Head coach to the Irish boxing
team Billy Walsh was unaware that two coaches he had in place were removed from
their positions with the elite Irish women’s team, when he was abroad in
training camp with the men’s Irish team.
Walsh who was voted Irish
Manager of the Year for 2012 across all sports, was with the Irish team in
Ukraine prior to their participation in the European Championships in Minsk,
when coaches Pat Ryan and Tony Davitt were removed without his knowledge or
approval.
A common view is that Walsh’s
position was undermined by the decision. The issue was brought up yesterday by
John O’Mahony TD during a meeting of the Joint Committee on Transport and
Communications. However there appears to be some confusion.
The former Mayo football
manager asked if the Irish Sports Council (ISC) and Olympic Council of Ireland
(OCI) were aware of the “tension within the IABA”.
Been addressed
“There seems to be issues
there and have they been addressed? The director of boxing sacked a coach of
the ladies team recently. Have those issues been resolved?” he asked.
Asked to comment yesterday,
the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA), denied that anybody had been
sacked.
Chairman of the IABA board, Dr
John Lynch said: “No, there was nobody sacked. There was a relocation of duties
for revenue reasons.”
Responding to O’Mahony’s
question, ISC chief executive John Treacy said: “We’ve heard the same stories
and it’s unacceptable. If they have a clear job description then we fully
support the work they do. Those issues will be discussed shortly with Billy
Walsh.”
ISC chairman Kieran Mulvey
added: “If we have governance issues with bodies and we are unhappy then those
issues have to be addressed because we fund them.”
Walsh, whose men’s team won
four medals in Minsk, is on holidays and was unavailable for comment. He is
expected back on Tuesday. (Source)
