Forum seek clarity on Murphy issue

THE Cork GAA Clubs’ Forum insists that the clubs in the county must have an involvement in the selection of the next secretary of the Cork County Board.

The allegations that the board have acted improperly in the process to find a replacement for long-serving official Frank Murphy have been firmly refuted by board chairman Jerry O’Sullivan but in an official statement the clubs forum are adamant that they still have concerns over the process.

“As announced by the Executive in a statement released on the 2nd September, 2009 the current Rúnaí’s retirement is now imminent. Taking this into account the fact that the process for selecting an appropriate successor has yet to commence and the fact that the nature of the process has still not been relayed to the clubs in the county or to potential candidates is a cause for concern.

“On June 21, 2011 the Cork GAA Clubs’ Forum submitted its latest signed letter to the Executive on foot of queries received from a number of Clubs within the county, and distributed the letter to the Clubs. The letter sought clarification on the actual date of the Rúnaí’s retirement, the procedure to appoint a successor and the timeline for appointing this person to, what most people would regard as, one of the most important positions within the GAA in Cork.”

The Forum insist they are not seeking to ‘personalise’ the issue.

“The Forum is only concerned with an open transparent process to fill the position of Rúnaí and not the person currently occupying that role. To personalise this issue would only detract from the importance of securing the right successor to fill the role of Rúnaí in Cork County.

“The Cork GAA club’s forum is disappointed with the response by the Executive at last Tuesday’s Cork County Board meeting, but will continue its work regardless. We remain determined to concentrate solely on the issues.

The statement was signed by the Cork GAA Clubs’ Forum chairman Tomás Ryan, secretary Brian McCarthy and PRO Peter Dineen.