Former Mayo GAA star urges clubs to take back control 

A FORMER Mayo GAA star has spoken out about the controversy that is tearing the sport apart about in the county ahead of an emergency meeting of the county board tonight.

JP Kean said it was a very bad week for the GAA in the county in view of the stand-off between the board and the New York-based Mayo International Supporters Club over funding and governance issues.

There is also a dispute over a vote of confidence taken by the board at last Monday's behind-closed-doors meeting in Castlebar while a vote was also taken at the meeting to ban the media from attending further meetings of the organisation.

On his Facebook page, he stated: “I make that statement as someone who is immensely proud of our teams, our clubs, whose volunteers are the building blocks for everything the county achieves, and for the most loyal supporters anywhere in the sporting world.

“But I am embarrassed by our leading county board officers. On Monday night last we had a ‘secret’ meeting, where a vote was passed to ban the media from all meetings.

“In the 135-year history of the GAA, I wonder how many times that has happened, in Mayo or anywhere else?

“The media play a huge role in promoting our games and culture. They send reporters in all types of weather, to club Under-12 games, first year colleges matches, Junior ‘B’ and ‘C’ and ‘D’ club matches.

“This is a daily support of our games that runs all year round. How can these blinkered people ban the media who give such support to what the board should be promoting.

“Even ‘the most powerful man in the world’ has failed to silence the media, but we have people in charge who appear to have more power and who, sadly, are prepared to sacrifice the incredible benefits that the media brings to suit their own self serving, secretive ends.

“At the same secret meeting, we reportedly had a vote of confidence in the board which, allegedly, passed unanimously. Several clubs in Mayo stated on Tuesday that no vote took place. The board's response to that was incredulous.

“Apparently in the board's view, if you have a proposer and seconder and nobody challenges, then you don’t need a vote.

“I refer the board to the official guide of the GAA, effective from March 23, 2019, which specifically states that all decisions are by majority vote and that ‘ the people voting must be entitled to vote and voting.

“The clue to the requirement that a vote be taken should be gleaned from the proposal referring to a vote of confidence. There was clearly NO vote.

“The media certainly wouldn’t have missed that fact."

Mr. Kean sais his message to clubs is 'to nreak the never ending chain that has linked successive Mayo County Boards for as long as I can remember'. 

He elaborated: “I’m fully convinced that there is a complete disconnect between the omnipotent leading board officers and the hard working clubs and their amazing volunteers.

“Writing as a guest columnist in the Western People about 16 years ago, I likened Mayo County Board elections to something more akin to a Dolly the sheep style cloning process.

“The faces (usually not more than a couple actually) might change from one board to the next, but the arrogant, dismissive, all powerful ethos remained the same.

“How many clubs in the county are at breaking point because of the board's ill conceived and disastrously executed purchase/development of McHale Park?

“Your club’s members have spent hundreds, or perhaps thousands of hours, selling Lotto tickets and engaged in other fundraising projects to pay the board’s bills before you even get to pay your own.

“Before you get the chance to buy the ten or 20 new footballs that your club’s kids badly need for 2020, you will have to account for your very substantial dues/levies to the board.

“Do we know the full extent of the board’s indebtedness or how much longer it’s going to damage your clubs viability and drain funds from your community to pay off Croke Park?

“I’ve seen the staggering sum still owed to Croke Park. For how many more years will your club pay for the board’s folly in relation to the lack of planning, financial and otherwise, around the McHale Park fiasco.”

Claremorris-based JP advised clubs the prudent thing to do in the present climate of secrecy and understandable distrust is "to root out the old guard and elect fresh new energetic ‘outsiders’ at this AGM and, in the interest of your club and your community and in the interest of football in our county, put people into the leading positions who want to connect with the grassroots, who have the business acumen and experience to best resolve all existing financial issues before embarking on a widely publicised new development.”

He further urged club delegates to take back control for the sake of their clubs and the thousands of powerless supporters who have no voice.