DDSL Chairman Paddy Dempsey has withdrawn his nomination for the vacancy on the FAI board created by the resignation of John Earley on Thursday night.
Dempsey was only put forward on Saturday at a meeting of the Schoolboy Football Association of Ireland (SFAI) held to consider who would replace Earley. The association shares a board constituency with the women’s game but numerically dominates to such an extent that the election of its nominee is effectively a formality.
The announcement that Dempsey was to be put forward prompted calls on social media for him to clarify the circumstances around the DDSL having issued a statement back in March in support of John Delaney at a time when the former FAI CEO’s continued employment at the organisation was widely viewed as becoming increasingly untenable.
A number of constituent clubs expressed anger at the contents of the statement, saying that they did not reflect their views and it was claimed that the board of the league had not formally approved it.
In a statement issued on Sunday evening, however, Dempsey said that he was withdrawing after having realised the scale of the commitment involved: “on reflection, I now appreciate that because of family and work commitments I would not be able to devote my full commitment to a role which is sure to be demanding,” he says.
“I recognise that the game and those elected to the board of the Football Association of Ireland requires a huge demand on their time and energies.”
