greenfan (Donegal) - Posts: 637 - 28/02/2023 14:07:27    2460959

A Chairde,



In what is a difficult period for CLG Dhún na nGall we would like to inform our clubs and supporters that we are reluctantly accepting the resignation of Karl Lacey as Head of Donegal Academy, having exhausted all avenues of mediation.



In 2021 Donegal GAA approached Karl Lacey to lead out, develop and become the head of an Underage Academy. The vision was to establish a best in class environment to identify and support young players development. Donegal GAA was delighted when Karl expressed his interest and enthusiasm for the approach to develop talent within the county. His passion and experience was instantly clear to Donegal GAA. He was given a broad scope to develop his vision of how the Academy should operate and develop.



To maintain the momentum that was building up, it was agreed to start Academy activities and get up and running while governance arrangements were formalised and documented.

It is clear that the Academy achieved early on field success with young player engagement and development. This is in large part down to the hard work and dedication of the Head of Academy and the Coaches, and also the support and efforts of the players and their families.



Time and again we have learned that on field success, particularly with underage, must have proper controls that are transparent for everybody. As the on-field successes of the academy grew so too did the distance in position of the County Board and the Head of Academy on the arrangements. Good control should not interfere with or hinder success, it should provide a sound base to allow it to grow and flourish. Donegal GAA are not only bound by, but fully endorse, GAA governance standards. There has never been any question that any activity undertaken by Donegal GAA must adhere to these standards.



Donegal GAA, including the Academy, are not happy with the arrangements as implemented in the Football Academy. To be clear there is absolutely no suggestion or inference that there was any mal intent or neglect on the part of the Head of Academy or the Coaches. Donegal Management Committee approached the Head of Academy on a number of occasions to try and resolve the matters, but without success. Relations came to a critical point when the head of the Academy decided to offer his resignation. This was followed a week later by a statement by the Coaches. Donegal management greatly regrets, not only the damage that this has caused to GAA within the county, but particularly to the damage and concern it has caused our young players and families who were involved in the Academy. Members of the County Executive spoke to and met with Karl on a number of occasions to see if a meeting could be organised to address the arrangements issues. Again this did not succeed.



There are hard lessons here, that the Board will learn from and accept responsibility for. But falling down is not an excuse to not get back up. Our young players, their families, our underage coaches deserve our very best efforts to provide an environment where they can flourish as people, players and mentors. We need to foster a love for our games that will lead to lifelong participation. We need good control that doesn't hinder, but supports achievement. This needs to be fair and transparent. To this end the board will present Academy governance arrangements that can be considered and agreed by County Committee. These arrangements are consistent with GAA standards and have been vetted by Croke Park. They deal with

Roles and reporting arrangements within the academy
Budgets
Financial Governance
Supporting underage in our clubs
Coaches
Data Management and Protection
Season
Child protection, Safeguarding, Health and Safety
Reporting to County Committee
Partnerships with other boards and sports
Publicity and Social Media
Use of GAA facilities


There are also good lessons here. The things that made the Academy a success. To the greatest extent this is down to the support it received from the young players, coaches, mentors, parents, and the wider Donegal GAA community who support our games in many ways. At this time, we all need this support more than ever. To this end the board will be seeking to meet with the players (and their families) who participated. We will also be seeking to meet coaches (including interested club coaches, and former Academy coaches). The purpose of these meetings are to identify what worked and what we can build on. We want to agree on

The vision for the Academy
The organisation structure of the Academy (both Football and Hurling)
Player supports and development
Coaches supports and development
The outcome of these meeting will again be presented to and agreed by County Committee.



We thank Karl Lacey for his outstanding and exemplary efforts, as a strong role model for all that is good in our game. We acknowledge this has been a difficult time for all concerned. The GAA in Donegal should be in a place where excellence is the standard and that we all play our part in ensuring this happens. We wish to be clear that any former Academy coach will be welcomed to participate. We wish Karl every success in his future. By working together we are committed to making our underage development best in class.



Is mise le meas,



Declan Ó'Mairtín,

ryan (Donegal) - Posts: 748 - 28/02/2023 14:16:09    2460966

My initial reaction to that statement is one of disgust. Is the answer hidden in code somewhere in that statement?

It leads to more questions than answers.

Where do we go from here?

SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 783 - 28/02/2023 14:58:51    2460987

KerrymanStuckInDonegal (Kerry) - Posts: 271 - 28/02/2023 15:27:10    2460992

Seems that the academy weren't forthcoming or transparent when it came to how they were being run and how they communicated with the county board. Going from that statement..strange.
Good to see every effort was made to get Lacey back. It seems to all come down to control really and both parties had issue with this.

TheRock2121 (Donegal) - Posts: 1208 - 28/02/2023 15:28:24    2460993

That will satisfy all those looking for statements.Create more problems than it will solve.

Football will go back 10 years after this is finished.

heyday (Laois) - Posts: 35 - 28/02/2023 15:30:54    2460995

It's a truly shocking statement. Still trying to process it. I don't like the road Donegal GAA is going down. We have zero leadership and it's all covering up and protecting individuals rather than putting Donegal GAA at the centre of decision making.

ryan (Donegal) - Posts: 748 - 28/02/2023 15:34:51    2460997

SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 783 - 28/02/2023 16:21:47    2461006

SignTheContract (Donegal) - Posts: 197 - 28/02/2023 16:29:41    2461008

The statement seems to say The Academy Director did no wrong….but he won't do things the way they need to be done in terms of transparency. Surely that can only be about one thing…..you know, it makes the world spin?

SignTheContract (Donegal) - Posts: 197 - 28/02/2023 16:32:32    2461010

This seems to be going back to square 1, consult players, families, coaches to identify a vision, structure to go to county committee for sign off. This seems to be back to a strategy level which usually takes a while to implement so concerning about what it means for teams going through there at moment where coaches stepped away ( all bar 17 and 20). Are they not going to build on what is in place or start again? Maybe I misreading it but doesn't seem to be much in way of olive branch to get other coaches back that walked. Seems to draw a line under Karl's involvement which is a shame and I'd worry it would put him off going for senior job in future. More questions than answers.

DonegalDanny92 (Donegal) - Posts: 39 - 28/02/2023 16:34:41    2461011

Statement is like the Da Vinci Code. They have thrown the ex Head of Academy under the bus with that statement. I hope for his own sake he has ammunition.

AudiMan (Donegal) - Posts: 683 - 28/02/2023 16:40:39    2461015

It's a truly shocking statement. Still trying to process it. I don't like the road Donegal GAA is going down. We have zero leadership and it's all covering up and protecting individuals rather than putting Donegal GAA at the centre of decision making.

ryan (Donegal) - Posts: 748 - 28/02/2023 17:00:27    2461021

SouthOfTheGap (Donegal) - Posts: 783 - 28/02/2023 17:01:42    2461022

No winners in all of this. A shame that some sort of compromise could not be reached. Maybe we need to get Sunak & Von der Leyen involved.

Lockjaw (Donegal) - Posts: 9769 - 28/02/2023 17:02:09    2461023

Be interesting to hear the flaker take on it. He seems to be spot on with everything he says.

rorysboys (Donegal) - Posts: 2616 - 28/02/2023 17:13:21    2461024

SignTheContract (Donegal) - Posts: 197 - 28/02/2023 18:20:10    2461032

I seem to annoy a load of people here for some reason so I won't say much. The line that says the board will accept responsibility for these hard lessons sums it up. Embarrassing stuff. The chairman met with Karl Lacey to try and find a middle ground. They make it sound as if the whole committee was in ongoing talks. It's embarrasing stuff. Clarity will come soon and they won't like it when it all becomes public.

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8388 - 28/02/2023 18:52:32    2461041

TheFlaker (Mayo) - Posts: 8388 - 01/03/2023 09:33:44    2461082

ryan (Donegal) - Posts: 748 - 01/03/2023 10:30:19    2461112