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LAST UPDATE | 16 Sep 2024
DUNDALK ARE SET for a stay of execution after today’s self-imposed deadline for investment to keep the club afloat was extended by owner Brian Ainscough.
And there was further cause for optimism for the future at Oriel Park after Minister for Sport Thomas Byrne confirmed that the Government would provide up to €500,000 in funding as part of its Sports Capital Grant process.
The 42 reported earlier this afternoon that Ainscough has been in talks with two groups – one of which is based in mainland Europe – about a deal to ensure the Premier Division side can survive until the end of this season.
With sources confirming an overall debt figure of more than €1 million, it’s believed that €360,000 is needed in the short term for Dundalk to fulfil the final couple of months of the campaign.
Ainscough released a statement last week confirming the perilous financial situation the club found itself in. Wages to staff and players went unpaid at the start of this month and while those monies have since been paid there had been no solid commitment for any future external investment.
On Friday, American businessman Jeffrey Saunders pulled out of talks with Ainscough and that led to a fraught weekend.
Developments today have provided some hope, with Minister Byrne confirming that up to €500,000 will be forthcoming to upgrade the astro turf pitch and floodlights.
“What I’ve been able to say is that subject to the club remaining in existence, getting a league licence, the club will get most if not all of the half a million euro they have applied for. That’s just to be helpful to the process, we will make a final announcement in the next two weeks,” Minister Byrne said, insisting that the money would not be used for wages or debt relief and that he had contacted FAI interim chief executive.
“No, it’s for capital development but as I understand it that (stadium upgrades) is a significant factor now in terms of who might want to come to the club. We’re just trying to be helpful to the process.
“I informed David Courell and I think it’s taken in that vein, that it will be helpful to the process.
“We want the club to be saved, we want the club to maintain its existence. We know it’s a valid application, we know it’s a good application, to give this indication at what is a critical juncture for the club is helpful.”
At the FAI’s AGM in Dublin on Saturday, Courell admitted the timing of Ainscough’s takeover at Oriel Park played a part in a more rigorous check being carried out.
The Dubliner, who has been based in Boston since emigrating there in the 1990s, took control from StatSports and Andy Connolly in December 2023, one month after the licence to compete in the League of Ireland was granted by the FAI.
“It’s regretful the situation we find ourselves in, the situation Dundalk find themselves in,” said Courell. “We need to acknowledge that there are lessons to be learned from this process.
“The financial checks ahead of the 2024 season were done on Dundalk’s previous owners. While there is an owners and director’s test, that primarily focuses on the integrity of the incoming owners.
“We recognise, and we’re not unique in this situation, it’s quite common in leagues across the world, that at that juncture there wouldn’t be the same degree of financial due diligence carried out.
“That is a learning we need to own up to. Right now, our focus and energy is in trying to support Dundalk and ensure its viability moving forward.”
Asked about the FAI’s role, Minister Byrne said: “This can’t be allowed to happen. We need to protect it. I’m not happy the way everything has happened. For the future I think there needs to be financial tests in terms of new owners coming in.
“I know that’s something the FAI are looking at to make sure that everything will work out for at least the medium term. Nobody is going to stay forever. There are clubs there that are community owned and that’s a really good model, and there are institutional investors too, some of whom are good as well.
“But if the profit motive is there then it’s not always the football considerations that are paramount. I’m not sure what profits come out of League of Ireland clubs, occasionally they do and that’s part of the problem here. We want to support them as best we can.”
Written by David Sneyd and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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Nob
Your loyalty is turning a blind eye when and where we tell you.
@Trevor Hayden:
Wasn’t he the first in Government to turn on. Callinan?
Rightly called him out for his “whistleblowers are disgusting” comment?
Inconvenient I know for you.
@Brinster: ‘first in government’ – I presume what you meant to say is the first in Parliament. Either way you’d be very wrong either way.
It would be great if he practiced what he is preaching
@Brendan Coyne: That’s what I thought also … his blind loyalty to his mate, Frances Fitzgerald comes to mind
@Skybloo: she was cleared of any wrong doing by the tribunal so he did right to stand by her
Report cleared her? Scandal after Scandal dogged her and her predecessor, Like the report concerning Naughten nothing to see here move on… What happened to the investigation relating to the millions missing in the Templemore?.. What happened with the written off penalty points?.What happened to the missing mobile phones and laptops?. The deputy leader of the blueshirts Michael Martin very quite on these subjects.
Will Socky be attending the National Housing Demonstration tomorrow?
@mursim:
Will anyone be attending the national housing demonstration tomorrow?
Jeremy Kyle is on
@Patrick Nolan: I’ll be in the North West for the weekend, is there any regional events on, you know … where there is absolutely no problem with homelessness. Why call it “National” when it is a Dublin specific issue?
@mursim: wait and see
@Patrick Nolan: indeed.
@Gulliver Foyle: Gone on up for the Lundy burning?
That’s why nobody is being prosecuted for harassing a whistleblower almost to his death. Same for the garda in the pub with the rat effigy of MacCabe. No prosecutions ,and that ain’t out of loyalty to the state.
@Picture This: what would you charge the effigy guy with?
@Karen Wellington: super hero!
@Karen Wellington: Sorry Karen. That was meant to call Maurice McCabe a superhero
@Karen Wellington: the images were posted online so online harassment what else ?
@Picture This: I don’t think online harassment is a crime, unless it is tied into a wider (non-online) harassment. Phoning an individual up repeatedly is harassment, while repeatedly posting malicious lies online isn’t (again, due to early precedence when judges didn’t get computers being their interpretation of offences against the person)
@Gulliver Foyle: ask the blogger that was stopped at Dublin airport by detectives for writing negatively about Regina Doherty… by the way its alleged a commissioner sat in a politicians car in a shady car park meeting to tell him your man a kiddy fiddler and you in serious trouble, any excuses for a criminal investigation being initiated there… so regardless to what illegal or not it seems our politicians don’t have an appetite for justice.
@Karen Wellington: Personal injury
Your loyalty is to the State…by becoming a revenue generator…
@Micheal McGee: how much revenue do you reckon the garda dragged down the road in Carrickmackross generated? Or the garda on the drugs squad in Store Street who had acid thrown at him?
@Joe Bloggs: What’s the story on Carrickmacross? Seems to be some confusion as to whether the guard was in the car or being dragged by the car.
@Micheal McGee: indeed.
@Cathal: It wasn’t Carrickmacross,it was Castleblaney
@Mary Garry: Sorry ,just followed previous post. Didn’t notice it was wrong town.
Who’s Leo “ loyal “ to? It’s certainly not the people of this country!
@Colette Kearns: Officially, the taoiseach is loyal to the people. The difference is it is to ALL people, and not just those that share opinion with you (or me, for that matter). Don’t confuse loyalty with treachery.
Your loyalty is to the people of this country who pay your salary. Not to the suit or the person wearing it.
@Patricia McCarthy: I hope you’re one of those people that shout that at guards while you collect your dole…
@peterw: Why would you hope that?
@Dave Doyle: Because people who say “we pay your salary” to garda are absolute twits.
You don’t say that to your nurse do you?
The gardai are there to serve & protect and by in large do a decent job, they don’t need someone shouting nonsense at them.
@ppayment, Exactly my point. The Garda do not need a twit in a suit, who collects the largest social welfare payment, in this country shouting at them. And I don’t need his lackeys attempting to bully me on this page. Get back in your box little man.
Its very hard to take leo at face value. Whatever he says, behind it, he’s probably thinking there’s one set of laws for himself and FG, and there are other laws for everybody else.
@Adrian: He isn’t wrong in thinking that. Politicians and their lackeys get a free ride over everyone else. A lawless unaccountable breed.
One of the main reasons behind the falsified breath tests was a ‘lack of supervision’ . Ethical in all other aspects of the force of course.
I hope to inspire the Gardai, to work as hard as me, to be the shield that protects the taxpayers from the hostile elements of society. I am confident my brilliant wisdom bestowed on these brave people will be used.
Thank you journal for showing these pictures, I am truly Ireland’s most charismatic, most trusted and inspiring leader.
@Socky Varadkar: Go on the Socky ya mad thing!!!
Sh ut up Leo
Hitler said that first.
so Leo is now popping up at the cops passing out parades to give inane motivational talks to new recruits, what next will he be turning up at teachers and nurses conferring ceremonies ?
If he is serious about reform in AGS, then we need less platitudinous blather and more action in relation to the wrongs uncovered by the disclosures tribunal , destined to gather more dust on another shelf in the DOJ
What a tool, his loyalty is to himself and definitely not his position in Government. He makes Enda Kenny’s term as Taoiseach look reasonable. A dreadful leader of Government, caught up with spin and more spin and manipulation of the media. The men of 1916 must be turning in their graves. Country is soulless with the morons in Government and the tool from Cork is a disaster. A bumbling gobsh@te
What a plonker he’s worse than Bertie he’d turn up at the picking of a. Snot if he get a photo op and at least Bertie never looked down his superior nose at you – off course the uniform didn’t safe Maurice McCabe as it was those in uniforms who pilloried him
Their loyalty should be to the people of the republic of Ireland.
In fairness, Leo would know a lot about loyalism, seeing as he’s been spending so much time recently wearing orange and meeting with his new BFFs in the lodge.
@European Bob: *wearing orange socks ☺
Your suit says nothing about you Mr.Socks .
FFS shut your trap Varadkar
Hypocritical gimp!
Put TD pay increases aside and give the increases to the front line staff!
indeed
You tell them you unelected clown
Your loyalty is to the uniform and not the person wearing it…
Some lines from Shaw to stew on. Pick out your own gems but I like “not intelligent, only opinionated” and “not loyal… only servile” or, how about “not dutiful, only sheepish; not public spirited, only patriotic.”
“Your friends are all the dullest dogs I know. They are not beautiful: they are only decorated. They are not clean: they are only shaved and starched. They are not dignified: they are only fashionably dressed. They are not educated: they are only college passmen. They are not religious: they are only pewrenters. They are not moral: they are only conventional. They are not virtuous: they are only cowardly. They are not even vicious: they are only “frail.” They are not artistic: they are only lascivious. They are not prosperous: they are only rich. They are not loyal, they are only servile; not dutiful, only sheepish; not public spirited, only patriotic; not courageous, only quarrelsome; not determined, only obstinate; not masterful, only domineering; not self-controlled, only obtuse; not self-respecting, only vain; not kind, only sentimental; not social, only gregarious; not considerate, only polite; not intelligent, only opinionated; not progressive, only factious; not imaginative, only superstitious; not just, only vindictive; not generous, only propitiatory; not disciplined, only cowed; and not truthful at all: liars every one of them, to the very backbone of their souls.”
Sodamite speaks
The gardi are a digrace to their uniform they should be disbanded as were the ruc
Too much corupption for too many years,
For people to have any respect for them they need a new name and a new begining
And its the ones at the top of the force are poisoning the the ones at the bottom, terrible for a country not to have faith in their own police force, it demoralizes the whole country
Loyalty to the people should be shown for the past as well as the present. It seems that the past has been forgotten about as far as Leo and Drew is concerned. I’m sure they know what I mean.
It takes a lot of manpower to generate over 2 million fake breath tests and nobody lost their job over it. Appatently it was a crime too widespread to investigate !! No sacking over the Templemore financial wrongdoing . No sacking over the scrubbing of penalty points for Gardai and family members . GRA were quiet boys when Sgt McCabe was persecuted.
A grossly overpaid bunch of whingers layabouts and incompetents.
Indeed. Let’s see what happens this guy https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1122487727899947&id=100004161915324
that’s a laugh coming from a man who is not even irish running our country into the ground
have your say