Former Cork City director Niamh O’Mahony wins election to join FAI board

O'Mahony defeated Caroline Rhatigan 21-18 in Tuesday night’s election.

APPOINTED: Niamh O'Mahony. Pic: George Tewkesbury/Sportsfile

Former Cork City director Niamh O’Mahony will join the 12-person board of the FAI on December 15 after defeating Caroline Rhatigan 21-18 in Tuesday night’s election.

The association, like the GAA and IRFU, is facing a funding-critical deadline of 2023 to meet a Gender Balance quota of at least four female directors.

O’Mahony’s selection gets them halfway there by joining Liz Joyce and Catherine Guy at the top table.

Unlike that duo, however, the latest addition emerges through the democratic football channels.

Under governance reforms arising from the FAI crisis of 2019, two seats were allocated to the professional chambers – primarily the national league clubs, male and female, as well as the Players FAI and supporters – but Martin Heraghty of Sligo Rovers quit 18 months ago.

That was to facilitate a condition in the Government’s €35m bailout whereby the board’s independent cohort would rise from four to six and achieve parity.

This year’s challenge centres on the gender gap, which ministers such as sports chief Jack Chambers insists requires addressing to avoid state aid being halted.

Due to the lack of progress on this front, the FAI’s AGM in July had to be curtailed and will be reconvened on December 15 to ratify the new appointment.

When UCD stalwart Dick Shakespeare recently confirmed he was following Heraghty out the door, both Rhatigan and O’Mahony were nominated before Friday’s deadline.

Both candidates got their opportunity of addressing the summit held over Microsoft Teams, with O’Mahony narrowly shading victory by three votes.

She had been nominated by the Irish Football Supporters Partnership (IFSP), whom she represented on the national assembly and the National League Committee (NLC).

O’Mahony works full-time in the game, as the Chief Operating Officer and Head of Governance at Football Supporters Europe (FSE).

“I look forward to working hard on behalf of everybody,” she told the audience following the secret ballot. “Equally, I want to have an open mind and go in there to learn as much as possible.”