High-profile swashbuckling style got mired in controversy

BACKGROUND:Goal's founder made a name for doing good overseas, but could not agree with his board

A VERY public boardroom battle has marked an end to the 35-year reign of probably the most colourful and divisive figure in the Irish overseas development sector.

Questions over governance and a series of board resignations preceded this month’s High Court drama and subsequent announcement that John O’Shea is to retire.

Yesterday afternoon, the court was told that the case had been settled following lengthy discussions, thus ending a legal process that began two weeks ago.

Hours ahead of a board meeting on July 10th, O’Shea secured a temporary injunction to stop the board of the agency taking steps to remove or suspend him.

His legal representative spoke of a “concerted action” to remove him. The court also heard of a “personality clash” with Goal chairman Pat O’Mahony.

O’Shea’s energetic, swashbuckling style helped to turn the Dún Laoghaire-based charity into a highly respected agency with a global reach, but it has been dogged by recent controversies.

In 2009 Irish aid worker Sharon Commins was kidnapped in Sudan while working for Goal. She spent 107 days in captivity and later accused the agency of endangering her life for financial gain by moving into an area when other agencies withdrew.

O’Shea rejected the criticism and said that security was the responsibility of the Sudanese authorities.

There was subsequent negative publicity about O’Shea’s salary and the role of family members in the charity. Goal’s 2010 accounts show two executives at the charity were paid €100,000-€115,000.

There have been at least seven resignations from the charity’s board in the past couple of years, a number regarding corporate governance issues.

In 2010, long-time chairman Jerry Sheehan resigned with three other board members – Andy Butler, Conor Sparks and David Allman – standing down on the same day. John Wilson resigned from the board in January last year. Chairman Ken Fogarty SC left in December citing “corporate management issues”.

Shortly after this, former Football Association of Ireland head Fran Rooney resigned from the board and raised concerns over “bad corporate governance”. Such concerns were publicly rejected by the board’s chairman.

Earlier this year, concerns about governance issues at the agency were raised after a routine audit by the Government’s development wing Irish Aid. The body has given Goal some €90 million over the past five years.

Much of the agency’s €73.4 million income in 2010 was from donations and fundraising. It remains to be seen whether the loss of Goal’s public face in such a dramatic fashion will affect goodwill towards its work.