More IASA officers quit as members study options for new association

A new swimming body, with a revised constitution, is expected to be established by September.

It was confirmed last night that a total of six officials of the Irish Amateur Swimming Association (IASA), including its president, Ms Mary O'Malley, secretary, Ms Pat O'Donovan and treasurer, Mr Wally Clarke, have given notice of their resignations.

This is seen as a first step towards disbanding the association, which over the past six months has been riven with child sex abuse scandals involving two former Olympic coaches, George Gibney and Derry O'Rourke.

The honorary legal adviser to the IASA's Leinster branch, Mr Tom Baldwin, also announced yesterday that he was resigning. In a statement, Mr Baldwin said that he had spent "endless hours" working to expose child abuse within the sport.

Mr Baldwin called on the Minister for Tourism and Sport, Dr McDaid, to restore funding to the sport pending the establishment of a new swimming authority. "It is only the swimmers who are suffering at the present time", Mr Baldwin said, "and it is these same swimmers who have already been violated by evil paedophiles."

It was confirmed last night that two other IASA officials intend to resign. These are Leinster branch executive member Mr Richard Byrne and Leinster branch vice-president Mr George Smith. This brings the number of resignations so far to six.

Three officials are currently engaged in briefing the Leinster, Munster and Connacht branches of the association and will be asking executive officials also to tender their resignations before the association's extraordinary general meeting on July 26th. There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of any of the officials who will be asked to step down.

The move is seen by the IASA as the only effective way to reconstitute the organisation completely and regain the confidence of the Government and the public.

"There is no other option for the IASA. This is a chance to get a modern constitution based on modern principles, not like the Berlin Wall one that is currently in place", an IASA spokesman said. "Hopefully, by September, we will have an association which will serve as a model to other sports organisations around the country. The key to the new organisation is the structures, which will be radically changed."

The IASA officials who are addressing members have no power to enforce resignations and if branch officials do resign they will have the opportunity of seeking re-election to the new swimming body.

The brief of the "change management team" is to use its expertise to draw up new structures and a new constitution for the IASA, which it hopes the association will then adopt.

While aware of the obvious difficulties and sensitivities, the management team also hopes to include input from victims of either George Gibney or Derry O'Rourke.

The dilemma facing the IASA is that members are holding discussions on setting up an alternative organisation. If that occurs and the conditions set out in the Murphy report are met, the Minister, through the Irish Sports Council, may then recognise the new body and support it financially. According to a spokesman, it is in the best interests of the IASA to wind down now and accept the new conditions set out by the management team and the Murphy report.

In response to the resignation of the IASA president, Ms O'Malley, Dr McDaid said: "The officership of the IASA is an internal matter for the association's members, but I feel that a dramatic step was necessary in the interests of restoring confidence in the future of swimming. The important thing will be the association's proposals as to how they respond to the Murphy Report."