Donal Conway has told delegates at the Football Association of Ireland’s agm in Trim that he has “absolutely no intention” of being involved at board level with the organisation beyond the next 12 months after he was re-elected to the FAI’s presidency by an overwhelming margin.
The 65 year-old, who had come under pressure from Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross, amongst others, to depart from the post was unopposed but in a vote to confirm his position just five of the delegates entitled to vote cast their ballots against him with one abstention.
With the outcome clearly not in doubt, the “Yes” votes were not counted but after a call for an official result, there was declared to be 134 votes in favour on the basis of the overall electorate.
Mr Conway thanked delegates for the faith they had shown in him after returning to the platform and insisted that in the event that any of the inquiries currently underway into the operations and finances of the association created a situation in which stepping down was “the right thing to do,” he would “absolutely not hesitate to do so”.
In the four constituencies established under the terms of the governance review group report, UCD’s Richard Shakespeare and Martin Heraghty of Sligo Rovers were elected by the League of Ireland clubs, John Finnegan of the Munster FA and the Leinster Senior League’s David Moran were elected to represent the amateur game.
Joe O’Brien of the colleges beat solicitor Stuart Gilhooley, who had been nominated by the Players’ Union, by seven votes to six in a constituency that also included the Armed Forces, schools and supporters. John Earley, who resigned from the old board last month in protest at the review group’s recommendations, was returned unopposed from the schoolboy/girl sector.
His imminent return forced the withdrawal from the election for vice president of the incumbent, Noel Fitzroy who said his decision not to run had been “devastating” but that he had had no option as the new board containing three former members of the old one, rather than the two allowed for in the governance review group report, would have escalated the crisis with Mr Ross.
In the end, that election for vice president was won by Paul Cooke, a long-time newspaper industry executive and represent of Waterford FC on council who beat Gerry McAnaney of the Armed Forces by 80 votes to 57 with two spoilt ballots.
