Cycling Ireland chief executive Matt McKerrow to stand down

Cycling Ireland has announced that its chief executive Matt McKerrow will depart the organisation next month, with an interim replacement to stand in after that.

The Australian took up the role in May 2019, having previously occupied the same position with Triathlon Ireland from 2009 to 2013, and then working for Sport New Zealand.

His departure was confirmed in a brief statement on Monday. “Cycling Ireland is today announcing that the Chief Executive Officer, Matt McKerrow will depart the role with the organisation on 12 December 2022,” it said.

“The Board would like to thank Mr McKerrow for over three years of service during a difficult period for the organisation and wish him well in the future. An interim CEO will be appointed in due course to aid with the transition and while a recruitment process takes place.”

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The federation has been through a turbulent period with multiple board members resigning earlier this year. This followed tensions within the organisation caused in part by the use of false documents in applying for Department of Sport grants in 2020, plus controversy over a deal last winter between Cycling Ireland and the Irish EvoPro Racing team.

The latter was agreed by the team plus McKerrow and the then president Liam Collins but, according to the findings of a review by auditors BDO, the federation’s board was not consulted prior to that undertaking being made.

While the agreement was not legally binding, BDO concluded that there was a ‘lack of adherence to good governance’.

The arrangement would have seen Cycling Ireland fund an academy within the team, and the team providing support such as vehicles and staff to Irish squads competing in Europe. The agreement subsequently did not go ahead.

Partly as a result of the controversies, CI’s spend on professional fees jumped from €58,047 in 2020 to €706,129 last year, with the bulk of those being comprised of legal and consultancy fees.

McKerrow faced questioning from Cycling Ireland members at its agm on November 5th. He acknowledged ‘in the spirit of collective responsibilities ... that mistakes had been made’ and said that in retrospect he would have done things differently.

He said then that he wanted to continue in his role to fix the sport’s issues, and that he owed it to Irish cycling to get the federation to where it needs to go. Monday’s announcement comes just over two weeks after that agm, meaning that new president Tom Daly, the current board and McKerrow’s replacement will be those who work to get things back on track.