CARNACON HAVE BEEN reinstated to the Mayo league and championship after winning their appeal to the Connacht LGFA tonight.
Carnacon presented their case to the Connacht Council appeals sub-committee tonight and The42 understands it was successful.
The reigning Mayo, Connacht and All-Ireland club champions are now free to defend their titles this season.
Mayo LGFA county board have been given five working days to appeal the decision to the Connacht Council proper, although it’s unclear if they will take the case forward.
Carnacon were voted out of the 2018 club competitions by club delegates at a county board meeting last week. They were found to have breached Rule 288 of the Ladies Gaelic Football Association Official Guide and bringing the game into disrepute.
It stems from a fall-out during the summer where the club withdrew all eight of their players from Peter Leahy’s Mayo inter-county panel in July, citing “player welfare issues”.
Mayo’s all-time leading scorer Cora Staunton was the highest profile player involved in the walk-out. She discussed the issue at an Off The Ball event earlier this evening in Croke Park, before the results of the appeal had become known.
“Nine days ago because of us leaving, Mayo decided to expel Carnacon from this year’s league and championship,” Staunton said.
“I’ve probably looked at the rulebook more in the last seven or eight days. Some of the rules that are in the rulebook, I wonder why they’re even allowed in the rule book.
“As far as I was aware when I started playing football for Mayo, I do it because it’s my choice. And if I want to leave at any stage, I can leave. I really don’t know how we brought the game into disrepute.
“As a club, we were obviously in shock last Tuesday night when we heard and we were very disappointed.
“We’re a small rural club that’s probably been punching above our weight for the last two decades and maybe that’s why we’re being punished.
“I don’t know the workings of county board meetings. There were 24 (sic, 26) votes against us,” she added.
“The disappointing thing for us – I suppose, over the last nine days, Carnacon has been everywhere. We probably haven’t been as popular on social media and media for everything we’ve won but now when our name has been blackened because of a dispute with the county board, it’s very difficult.
“It’s not for the right reasons. We’ve young girls in the club on our senior team as young as 14 years of age. They don’t know what’s happening. All we want to do is go out and play football.
“The right story will eventually come out. You know, I think we’ve been very dignified over the last number of months.”
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