THE story of the Football Association of Ireland's ongoing "transitional period" took another twist last night when the 11 year tenure of Donie Butler as the head of the organisation's commercial department was ended in, where else but, a Dublin Hotel.
Butler, who joined the organisation from the Kilkenny People newspaper group at a time when the association was going through one restructuring, has now departed in the middle of another, although his employers remained tight lipped last night about the circumstances of his resignation, which will take effect on October 31st of this year.
"In relation to a recent investigation by the FAI into an alleged breakdown in operational procedures, the FAI and the commercial manager, Mr Donie Butler, in the best interest of both parties, have agreed a mutual resolution of the matter," said the association in a official statement immediately after both the executive committee and a full meeting of the council had apparently unanimously endorsed the agreement reached between the two parties.
The statement went on the emphasise that "no financial irregularities to the detriment of the association have occurred," and the officers of the organisation including acting general secretary Brendan Menton - who had flown home from his holiday in France in order to attend last night's meetings at the Berkeley Court Hotel were unforthcoming about the details of Butler's departure.
"We've stated that there was no cost to the association but still there was a procedural thing that caused us problems," said Menton afterwards, while remarking that Butler didn't wish to comment further himself but that he had seen the statement issued by the FAI and that he was happy with its contents.
In the statement it was pointed out that "the association has agreed a financial package with Mr Butler which it thinks reflects in a positive way the esteem in which the FAI holds the commercial manager, who has made a major contribution to the development of the FAI over the past 11 years.
Butler's role in raising the level of commercial activity around the association was certainly profound and he maintained an extremely high profile in the organisation as it enjoyed the benefits that came with the successful Jack Charlton years.
Last night, however, he waited in a room away from the two meetings - the first of which got under way at 7.0 p.m. as his departure was discussed by representatives of clubs and member associations from around the country. Menton, FAI president Pat Quigley and treasurer Bernard O'Byrne finally emerged from the Council meeting at 9.05 p.m. and went upstairs from where they returned after 15 minutes and, with Butler, rejoined the meeting. It broke up very shortly afterwards at which time Butler promptly departed again.
Afterwards Menton said that both meetings had gone smoothly and added that "obviously the reason for that was because we came to them with an agreement." Asked whether he saw this as another blow to an organisation which, in early March, lost both its then president Louis Kilcoyne and its treasurer Joe Delaney in controversial circumstances, Menton remarked that "I don't see it as a setback. It's an issue which arose and both parties have dealt with it in a mature matter. We move on from here."
