Ryan speaks to gardaí over possible phone hacking

The former CEO of Limerick City of Culture has spoken to gardaí about concerns her phone may have been hacked.

Patricia Ryan who resigned from her position yesterday believes her voicemail messages were hacked as news of her intention to step down was leaked online before she had informed anyone outside of family.

A Garda spokesman station confirmed the ex CEO spoke to detectives at Henry Street Garda Station about the issue today.

However, while she made a statement, no formal complaint was made.

“As there was no complaint there is no investigation,” explained the spokesman.

Ms Ryan announced her decision to resign on Sunday afternoon.

However before her official statement was released rumours were rife on social media that she was about to resign.

It is believed someone may have hacked Ms Ryan’s mailbox and listened to a voice message left by a relative referencing her resignation.

Sources close to the ex CEO confirmed today that she has spoken to gardaí about the incident and made a statement but no formal complaint has been made yet.

The official City of Culture Facebook page was also taken over at the weekend after an unauthorised message was posted on the site calling for resignations from the Board.

Meanwhile, chairman of the Board of City of Culture Pat Cox has suggested that the roles vacated by Ms Ryan and former Artistic Director Karl Wallace who resigned last week may be filled with one person.

Speaking on Limerick’s LIVE 95FM radio station Mr Cox said the board will consider all options and one consideration may be to have one person instead of two.

“We need to have a discussion about what is the nature of the post. Do we want two posts or one? We need to have some discussion this this to get the balance right. I want to hear people out, good people. It’s not that I have a particular view at this stage but it is about getting it right,” Mr Cox said.

When asked about last Friday night’s public meeting where there were calls for Ms Ryan’s resignation Mr Cox said:

“I felt there was an extraordinary level of personal anger and hostility vented at her and I feel deeply sorry to have seen that.

“This is a good decent competent woman and whatever the circumstances of her appointment she did not appoint herself and I felt really really sorry that someone who has put such intense effort into this should be the subject of such hostility.”

When asked if the Board should bears some responsibility for putting Ms Ryan in this position, Mr Cox said lessons have been learned.

“We have lessons we have learned and in the additional round of recruitment those lessons have to be learned but we have to get on with it,” he said.

A spokesman for Limerick City of Culture said the Board will continue discussions late into tonight to deal with "resource challenges" currently facing the programme.

“Nothing has been decided. The Board is active throughout the day and late into the night examining what the options are and coming up with a range of measures tos to satisfying the resource challenges that exist at present a both an interim and permanent basis.”