Clash between top table and Horan

Monday, 18 April 2011 10:47

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Mayo GAA county secretary Sean Feeney and the chairman of the Mayo strategic action plan, Liam Horan, were involved in some heated exchanges at a county board meeting. It was the third such meeting at which the contentious Mayo Strategic Plan, drawn up by Liam Horan and his committee, was thrown open for discussion.
Mayo GAA Board had requested Mr. Horan to chair and assemble a group to carry out the report.

This followed Mayo's exit to Longford in last year's qualifiers while concern was raised in many quarters on Mayo's poor records in All-Ireland finals –16 appearances in 21 years between senior, Under 21 and minor with only one win and 15 defeats.
Mr. Horan and a number of his committee had agreed to attend the meeting to answer a number of queries which had arisen from his report which proposed a major restructuring of the manner in which GAA is run in the county.

They also sought to clarify some points of concern raised by clubs and to allay some fears raised concerning a few radical proposals, particularly the appointment of a commercial director and coaching development officer, which would be in breach of rules laid down by Croke Park.
In a questions and answers statement prepared for the meeting Mr. Horan said: "It is our view that Mayo GAA should be at the forefront of innovative developments.
"If rule changes are necessary, we feel we should lobby for them."

However, clear division between the two committees have arisen since Mr. Horan's report was first presented with an inference that Mr. Horan may have stepped outside his terms of reference in producing the thought-provoking document.

The clash between the county secretary and Mr. Horan concerned the county board's own strategic plan which was given to Mr Horan before he embarked with his committee on drawing up a second plan which was to be incorporated into the board's plan.
"If there is a separate county board strategic plan, we were never shown it," Mr. Horan claimed.

However, this was rebutted by Mr. Feeney who insisted the plan was given to Mr. Horan.
"We were given a Galway document with words crossed out," Mr. Horan insisted.
Board chairman Paddy McNicholas said the board was in favour of 70 per cent of the report and they would be incorporating it into the strategic plan which must be completed for Coke Park by the end of summer.
However, a number of key recommendations in the report by Mr. Horan is at odds with Croke Park policy itself, particularly the proposal to appoint a commercial director to raise funds and the appointment of a coaching and development officer.
Clubs have been asked to discuss the document again and have submissions in by the end of the month.