Athletics Ireland crisis nears an end

ATHLETICS:THE INTERNAL administration crisis that has plagued Athletics Ireland since last October may be coming to an end following a board meeting on Tuesday night. A resolution was passed whereby the current CEO, Mary Coghlan, would step aside with a view to negotiating her exit over the next two weeks.

Another resolution was put before the Athletics Ireland board, calling for her removal with immediate effect, but this was narrowly defeated on a vote of six votes to five.

Coghlan has held the position for just over a year.

Athletics Ireland had its core funding withheld by the Irish Sports Council at the start of the year – and instead are funding them on a weekly basis – over various conflicts including some key appointments within the athletics body and agreement on a high-performance plan.

The position of director of athletics remains unfilled, although it has been re-advertised following the recent engagement with the Sports Council.

Legal matters surrounding the various appointments and other internal issues have been mounting all the time, the fees for which are now understood to have run to €150,000.

As if the situation wasn’t bad enough, Athletics Ireland could now be facing a financial shortfall for its hosting of the European Cross Country Championships in Santry next December.

Officials from the European Athletics federation are due to visit Dublin next week, and will no doubt seek some reassurances on that matter.