MAYO GAA CHAIRMAN Mike Connelly has been describing his version of events that led to the exit of his brother Noel and Pat Holmes as the county’s joint senior football team managers.
The Mayo News reports that Connelly addressed delegates at Monday night’s full board meeting, briefing them with a prepared statement.
In it, Connelly outlines the timeline of events that relating to the much-publicised player heave that exploded following the All-Ireland senior football semi-final replay defeat against Dublin.
Mike Connelly wants a new manager in place by the third week in November, with Corofin’s All-Ireland club winning manager Stephen Rochford the hot tip to step in.
Before all that, Connelly felt there was some house-keeping to attend to and he had this to say at MacHale Park in Castlebar:
“To say I didn’t see what was coming is an understatement.
“There was some rumour, but you always have some rumour when 11 players don’t make the first 15, and eight don’t make the first 26.
“The reason why I say this is that there was no communications [issues] during the year.
“As a Board, we did enjoy the year. Everyone seemed to be working well together – management with the County Board, County Board with players, and players and management.
“There was a communication process, and management selected seven players to discuss plans, tactics and issues.
“[I] myself was always at training bar a very few sessions.
“I was in touch with the two players’ reps, Keith [Higgins] and Cillian [O’Connor], through the year.
“Everything that the team and management requested from the County Board, they got.
“Yes, I was the liaison person with the team, and have been for the past number of years.
“And Pat Holmes asked me to continue in the role, because I’d been involved for the past number of years.
“I will explain the events of the last two to three weeks. On 14 September, I phoned Keith [Higgins] to set up a review meeting.
“He said he would contact Cillian [O’Connor] and he would get back to me.
“On Wednesday of the following week, I hadn’t heard from Keith so I texted him.
“He texted me back to say that … Thursday of the following week would suit him, and he would check with Cillian.
“On Sunday, 27 September, Pat Holmes got a phone call from Keith saying that himself and Cillian wanted to meet with him and Noel [Connelly].
“They met at eight o’clock and Keith outlined that … they were there to deliver a message. The message was that the team had a no-confidence motion passed 27-7 against them.
“Pat and Noel asked them for the reasons, but they had none.
“I was informed on [the] Sunday night late that there was issues with the panel, and that they were going to talk to some of the players on Monday.
“I was informed on Monday night late by Pat [Holmes] to tell me they would be considering their position.
“I contacted Keith on Tuesday by phone, saying that we needed to have the review meeting based on what was after happening.
“I also asked him would he prefer if someone other than myself attended the review meeting, and he said ‘no’.
“We agreed a time of 8.30 for the following Thursday night, 1 October.
“I called an Executive meeting for Wednesday night.
“I brought them up to date on what happened. Needless to say, they were shocked.
“I provisionally booked another [Executive] meeting on Friday night to discuss the review meeting that was to happen on Thursday night with Keith and Cillian.
“On Thursday night, myself and [County Board vice-chairman] Seamus Tuohy and [Mayo GAA administrator] Michael Cummins [were] in the office waiting for Keith and Cillian, and at 8.30, Keith and Cillian arrived with most of the squad.
“Keith read out a letter. I told them I wasn’t aware there was such big problems, and asked them why they took this route – could they not have met with the management and sorted it out? They didn’t engage in the discussion and left the office.
“On Friday morning, I phoned Croke Park to explain the situation. I spoke with [GAA Director-General] Páraic Duffy and [GAA Head of Games Administration] Fergal McGill, and invited Fergal McGill down for an Executive meeting, which he did.
“I also got a call from Pat Holmes wanting to meet with myself and Vincent [Neary, County Board secretary].
“As Vincent wasn’t available, myself and Seamus Tuohy met with Pat Holmes and Noel [Connelly], and they told us they had their decision made.
“I invited Pat and Noel to the Executive meeting.
“The meeting was scheduled for seven o’clock that evening. The meeting started at seven and Fergal McGill briefed the meeting based on his experience dealing with issues in other counties.
“At around 7.20, Pat and Noel arrived into the Executive meeting. Pat spoke for 15 to 20 minutes, giving a detailed account of the year.
“When he was finished, he handed the letter of resignation, which the [County Board] secretary read out.
“As Vincent [Neary] read the letter, I could see some of the Executive getting very emotional, and the tears were running down their faces, and you have to ask ‘Why?’
“They knew that there was a great mistake being made.
“We don’t know why this all happened, but does it make any difference at this stage?
“Knowing the reasons is not going to change anything.
“And you can be critical of the County Board, management or players, but before you criticise, make sure that you know the full facts.
“The one thing I do know [is] this situation must never happen again.
“Before we appoint a new manager, we need to put a charter together between the team and the County Board.
“I’ve asked Pat Rowland of Elverys [sponsors] to provide a facilitator to tease out the issues and provide a charter that is acceptable to the players and the County Board.
“[So] if there’s issues in the future, there will be a road map to solving the issues internally.
“My position in this … is being questioned, and thankfully, my conscience is very clear.
“Should I have been the liaison officer with the team? Maybe not. But the decision was made based on me being involved with the team for the last number of years.
“The decision was also made in the best interest of the team. I also made the decision that I would communicate with Pat Holmes on all issues, which I did, and it worked very well.
“At this point, I’d like to thank Pat and Noel and their back-room team for their work and their dedication through the year. They left no stone unturned. Thank you for your attention.”
