THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION of Ireland’s interim general manager Noel Mooney says he was unaware of the €300,000 payments made for a sponsored walk, which came to light at the weekend.

The Sunday Times revealed that Con Martin was paid €5,000 per month for creating the ‘John Giles Walk of Dreams,’ which took place on an annual basis between 2011 and 2016.

Mooney was appointed general manager of the John Giles Foundation in 2010, but left the organisation to take up a role as Uefa’s marketing manager in 2011.

When questioned by a fan on Twitter about the payments mentioned in The Sunday Times article, Mooney responded: “I certainly was not aware of that … the lads who worked with me on the JG Foundation walk put in huge work for the good of football. It was certainly all done in the right spirit.”

On the nature of his involvement with the foundation, Mooney explained: “My role was to organize the the fundraising walk (I think it was 15 simultaneously around Ireland) in March 2011. We raised hundreds of thousands of euro that was then distributed to fund grassroots clubs applications for football projects.”

The weekend’s report was the latest in a series of finance-related controversies surrounding the embattled organisation.

John Delaney, the former CEO, stepped aside as the FAI’s executive vice-president last April pending an investigation.

President Donal Conway’s position was ratified at last month’s AGM despite Shane Ross and others calling for him to step aside.

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