Runners & riders: possible candidates for the IFA presidency

Although a presidential election for the IFA is now a certainty, a lot of factors remain to be cleared up over the coming weeks. One question that will hang in the air until battle lines are drawn is the question of who exactly will throw their hat into the ring and put their name forward as a candidate for the presidency.

Acting president Tim O’Leary has today confirmed he will contest the election, but the question remains as to who will join him on the ticket.

Find out more about the potential contenders below and listen to a discussion of the latest developments in our podcast:

Derek Deane

Looking at the current national executive, Derek Deane has to be in a very strong position. Deane’s stint as Carlow chair is about to end, which will complete an almost unbroken 15 years on the executive council, since he became livestock chair in 2001.

He became deputy president in 2005, and launched his bid for the presidency four years later, losing to John Bryan. A two-year sabbatical followed, before Deane returned as Carlow chair, and he has been a fierce critic of Pat Smith for much of the last four years.

In January, Deane, along with fellow county chairs Pat Hennessy, Pat Farrell, and Tim Cullinane, brought a motion of no confidence in Pat Smith. It failed in the face of a counter-motion of confidence from Eddie Downey. He brought revelations of Pat Smith’s high pay level into the public domain less than three weeks ago, which ultimately led to the resignation of Smith and kickstarted the series of events that have unfolded over the last week.

Jer Bergin

If Jer Bergin was a footballer, he would be Sergio Busquets or Donnchadh Walsh, the type of player who does not get noticed but is appreciated by their teammates. In this week’s Irish Farmers Journal and at the marathon IFA executive council meeting on Wednesday night, the current IFA treasurer laid out his case to say he can stand over his actions in recent months.

Bergin was campaign manager for Padraig Walshe’s two tilts at the presidency. He ran for president himself in 2013, losing out to Eddie Downey. He then bounced back to become national treasurer, a route to the top used by Padraig Walshe having lost to John Dillon in 2005.

The four vice-presidents

Tom Turley (Connacht), James Murphy (south Leinster), Bert Stewart (north Leinster/Ulster) and James McCarthy (Munster) are the four regional vice-presidents of the IFA. They serve on the executive board with O’Leary and Bergin, and previously with Downey and Smith.

While all may harbour ambitions for the leadership of the organisation, only Tom Turley has indicated with any certainty that he is interested in standing for the position.

Others

Candidates could come from anywhere given the vacuum at the top of the organisation right now. Flor McCarthy, the IFA’s rural development chair, and Henry Burns, livestock chair, appear to be sounding out the lie of the land for a potential run but nothing is certain.

The potential is certainly there for a presidential candidate to come in from left field with the aim of attracting grassroots support given the obvious distrust many members now have with the current executive.

In saying this, in recent days a number of motions of no confidence were placed in the entire executive board – that’s the deputy president, treasurer and the four regional vice-presidents. Those motions couldn’t be heard at yesterday’s executive council meeting because 21 days notification is required and they’ve only come through in recent days.

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