Liam Collins has said his decision to resign from the position of president
of Cycling Ireland was “in response to concerted opposition” to his “agenda of
reform” at the national governing body.
Cycling Ireland on Wednesday evening confirmed the departures of
Collins and board members Eugene Moriarty and Anthony Mitchel. Their
resignations followed four recent resignations; three last week and one the
week before.
Cycling Ireland today also confirmed six new directors have been
put in place. It said the process of reconfiguring the board was supported by
Sport Ireland. It follows a period of controversy within Cycling Ireland,
involving two separate issues.
One of those issues was the use by Cycling Ireland of false
quotations in 2020 to apply for Department of Sport grants, with the fall-out
of that only emerging publicly in recent weeks.
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A “new issue” has also more recently emerged within the national
governing body. That issue – and not the false quotations controversy – was behind
the decision of the three board members to contact Sport Ireland last week and
signal they intended to resign.
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Just after the departures and new appointments to the board were
announced by Cycling Ireland this evening, Wednesday, Collins provided a
statement to stickybottle about his decision to resign from the presidency less
than four months into his term.
“I was elected to the Board of Cycling Ireland in November as President, on foot of the presentation of a positive reform agenda for Cycling Ireland and for the sport of cycling in Ireland,” said Collins, a well known cyclist and national title winner who also organises races in his native Limerick.
“There have been irreconcilable - and much publicised - issues
however at board level, and it appears it is not possible to pursue the work I
had intended to. Therefore, it is best for all that I step aside.
“I am proud of some of the positive developments in my short period as president of the organisation, not least the appointments of both Nicolas Roche and Iain Dyer to key sporting roles within the organisation.
"I would like to sincerely thank those who supported me, along with the executive and staff of the organisation, and I take this opportunity to wish Cycling Ireland well for the future.”
The statement added that Collins had notified the board of his
decision to resign and that his resignation was effectively immediately.
