O'Callaghan removed

Rowing News: In a move which will send shockwaves through the sport of rowing in Ireland, the new board of the Irish Amateur Rowing Union has removed Mick O'Callaghan from his post as Ireland team manager.

The Corkman, who has been in charge of the international team since 1999, said yesterday he accepts the decision, but feels his replacement had as much to do with other issues rather than his performance in the job. He also said that the sport was returning to self-destructive ways and the international team will be short of experienced administrators in the year before the Olympics.

The IARU board, which met on Saturday night in Dublin, decided to appoint Garth Young of Belfast Rowing Club as the chair of the International Rowing Committee, succeeding John McGeehan, who did not put his name forward for the year ahead. The IRC will seek a replacement for O'Callaghan in the coming weeks.

Young has been a member of the IARU board for the last two years. He rowed with Ireland at the World Championships in 1991, and has been twice captain of Belfast Rowing Club and coached Belfast crews to success at the Irish national championships and at Henley Royal Regatta. The Ulsterman did not wish to go into detail as to why O'Callaghan had been replaced, but said: "While we are all very grateful for the work Mick had done, it's time to move on."

O'Callaghan said: "It's basically a personality thing. The reality is that there a number of people on the board who, for one reason or another, would be totally opposed to me - not about international rowing; about other issues. That's my view (of what is) behind it."

O'Callaghan, who as the Munster vice-president of the IARU is a member of the board, was the force behind the development of the National Rowing Centre in Cork. Yesterday he hinted the long-time opposition of those who felt this was the wrong location might have come back to haunt him. He said his management style since taking over as Ireland team manager might also have sparked resentment.

"I probably made a lot of enemies in that time because I'm not one of these people to sit back - I mean I'll try and get things done. Any situation where you're doing things you have to tread on people's toes. There are a lot of people on that board who have never tread on people's toes - because they've never done a thing."