The resumed AGM of the Football Association of Ireland took place on Saturday and lasted two hours during which time Niamh O’Mahony was formally elected to the Board and more surprisingly Tom Browne representing the schoolboys (and girls) Association was not.
Procedural concerns about his election from that side of the game were raised at the meeting and he was narrowly defeated in the binary vote on his being elected.
There were no such issues around the re-election of Robert Watt and Packie Bonner as independent directors while Gary Twohig had previously chosen not to put his name forward in a decision alongside Chair Roy Barrett intended to enable the government expectation of a minimum 40 percent representation of each gender on every sporting leadership board by the end of this year.
Barrett is remaining on as Chair until a recruitment process can be undertaken for his successor which means there are two places remaining to be filled on the 12-person board, and one that will be in addition.
Tom Browne’s defeat means that the SFAI will need to hold an election among their own constituents to put forward a nominee. This could and most likely will include Browne standing again but there is also the possibility of a female candidate such as Grace McAuley of Dublin or Ursula Scully of Tipperary emerging as a candidate.
With O’Mahony now joining Liz Joyce and Catherine Guy on the board it will still require two of the three next wave of replacements be female in order to get to the required percentage.
It looks from the outside like a challenging route to go down in order to fill the positions but once it is done it will set a new ‘normal’ that is as it should be, more diverse, more open and set for a calmer future.
That is one that the sport could do with after nearly four years in a harsh spotlight.
The board elections grabbed the headlines but they were not the only area to be discussed at the AGM.
Kerry Football Club were formally ratified to take their place in the First Division of the SSE Airtricity League of Ireland at the start of the new season next month.
There was also an update on the audit of football facilities around the country, from League of Ireland stadia to grassroots.
This is almost complete with CEO Jonathan Hill admitting to being in part responsible;e for it not being complete by the end of the year because “I keep asking questions but the bones of it are complete and it will be a powerful document pointing to what needs to be done when it is completed shortly.”
Read more about the new FAI Director Niamh O’Mahony
Read more about Roy Barrett’s Legacy at the FAI
