So it is pleasing to be able to report that the body received a small helping hand from what, to me, was an unexpected source as it steamed ahead with preparations for managing an unusually large British Olympic team at the London 2012 Games.

This source was the sport of Gaelic football.

An entry in that 2011 financial report discloses that "fee paying professional athletes" from a number of non-Olympic sports "accessed the service" of the BOA's intensive rehabilitation unit (IRU) at Bisham Abbey, hence – presumably – contributing to the BOA's 2011 revenue of a shade under £10.7 million ($17.2 million/€13.3 million).

While most of these sports were domestic staples such as rugby and netball, they also included Gaelic football.

The non-Olympic sport of Gaelic football contributed to the BOA's 2011 revenue

Given the weight of history that has sometimes burdened relations between British and Gaelic sports – it was only in 1971 that a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) rule banning members from taking part in or watching non-Gaelic games was rescinded – this struck me as both interesting and a good thing.

On investigating further, I was told that one Gaelic football player, from Armagh, had received treatment at Bisham Abbey in 2011.

It was also explained to me, however, that this was by no means the first time this sort of thing had happened.

"It would not be uncommon," said the GAA, "for current footballers and hurlers to travel far and wide internationally for the best medical treatment available.

"For example, as far back as the 1980s, Larry Tompkins [a Gaelic football player and All-Ireland title-winner] used Lilleshall when he was in recovery from a leg injury."

Larry Tompkins used medical facilities at Lilleshall to recover from a leg injury 

An official at Sports Institute Northern Ireland (SINI) said in similar vein: "I am aware that a number of Gaelic footballers over the years have accessed the services of the [Olympic Medical Institute] and that this has been very successful", although "in recent years it has become less common".

So there you have it: this recuperating Gaelic footballer from Armagh is by no means the trail-blazer I had at first imagined.

But this story of how his treatment assisted the BOA in a small way as it struggled to negotiate the road to London 2012 without breaking the bank is still, I think, illuminating.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]