Mayo executive members query appointment process

Mayo GAA chairman Paddy McNicholas is under fire for his handling of the appointment process which has recommended Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes as joint managers of the Mayo senior football team.

Members of the Mayo GAA executive are angered by what they feel is the refusal by McNicholas to engage in an agreed process for the appointment.

A tense meeting of the executive of the Mayo County Board on Monday night saw members demand McNicholas explain how the debacle unfolded. One executive member, cultural officer Gerry Bourke, has resigned in protest while a full meeting of club delegates this Thursday is likely to be very heated.

Last Friday saw the executive agree a process for the selection after the two nominations received were that of the Connelly/Holmes ticket and Kevin McStay.

Interviews were to take place yesterday and today with a five-man interview sub committee to report back to the executive on Thursday.

However delegates are angry that the very next morning Mayo chairman Paddy McNicholas rang Kevin McStay to inform him that Noel Connelly and Pat Holmes were the preferred option.

A statement was sent out on Saturday night which said the sub-committee were recommending Holmes and Connelly and had told the executive this at a meeting on the Saturday.

Gerry Bourke, has resigned over the fiasco.

“I’m not happy with the way in which this whole scenario was handled. It was totally mishandled by the officers of the board,” he said.