38 family members applied to vote for quango director
In Nov 2011, Kieran O’Gorman from Clonakilty, Co Cork, was nominated to contest an election for the Irish Horse Board Cooperative Society. The winner earned a seat on parent body, the Irish Horse Board (IHB). This operates under the umbrella of Horse Sport Ireland.
Within a week of his nomination, 98 people paid €10 to join the southern region of the co-op and looked to vote in the election he was contesting.
These were evident in two updated lists of co-op members, on Nov 11, 2011, and then on Nov 18, 2011.
Among the applicants that appeared for the first time on the second list were 38 members of his family, including his wife, children, siblings, nieces, and nephews. Six of these lived with him at Brookfield House, Clonakilty.
Another 15 of the new members gave their contact address as a beauty salon in Clonakilty run by his wife, Geraldine O’Gorman. This premises is alongside his own auctioneers’ office.
During the same week in Nov 2011, Mr O’Gorman’s political ally and outgoing chairman of Horse Sport Ireland, Joe Walsh, also joined the co-op, along with his wife. Mr Walsh is also a nominated director of the IHB. It subsequently transpired that a number of those who applied for a ballot card in Nov 2011 were under the age of 16.
The rules of the co-op do not allow children to vote. The IHB said these applications were returned and did not affect the election.
Mr O’Gorman won the election by a considerable margin, and by much more than the number of additional, newly registered voters. He said he did not know how the issue of the additional members came about, or the return of ballots to underage applicants.
“I genuinely do not know the circumstances of that... it is an election so people who have an interest in supporting you can join the co-op,” he said.
Mr O’Gorman said the seat on the IHB was a voluntary one, although he was paid expenses to attend meetings in Kildare. He had no objection to these being made public under the Freedom of Information Act.
Mr O’Gorman was chairman of the West Cork Breeders for two years. He stepped down to avoid a conflict of interest with his new role. “I didn’t even want to go for election at the time but I was chairman of the West Cork Breeders and it wanted to have some representation on the horse board,” he said.
The IHB changed the rules of the co-op in 2011.
It said this had the positive effects of introducing new members, increasing turnover at board level and encouraging people to join the co-op.
