IABA responsible for Billy Walsh departure, says Sport Ireland

The Irish Amateur Boxing Association bears responsibility for the departure of head coach Billy Walsh, Sport Ireland chief executive John Treacy has said.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has also said questions need to be asked about why Billy Walsh announced his resignation as head coach of the IABA high performance team.

With less than a year until the Rio Olympics, Mr Treacy also told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that there is a “real danger” of Walsh taking members of his team with him to the United States.

He said Sport Ireland was “absolutely devastated” over the news that Walsh is to leave and said the announcement was “a terrible day for Irish sport”.

He added that money was not a factor and, instead, Walsh’s decision was down to “non-financial aspects... I don’t know what those are, clearly”.

He said the coach was never given the title of leader of the high performance Irish amateur boxing team and that he was denied the freedom to do the job.

Mr Treacy said the matter first arose in February when it emerged that the United States team had offered Walsh a job.

The sports council met the IABA in July and agreed to discuss the matter in August, Mr Treacy said. A deal was agreed but then a sub-committee of the IABA decided not to bring the deal forward to the board for approval, he added.

He said a review of the process since February will now take place. “This clearly is the responsibility of the IABA,” he said.

Mr Howlin said questions need to be asked about how Irish boxing could lose such a successful coach during the run up to the Olympics.

“I’m hugely disappointed. I think it’s an extraordinary blow for Irish sport in general but particularly boxing, which is our most successful sport, to lose somebody of the calibre of Billy Walsh,” he said.

“I’ve known Billy Walsh and his family for a very long time. I know his passion for his country. And it’s been an extraordinarily difficult decision for him to come to.”

Mr Walsh is from Wexford, which is Mr Howlin’s constituency.

“So questions really need to be asked about how any organisation can lose somebody with the success rate of Billy Walsh basically in the run up to the most important event of the sporting cycle, which is the Olympics.

“I know herculian efforts were made by Billy himself and the Department of Sports and the Sports Council. And I listened to the chairman of the Sports Council this morning on radio.

“I really do think that we need to learn lessons from this so that issues like this don’t happen again.

“There are not so many people of the calibre of Billy Walsh available to us that we can so casually dismiss and lose his services.”

Mr Howlin was speaking on his way into Cabinet on Tuesday morning.