The new president of Cycling Ireland, Tom Daly, has said the "mistakes" by the national governing body of late "were made primarily driven by passion for cycling".
The Killarney CC man - a racing cyclist, coach and published author - told the Cycling Ireland annual general meeting in Monaghan Town today that passion for Irish cycling was shared by everyone at the meeting. But it was "now time to harness it in a constructive way", adding "we need to get back our confidence and pride, we deserve to be a proud" organisation.
"We are one of the biggest and most successful sporting organisations in the country with 26,000 members. We have around 500 clubs… 500 clubs on this small island. We excel in competition and on the roads all across the country," he told those present after being confirmed as president for the next 12 months.
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"So it's time now we put our shoulders back, lifted out chins and walk out of here determined to be proud again. We deserve it." Daly added while the last year or so was very challenging, those problems would make Cycling Ireland a stronger organisation.
"We have to look at this difficult period in a broader context," he said in a clear reference to the controversies around Cycling Ireland's using false quotation documents to apply for Government grants and its collapsed proposal to partner with Irish Continental team EvoPro Racing.
"Our organisation has gone through difficult times before and went through various stages of crisis and development before. Our current difficulties are part of that journey of development. And we will emerge in a better place from it."
Daly said other sporting bodies, often volunteer-led, had gone through difficult periods and they had emerged stronger, with a mix of professional and volunteer staff and with "transparency, accountability and oversight for everyone".
He also believed Cycling Ireland needed to branch into some areas where it had not gone before.
"Personally, I believe we need to start speaking out on road safety and related matters. It's the single biggest concern for our members and it's the single biggest thing deterring young and old from getting out on their bikes. And I think it's time to get off the fence on this one. Most of all, we need to re-establish the trust of our members."
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While he found himself in a "humbled" position having become president and a little "daunted", Daly said he was "given courage by the dedication, unity and confidence of the board and by their collective unwavering determination to do what is best for the members".
He was also "given courage" by the staff at Cycling Ireland and by the "wealth of dedication of the volunteers", many of whom he had met with since taking up a position on the board last March.
Daly, who was not on the board when the recent controversies occurred, added he was fully behind the direction of the current board. He would use his time to ensure its work was "further developed and consolidated" on behalf of the members and volunteers. He said he would stand for "stability and continuity" during his term.
"It's a challenging job for all of us," he said. "We are, on the one hand, a big complex voluntary organisation that needs to work its members and volunteers. We are, on the other hand, a fair-sized company with (an income of €5.2 million), a staff of around 20 - which we have ambitions to grow - and that aspect of the organisation needs to be run in a very professional manner.
"So I believe we must continue with our progress and not default into the old way of doing things. We don't need a culture of narrow vested interests influencing the board. Prior to the election, if it had happened, I hadn't asked anybody for anything. I hadn't promised anybody anything. I made no deals with anybody."
He added Cycling Ireland needed a revised constitution, with a process already in the planning, and its volunteer-led structures also needed to be changed "in a way that works better for the volunteers".
Because he had come to that conclusion the board was "going in the right direction" and had found himself "immersed" in board business since joining last March, subsequently becoming vice chair, he agreed to have his name put forward to run for president.
An election had initially been planned - a choice between Daly and Carl Fullerton. But on Friday evening Fullerton, Donegal-based and a very well-regarded figure on the road racing scene, decided to withdraw.
Daly said it was "unfortunate" it had been six years since the membership of Cycling Ireland had been required to vote in a presidential election. Because of that, he took the time at today's meeting to outline his plans and hopes (above) for the national governing body, effectively delivering some of the speech he would have made today just before the vote, if one had gone ahead.
