they were advised to offer a much smaller payment, and that satisfied the workmen.

“Clubs like ours have little enough money as it is, and we have an ambitious plan for the future,” he adds. “There are enough authorised tarmac people in the area who support the club, so we will make sure to find someone reputable and not get caught out like this again.”

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