Fermanagh GAA has lurched into another crisis as Club Eirne threatens to pull their support to the Fermanagh County Board.
In a statement released they have said that a ‘”campaign of vilification and criticism” has caused them to look at ‘reassessing ‘ their role.
The fundraising group, which was established in 2006, has consistently raised substantial funds which have been used primarily for the Fermanagh Senior football team.
This is not the first time that Club Eirne have questioned their relationship with the Fermanagh County Board. After the 2011 season came to a conclusion, and before Fermanagh manager John O’Neill resigned following the Burns Review, Club Eirne released a statement to the the press outlining its frustration with its relationship with the county board.
It appeared however that these difficulties had been overcome and with Peter Canavan in the Fermanagh hot-seat a revamped Club Eirne website in 2012 said the following;
“Now in 2012, Club Eirne are well known and established within the county and this year sees the establishment of a closer working relationship with the Fermanagh County Board.”
But this close relationship has soured with Club Eirne asserting that members of the county executive along with other prominent people within Fermanagh GAA have conducted a ‘campaign of vilification and criticism’ against it.
This latest statement could not come at a worse time for the Fermanagh County Executive who are searching for a new manager following the resignation of Peter Canavan and there are real fears that any prospective candidates will be scared off by such open conflict.
At the time of writing the Fermanagh County Executive had not commented on the Club Eirne statement.
It has been clear for some years however that a significant number of people involved in Fermanagh GAA have had issues with Club Eirne and one point consistently raised is that Club Eirne are independent of the county board and raise money primarily for the Fermanagh senior football team.
Critics contrast this with the role of Club Tyrone who act from within the Tyrone County Board.
On the other hand it has been argued by supporters of the fundraising group that its fund-raising capabilities could not be matched by a county board led body and in its statement Club Eirne allude to this fact by saying that they were leaving ‘”the field open to our critics to replace that generosity”.
With so much open warfare on show what is sure that the biggest loser in all this will be Fermanagh GAA itself.