Simon Moroney has resigned as secretary of the Munster Council with effect from late next June in a disagreement over staffing levels. Moroney succeeded Donie Nealon in the position four years ago and will return to his career in local administration, from which he was seconded by Clare County Council when taking up the provincial secretary's job.

A statement from the council issued early yesterday morning said the resignation had been received "with regret" and acknowledged the rejection of Moroney's "proposal for the creation of an adequate staffing structure for the council" on two occasions in the past year was the underlying reason for the decision.

Moroney was unavailable for comment yesterday and Munster chair Jimmy O'Gorman declined to comment when contacted by this newspaper.

It is, however, believed that the core disagreement centred on the proposed recruitment of a deputy secretary - something, ironically, the council announced yesterday it would proceed with, though whether the new officer's remit and status will be in keeping with what Moroney believed to be necessary is not known.

Despite months of discussion the parties could not reach agreement and Moroney, who felt that the current structures in the council were inadequate to meet the permanent office's workload, has decided to drop the curtain on his term of office.

Dublin's O'Byrne Cup semi-final with Carlow, scheduled for this afternoon in Parnell Park, has been called off and will now go ahead next Tuesday evening at the same venue, at 7.30pm.