Ex-GAA star’s building company hit with massive six-figure tax penalty

A company run by a former GAA star has been hit with a tax penalty of almost £200,000 (€235k).

Eoin Bradley, who starred for Derry’s football team for more than a decade as well as playing for several Irish League clubs, is the sole director of Antrim-based MM Builders Limited.

The company has received a penalty of £190,456.70 over its tax affairs.

Details of the fine have been made public by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in its latest list of “deliberate tax defaulters”.

The list, which is published several times a year, identifies companies and individuals who have received penalties for either deliberate errors in their tax returns or failure to comply with their tax obligations.

The Sunday World contacted MM Builders Ltd about the penalty but there was no comment from the firm, which was set up in 2017 and is based at Glarryford in Antrim.

They also contacted Eoin Bradley but he did not respond.

On the Companies House website, which provides details of all businesses registered in the UK, the nature of MM Builders Ltd’s work is described as “development of building projects” and “other building completion and finishing”.

Bradley, who turned 40 last month, came on board as a director with the company in January 2020 after the two previous directors resigned.

The period the tax penalty covers runs from February 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021 – a period when Bradley was in sole charge of the firm.

The last annual accounts for MM Builders Ltd, which covered the period up to the end of March 2020, were uploaded to the Companies House site in May 2021.

In March 2022, a notice to have the building company struck off the business register was published on the site.

The proposed striking-off notice was suspended a month later but remains “active”, according to the information on the Companies House site.

For many years, Bradley was one of the best-known GAA players in Ireland. The Glenullin man made his debut for Derry in 2004 and was regarded as one of the most talented players in the country.

He was part of the Derry team that won the National League title in 2008. He was also a key member of the Glenullin team that won the Derry senior championship in 2007 – only the third time in the club’s history it had won the competition.

Bradley played his last game for Derry in 2015 but went on the enjoy a successful career in the Irish League.

He made around 300 appearances for several clubs, including Coleraine and Glenavon, and scored a total of 88 goals.

He ended his football career recently with a short spell at Portadown.

However, as well as his skills on the pitch, Bradley has also been in the headlines for the wrong reasons during his career.

In 2011, he was ordered to pay £500 compensation to a GAA referee he had assaulted during a match the previous year.

A court was told Bradley shouldered and punched the referee in the face after a game in August 2010.

A defence solicitor said the player had apologised for his actions.

He said that during the match personal remarks had been made and Bradley also felt that some unfair decisions had been taken.

The solicitor said that Bradley was still “pumped up” when he approached the referee.

The solicitor said Bradley accepted that he shouldered him and words were exchanged. However, he added that his client never meant to punch him, but instead to push him in the face.

In 2016, while playing for Glenavon in the Irish League, Bradley was suspended for six matches for a headbutting offence during a game against Crusaders. He was red-carded following the incident.

In 2020, Bradley got another six-match ban from the Irish League for urinating on the pitch before extra time in Coleraine’s Irish Cup semi-final.

He was found guilty of misconduct in respect of a breach of the Irish FA’s Articles of Association, which relates to bringing the game into disrepute.

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