Corktown’s Gaelic League under investigation for alleged financial misconduct
Outgoing president Aline Daniel laments the Irish American club’s “abysmal record-keeping and poor practices,” calls for greater accountability
In a hall where weddings, christenings, and eulogies have taken place were now remnants of chaos. Even blood could be spotted in the aftermath of an unlikely event at the Gaelic League of Detroit Irish American Club in the same room where a children’s Irish dance class was scheduled the next day. Yet the 104-year-old Corktown fraternal organization and members-only watering hole had been booked by Ohio-based Ruthless Pro Wrestling, a company known for face-offs by “Hoodfoot” Mo Atlas and “The Carnivore” Remington Rhor.
A January 2023 social media post by Ruthless promoted the event at the Gaelic League, 2068 Michigan Ave., requesting $25 admission and declaring “THIS TIME IT’S WAR.”
For decades the building hosted poets, artists, and singers, including the internationally renowned Mary Black, activist Bernadette Devlin, and political leader Gerry Adams, so sweaty wrestlers in its venerated hall might have foreshadowed current strife: Whether from booking events or from bar tabs, money appears to be at the root of discord and outright hostility between longtime patrons of Detroit’s oldest local Irish heritage organization. Several members who anonymously spoke with Metro Times expressed concern about the institution’s future.
A Michigan State Police spokesperson confirms an ongoing investigation into alleged misconduct by unnamed Gaelic League members. While MSP declines to provide details, Metro Times has obtained a statement from the president addressing the general body of about 2,500 primarily Irish American Club patrons.
“First and foremost, I would like to point out that under the ‘Aims and Objectives’ portion of the bylaws, it states: ‘To make a commitment to protect and keep the GL/IAC of Detroit financially solvent,’” writes Aline Daniel, whose term as president ends Dec. 31.
The annual St. Patrick’s Day parade is Corktown’s most celebrated event and the most lucrative occasion for Detroit’s Irish pubs, including the Gaelic League, but Daniel’s communication details problems related to the League’s latest participation and coordination with other businesses.
“On parade day 2024,” she writes, “several revealing things happened, the first of which was that we hired outside security and implemented better, safer and more efficient protocols for collecting money-drops from all the bars and satellite bars. This resulted in significantly more (thousands) monies collected this year than the typical intake reported on this busy day in past years.
“Another result was that a prominent GL member was caught twice by the security company … stuffing money into their purse and pockets. The security company was adamant that the police be contacted, but board members in attendance dissuaded me from doing so. To be clear, I did not call the police then or ever.”
Daniel declined comment when contacted by Metro Times.
Metro Times also attempted to interview about a half-dozen past or current Gaelic League board officers, including Kathleen O’Neill, who begins her term as new president in 2025. O’Neill and others either could not be reached or declined requests for comment.
Daniel’s letter urges the newly elected board and general Club members to preserve the organization’s future by exercising greater accountability than during her 2024 tenure.
“As the year went on,” the statement adds, “more evidence of chaos, accounting irregularities and poor practices came to light, along with multiple reports of additional thefts, by eyewitnesses. It was obviously my fiduciary duty to do my best to address this messy ship. I was met at every turn with resistance, hostility and physical threats. I was called a liar on multiple occasions, told to ‘F’ off, accused of racism and sexual harassment, and called the ‘C’ and ‘B’ words to my face.
“These are not the actions of people who simply don’t know how to do things correctly. These are the actions of people who do not want to do things correctly. It is obvious to wonder if this slipshod, abysmal record-keeping and insistence on dealing on a cash-only basis are, in fact, a smoke screen for more personal benefit. This is why you are now under investigation.”
Reportedly, following St. Patrick’s Day, the installment of surveillance cameras in the Gaelic League’s bar and cash register area became a source of further conflict between members. Then in September, the results of a forensic audit conducted by the UHY Advisors Great Lakes accounting firm raised additional concerns that were shared with the body. The audit report notes the “cost of goods sold has fluctuated dramatically over the last six years (2018–2023), compared to the sales revenue,” despite consistent bar prices.
The cost of goods sold is a factor that encompasses fees associated with generating a product for consumption.
“Bar sales typically account for 90 percent of the annual inventory sales,” reads the UHY report. “The cost of goods sold fluctuation is problematic, given that the League’s bar prices appear to have been relatively consistent … In general, high cost of goods sold percentages for bar operations are often indicative of poor accounting controls and problems of cash skimming, inventory shrinkage from over-pours, theft of products, and unreported revenue.”
The accounting firm, UHY, also noted concerns related to payment of Gaelic League of Detroit Irish American Club membership dues. Anyone in the community may join the Irish American Club, which allows admission to the bar and drinking privileges, but Gaelic League induction requires two years of Irish American Club membership, volunteer community service hours, documentation of Irish heritage, and a formal vote of approval by Gaelic League members, plus payment of annual fees.
UHY writes: “We analyzed annual membership dues revenue, as reported in the annual profit and loss report … Dues per the ‘GL IA Membership’ spreadsheet were consistently more than the amounts reported in the profit and loss for every year except 2023. This may indicate active members have not paid dues, or misappropriations of cash, or poor recordkeeping.”
The accounting firm’s final recommendations to the League include more diligent financial recording, supervision of inventory, and development of written procedures, in order to maintain federal tax-exempt status as a nonprofit, and eligibility to receive grants.
A more immediate fear of some members is that, after 104 years, their extended family might no longer match a creed displayed on its website: “We welcome all (Irish and Americans) who maintain our mission to preserve and promote the Irish culture, camaraderie, goodwill and the League’s history within the Detroit and international community.”