On May 4th, the irregularities of Olympic Handball Ireland in managing the governance of this organization in the country were published by us. Since then, an email was sent by the Secretary himself on the same day, followed by two responses that we received from the Minister of State for Sport's Office in Ireland and the European Handball Federation. All these are explained in our previous articles. If you are not familiar with the overall situation, please refer to those articles, as it is a complex issue that cannot be summarized in a few sentences.
Recently, on May 31st, the OHI Secretary, Michael Moloney, sent a second email to the clubs as detailed below.
The actions of the Olympic Handball Ireland board, particularly in their above announcement of a Club Forum meeting, continue to highlight their hesitation to address the longstanding issue of re-elections of board positions affected by irregularities for the past 7 years. This style of postponement and distraction has become all too familiar to club members over the years, with the board failing to take meaningful action despite their claims of engaging with Sport Ireland and the European Handball Federation. Instead of prioritizing transparency and accountability, they continue to avoid the real issues and divert attention towards new topics.
It is clear that the OHI board's actions do not align with their stated commitment to transparency in sport.
By ignoring the crucial issue of re-elections, they weaken the organization's integrity even more and further erode the handball community's trust. Furthermore, the lack of intervention from Sport Ireland and the European Handball Federation is disappointing, as these organizations have a responsibility to sustain the principles of good governance and ensure compliance with the law.
In light of these facts, it is important that the OHI board and relevant governing bodies take immediate action to rectify the situation. The handball community deserves better, and it is time for those in positions of power to demonstrate their commitment to transparency, accountability, and the rule of law. Not meeting these standards not only makes the sport look bad, but it also disappoints the people who worked and work hard for their clubs to make the sport grow in Ireland.
The decision taken by OHI to announce the Club Forum meeting in the coming weeks, as per the Secretary's words, is due to the fact that "an issue concerning the electoral cycle for the president / chairman of Olympic Handball Ireland has recently emerged" between other agenda topics. What's important to highlight here is that the concern isn't just about the presidency, it extends to other board positions too. This includes the Secretary position held by Michael Moloney, the one who sent this announcement, the Technical Director position held by Andrea Ongaro, and the Ordinary Board Member position held by Peter Caulfield. None of these positions have been open for re-election for the past 7 years every 3 years as is says in the Constitution.
In light of these circumstances, it's essential to consider the totality of the board positions that have been kept illegally in the past 7 years.
Does the Secretary's approach of not addressing the multiple missed re-election positions within the OHI seem in line with promoting transparency within the organization?
By not mentioning the open re-elections for all these positions in this coming meeting, does it seem like an attempt to remedy the issues within the Irish Handball organization?
The Secretary mentioned that the board “have been continuously engaging with the European Handball Federation and Sport Ireland to discuss the governance of the organization, ensuring transparency and good governance remain a high priority for the OHI.” However, this statement does not reflect any transparency or a high priority for good governance. The Irish handball community continues to lack trust in the organization, as nothing has been communicated to its members or publicly regarding the transparency of the situation. Furthermore, there has been no indication of any commitment to “good governance,” as no action has been taken to open the board positions for re-elections.
At the same time, while Sport Ireland serves as the statutory body responsible for the promotion, support, and development of sport in Ireland—providing funding, resources, and guidance to national governing bodies such as Olympic Handball Ireland (OHI)—its effectiveness comes into question in situations where the best practices outlined in its “Governance Code for Sport, A Code of Practice for Good Governance of Sport Organisations in Ireland,” keep being unrespected by OHI.
Despite its role, Sport Ireland appears to have no influence in directly addressing irregularities within OHI, particularly in urging the board to reopen all positions that have faced issues throughout these years.
As mentioned in our previous article titled “Reactions of the Irish Handball Issues by Some Authority Voices in Sport,” we discussed the position of the Minister of State for Sport's Office in Ireland, Mr. Darragh Hogan, on this matter of not getting involved. He chose not to intervene in the issues surrounding Olympic Handball Ireland (OHI) and instead allowed Sport Ireland to handle them. However, this was done without any collaboration between the Minister's Office and Sport Ireland to ensure that the rules and regulations are respected and as a consequence, no changes are planned to be done from OHI side so far.
We stand by our statement once again. It's crucial to recognize that without effective collaboration between the Minister and Sport Ireland, there's a risk that the issues within the OHI may not be addressed adequately, potentially undermining the trust and credibility of sports organizations.
In regard to OHI's claim of "continuously engaging with the European Handball Federation,'" we have raised questions in our previous article regarding the response received of giving "full trust" to OHI, despite the repeated and significant violations that have been brought to their attention.
The statement from OHI side about the governance of the organization to ensure transparency and good governance that "remain a high priority", with Sport Ireland and European Handball Federation, has not been demonstrated by these 2 authorities and either by the OHI and more specifically by the one who wrote the email, the Secretary Michael Moloney. As himself is being one of the board members facing the same situation as other colleagues from the board.
What is concerning is how the lack of compliance to the law in the re-election of multiple board positions, with individuals retaining their positions illegally over the years, is being overlooked, not only by Olympic Handball Ireland, but by Sport Ireland and European Handball Federation too.
Club members are expecting re-elections, transparency, fairness, and a clear demonstration of compliance with the law, without prolonging the discussions when the concerns of the handball community are clear.
As mentioned in the email, the Secretary stated that clubs need to send representatives to the meeting. Given OHI's affirmation from above of "encouraging transparency," we request that this meeting be made public. To be for all club members or ex-members who wish to join and participate. That's a sign of transparency to allow everyone to be part of the meeting. Everyone should have the opportunity to ask questions and contribute to the "positive engagement to promote Olympic Handball and move the sport forward," as per the Secretary's request.
The primary concern of Irish clubs at this stage is to address the issue of re-election positions, which is crucial for advancing organizational duties and future plans. Discussions on various board points from the Secretary’s agenda, are currently irrelevant when the main problem remains unaddressed by the current OHI board, not pushed by the Sport Ireland and not having European Handball Federation taken position of the serosity of the problem that the Irish community is facing for years. It's essential that these authorities acknowledge and take action on the persistent challenges that the Irish handball community is facing.
Taking into consideration the actions of OHI and the ignorance of the main irregularities within the organization, should Olympic Handball Ireland continue to run as an independent, autonomous body responsible for its own governance procedures, as Mr. Darragh Hogan, that talked on behalf of Mr Thomas Byrne, the Minister of State for Sport’s Office from Ireland, or is it time to get directly involved and demonstrate the power of law and true transparency in sport?
Should we also "fully trust" as the European Handball Federation did right from the start, without considering the illegalities within the organization? Or should we all stand up and demand respect for the law?
I bet now they will change the Constitution, just like Mr. Putin. 🙂