Ormonde wins Killarney captain vote but difficult decisions ahead for club

It’s a well-proven political axiom that a contest is sure to stir things and draw a crowd.

The same can be said of golf, as was evidenced by the record numbers that turned up for an unprecedented vote at Killarney Golf and Fishing Club, on Sunday.

Usually, the men’s AGM is a pretty routine affair, with a small attendance. On Sunday , however, queues formed up the broad, carpeted stairway to the dining-room where Killarney’s male golfers packed in like sardines to vote in what is believed to be the first ever contest for the club’s captaincy.

Normally, the vice-captain James Ormonde would have assumed the captaincy automatically. However, in a surprise move, he was challenged by former club director and veteran member, James Loughnane.

In the days before the meeting, Killarney members were canvassed for their votes, something that also raised hackles. One well respected, long-standing member claimed the canvass took a ‘sinister turn’, with rumour and innuendo circulating freely. In a high-noon type atmosphere, close to 500 turned up for the meeting or, more precisely, for the vote, which Ormonde won by a four-to-one majority.

A simplistic way to describe what’s happening in Killarney would be to say it’s a power struggle between the sedate and conservative older hierarchy and an eager, younger crowd who want more control in the club. Ormonde is seen as representing the latter. The contest is also seen in the light of two imminent and hugely important developments for the financially-troubled club, which is 75% owned by Fáilte Ireland.

The first is that negotiations are to get underway shortly with Fáilte Ireland which is handing over the running of the club to the members, who will then form a new controlling structure, or board. A motion on the issue was proposed by Mr Loughnane at Sunday’s meeting, but was deferred to the AGM of the club proper, on December 17. The motion stated that Fáilte Ireland should ‘delegate their functions to an appropriately constituted body appointed by the club’.

The words ‘delegate’ and ‘appointed’ raised concerns in the younger camp which, crucially, is demanding members of the new controlling structure be ‘elected’ by the club members. A new club constitution is also expected to be drafted.

The second red letter development will be the report and recommendations for its management from consultants Deloitte. This will be about laying foundations for the future and there’s speculation that financial cutbacks and job losses are on the way.

Deloitte is conducting an overall review of operations, regarded as essential to ensure the club’s future in its exquisite lakeside setting. Earlier this year, the neighbouring Liebherr crane manufacturing company purchased the Lackabane course from the club for €6m, which will help pay the club’s debts.

Whoever gets control of the club will face a different scenario in 2013. It won’t be easy, as Mr Ormonde quickly acknowledged once he had tried on the captain’s blazer. A certainty is that difficult decisions will have to be taken.