Sport Ireland’s confidence in IABA ‘shaken’ by Billy Walsh saga

As Billy Walsh was being officially unveiled as the new head of the US women's boxing programme, on this side of the Atlantic the controversy over his departure continues to rumble on, with Sport Ireland telling a Joint Committee on Transport and Communications hearing on Wednesday their confidence in the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) has been left shaken.

Sport Ireland insisted the departure of Walsh after protracted contract discussions was not down to financial reasons - something the IABA appeared to contradict when two parties appeared before members of the Oireachtas at Leinster House on Wednesday, with Fine Gael TD John O’Mahony chairing the hearing.

The IABA reiterated they never wanted Walsh to depart his role as the head of Irish boxing and insisted the association did everything in their power to stop the 53-year-old from leaving. IABA chairman Joe Christle began the discussions by repeating the statement released by the organisation last week, in which they emphasised their desire for Billy Walsh to stay, saying Walsh’s achievements as the head of Irish boxing were unparalleled.

“We wanted Billy to stay,” Christle stated. “It’s a source of huge regret that Billy decided to resign but any suggestion that any director wanted Billy to leave is totally and utterly rejected. The suggestion that he is the victim of a campaign to oust him from his job is untrue.”

Members of the committee asked both organisations how the renewal of Walsh's contract was allowed to drag on over a period of eight months. According to John Treacy, CEO of Sport Ireland, the organisation had made clear to the IABA as far back as February that their priority was to make sure Walsh, one of the lowest-paid high performance directors in Irish sport, was not lost, and they urged the IABA to renew his contract.

However, Christle explained the new proposed contract for Walsh would have given the 53-year-old a pay increase of 60 per cent including bonuses, something he said would have “created a big

problem,” with other coaches and boxers, who the IABA claim were just as pivotal to Irish success as Walsh, likely to be unhappy with the disparity in wages between them and their head coach.

During discussions Fianna Fail TD Timmy Dooley asked how it came to be that Walsh felt the IABA had “undermined his role and authority,” giving him little autonomy and making his job very difficult to do.

A key issue with Walsh's contract was a clause which stipulated the IABA would be able to change the terms and conditions of his deal at any time. IABA director Ciaran Kirwan said this was something "any prudent employer would add," and denied Walsh's contract was made unworkable by this clause.

Kirwan was also asked about Walsh having to check with the IABA before speaking to the media, and explained that this was in place to stop Walsh from speaking out against the association rather than trying to limit his contact with the media.

Dooley went on to ask about the relationship between Walsh and the CEO of the IABA Fergal Carruth. Christle answered on Carruth’s behalf claiming they had, “a very good working relationship,” although he had been made aware the relationship was potentially a dysfunctional one at a meeting in Athlone on September 11th.

Carruth went on to say he had never cancelled a meeting organised with Walsh in order to avoid discussions over the coach’s future, and that the majority of their meetings would be, “informal, over a cup of tea.”

Sports Ireland chairman Kieran Mulvey agreed that the IABA had raised issues over the proposed 60 per cent increase in Walsh's deal, but felt it was necessary as it was benchmarked against the salary of high performance directors in other sports across Ireland, and suggested an independent review of the IABA's salary structure

Meanwhile, Treacy said Walsh had been very flexible over the financial aspect of his contract, instead alluding to the non-financial reasons which he believed led to negotiations with Walsh breaking down.

Treacy put on record Sport Ireland’s appreciation for Walsh’s achievements as the head of Irish Boxing, saying he had, “rare and sophisticated skills and will be missed by all”, while also offering their support to the remaining coaches and boxers involved with Irish boxing.

The IABA are the highest recipients of Sport Ireland funding, receiving €925,000 - and Treacy said boxing had received a 12 per cent increase in funding over the past five years. However, he said the IABA’s reliance on Sport Ireland funding is unhealthy, and the organisation have missed an opportunity to cash in on the huge public interest in boxing.

Treacy also reiterated Sport Ireland are not involved in any attempt to try and undermine the IABA - instead suggesting the organisation had been supportive of the IABA through thick and thin.

But Treacy was highly critical of the IABA’s public statement in the wake of Walsh’s departure, stating: “Some of the claims by the IABA were a clear attempt to misdirect and distract away from the failure to retain Billy Walsh.

“Our interventions here were based on the belief that we shared with the IABA that Billy should be retained. Sport Ireland has written to the IABA with a series of questions to find how this matter unfolded. We await an appropriate response.”

While this was taking place in Dublin, over in Colorado USA boxing released a statement welcoming Walsh to their team

“The United States currently has one of the strongest women’s boxing programme’s in the world, but USA Boxing’s female athletes will now have another tool at their disposal heading in to the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“USA Boxing has named highly decorated international coach Billy Walsh to serve as the organisation’s Women’s National Team Coach.”

Walsh added: “It is a huge honour for me as a coach to receive the opportunity to work with such an iconic boxing nation as the United States. It was with great pride that I was part of building the successful Irish programme over the past several years and I hope to do the same with USA Boxing.

“I am greatly looking forward to the opportunities ahead in bringing my expertise and experience to the United States Women’s Team as they prepare for success in Rio and beyond.”