WRC heard evidence from former Dundalk FC official on his unfair dismissal

The Workplace Relations Commission heard evidence yesterday from former Dundalk FC Chief Operations Officer, Martin Connolly, on his unfair dismissal from the club last year.

According to an RTÉ report, the former COO is now working shifts in a factory, and also alleged that former Dundalk FC owner Brian Ainscough "didn't do any due diligence" in his deal to take over the club.

Mr. Connolly said Mr. Ainscough’s words to him were: "Do what you have to do and leave. I will honour what is in your contract," after coming into his office on 26 February 2024.

"I sorted out a few things in my office, contacted a few people, and I was gone in a few hours," Mr. Connolly said.

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Cillian McGovern BL, a barrister acting for the club - which is now under new management - was asked today whether it was "conceding" Mr. Connolly’s complaint by a WRC adjudication officer.

Mr. McGovern, who was instructed by solicitor David Lane of McGroddy Brennan LLP, said: "I don’t think Mr. Connolly had a material contribution to his own dismissal.

"He was given three months’ notice by the former owner. Thereafter he went home. He was paid for that. On 22 May [2024] the employment was effectively ended."

Adjudicator Kara Turner said her notes of the previous date recorded that Mr. Connolly had already given evidence of being told "he was being let go" on 26 February 2024 and that "no notice period" was discussed with him.

She said: "He was not told that he would be paid up to May 2024. There were no communications - but he was paid up til May 2024, that’s the direct evidence I have."

After the tribunal was told that Mr. Ainscough would not be attending to give evidence, Mr. Connolly’s barrister Aaron Shearer BL said there was no evidence capable of being led that gain says what the complainant said at the last hearing.

Under questioning, Mr. Connolly said he did not return to the club after February 2024 and was "unemployed, just at home".

He said he contacted his solicitor when his salary payments stopped in May 2024. Mr. McGovern put it to him that there was a clause allowing for three months' pay in lieu of notice.

Mr. Connolly said: "I just contacted my solicitor and asked him for guidance. I do remember a clause in my contract about an 18-month payment."

He said this was on the basis of a "mutually-agreed early exit".

Mr. McGovern said it was accepted that Mr Connolly was not notified in writing of his dismissal, but his contract referred to payment in lieu of notice and this is what Mr Ainscough had done.

"I wasn’t aware of anything. It wasn’t explained to me why. The conversation was very brief, and shortly after that I contacted my solicitor to find out where I stood and what the situation was," he said.

"Did you understand the club was in extreme financial difficulty," Mr. McGovern asked.

"I didn't, because Mr. Ainscough and I, we never had that discussion. He had taken over the club the previous November, and it seemed to me he wasn't fully aware of the situation," Mr. Connolly said.

"What was the situation?" counsel asked. "He didn’t do any due diligence. He took the club over, he spoke with the parties, he took it over very quickly," Mr Connolly said.

Mr. Connolly added when questioned that a company called StatSports had been the previous majority owner of Dundalk, with his brother a minority shareholder.

He said it was his "opinion" that Mr. Ainscough had not done his "due diligence". Mr. Connolly said: "There was a lot of information that seemed to be new to him."

He added later that a previous takeover process had taken 15 or 16 months due to the requirements of due diligence, but that Mr. Ainscough had done a deal in two weeks.

Mr. Connolly had applied for around six or seven jobs before taking a temporary position in a factory in Cabinteely in Dublin run by biopharmaceuticals company Amgen, in September 2024, Mr. Shearer said.

His evidence was that he had two unsuccessful job interviews between the end of his employment and taking up the factory job, including discussions on one role with the Football Association of Ireland,

The factory job paid just under €43,000 a year and involved 12-hour shifts in a factory, the tribunal was told - and involved a commute of 90 minutes to two hours. "At that stage I was looking at anything, to be honest," Mr. Connolly said.

In a closing submission, Mr. Shearer said the dismissal was "accepted to have been unfair" and that his client was in a position to claim for four months’ loss of salary from the COO job at €50,000 per annum, along with an ongoing loss after taking up the Amgen role.

He said that in setting the award, the WRC would have to take into account the "damage" to his client's reputation and ability to find work and switch jobs caused by being "very publicly dismissed by a very public employer".

Mr. McGovern said the complainant had presented evidence of "two job applications in 120 days" and had not sought higher-paying work since taking up the factory job.

"I submit on the finding that the claimant was unfairly dismissed that his loss is effectively nil on foot of his extremely poor mitigation," Mr. McGovern said.

Ms. Turner closed the hearing and said she would give her decision to the parties "in due course".