Dessie Farrell has announced his intention to step down from his role as CEO, effective from the end December 2016.
The news was broken overnight in a statement released by the GPA which is reprinted in full below.
At a time when leadership in Irish sport has never been more in need of people with integrity and the ability to make others believe in the best, this is another major blow, coming hot on the heels of Gary Keegan departing the Irish Institute of Sport.
We have had the pleasure to know Dessie since we cheered him on from Hill 16 to the past years when he has been a wonderful advocate for players and for the heartbeat of Irish sport.
He is a man of warmth and intelligence, never too proud to fail to listen to advice; never too naive to think he knew it all; always a model of behaviour and bearing for those he felt immensely proud to lead.
We do not know yet where he will go next and it is true that the end of one chapter is really only the beginning of the next and we wish him well in wherever that may be.
As a founding member of the GPA, Dessie has been the passionate driving force which has seen the organisation grow from strength to strength, surpassing the standard growth model for players’ representative bodies worldwide. The recent landmark deal with the GAA is another historic moment for the organisation and provides a solid platform as we move into the next phase of our evolution.
Chairman of the GPA, Seamus Hickey said “Dessie has been an inspirational leader of the GPA. What he has achieved for inter-county players over his term has been extraordinary. He has nurtured a new generation of player leaders who will take the organisation to the next level. Throughout his career he has displayed passion and commitment in his service to players. On behalf of current and former players and our supporters at home and overseas I want to thank him sincerely and wish him every success for the future.”
Commenting on his announcement today, Dessie Farrell said: “Throughout my life I feel extremely grateful to have been involved in gaelic games. I have enjoyed a long career with my club Na Fianna, an underage and senior county career with Dublin football which has spanned three decades and have been involved in coaching of younger Dublin players at different age levels over the past decade. I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in a career so intrinsically linked to the sports I love. It has been a tremendous honour to have led the GPA and to have served our county players over the past decade and half. We are all extremely proud of what has been achieved in that time and I feel truly privileged to have witnessed the growth, development and success of the organisation in that period.”
Previous GPA Chairman and founding member Donal Óg Cusack said: “It was my pleasure and privilege to have known and worked with Dessie Farrell for so many years. We fought many battles side by side and his passion, his integrity, his loyalty and his sense of right made the lives of all inter-county players a little easier. I owe Dessie a great debt as do, the GPA, all inter county players and the GAA generally”.
The GPA has appointed a sub-committee led by Chairman Seamus Hickey who have been mandated to run an open recruitment process commencing October 9th. Following completion of the process, they will make a recommendation to the board of the GPA by year end.
