GAA official targetted by hijackers

According to the BBC report, the GAA are to review their security arrangements after an Ulster Council official’s car was hijacked at the Eglish roundabout between Ballygawley and Dungannon yesterday. He had been transporting the takings from the Derry versus Monaghan game at Casement Park in Belfast, there are references to £1000s in cash – that’s an issue any review should start with. The various reports don’t explicitly state it, but with the official leaving the Belfast ground at half-time it’s highly unlikely that this was a random hijacking, or that only two men were involved – they used traffic cones to slow the car down and forced him out by attacking him with hammers. The GAA have said

“Practice has been to assess risk on a game by game basis, and to make and vary arrangements accordingly,” it said. “In the running of numerous games over several years, we have had no major problems with security but yesterday’s incident and the serious criminal intent that underlies it makes this review all the more urgent. We will take all appropriate advice to ensure that our voluntary workers are not put at risk and that our funds don’t fall into the hands of criminals.”

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