![\"18](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/002478d2-614.jpg\"\/)
\nBarry O’Connor has resigned from the HSI’s High Performance Advisory Group<\/p>\n
The State-funded body governing equestrian sport in Ireland has been plunged into fresh controversy after a series of resignations linked to governance concerns at the organisation.<\/p>\n
Representatives for professional riders and equine veterinarians have resigned from senior positions at Horse Sport Ireland (HSI), saying their roles are no longer tenable at the authority which oversees showjumping, eventing, dressage and other equine activities.<\/p>\n
The departures come after the Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon insisted he was unaware of an industrial relations tribunal finding against a senior vet appointed to the board of HSI two weeks.ago.<\/p>\n
Dr Robert Huey was criticised in a 2021 ruling in Northern Ireland for engaging in “intimidating” and “patronising” actions towards a whistleblower who raised animal welfare concerns.<\/p>\n
Dr Tamara Bronckaers later received a \u00a31.25 million (\u20ac1.42m) settlement from the North’s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs after successfully winning her constructive dismissal case.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the Irish Equine Veterinary Association (IEVA) said it has decided to immediately withdraw its representation from Horse Sport Ireland.<\/p>\n
“This decision follows ongoing governance concerns that have made continued representation untenable at this time. While regretting the need to take this step, the Irish Equine Veterinary Association remains committed to constructive engagement across the sector and is open to future collaboration with Horse Sport Ireland,” it said.<\/p>\n
Speaking to RT\u00c9 News, the IEVA’s Dr Siobhan McAuliffe said she had resigned her position on the board of HSI and that two other members of the IEVA had stepped back from their positions on HSI committees.<\/p>\n
\nBarry O’Connor has resigned from the HSI’s High Performance Advisory Group<\/p>\n
Separately, the Athlete representative Barry O’Connor has resigned from the HSI’s High Performance Advisory Group.<\/p>\n
O’Connor had been involved in preparations for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. He previously spoke at the Oireachtas as to the benefits of horse sport for the Exchequer.<\/p>\n
“Stakeholders in the industry haven’t a say in the execution of policy any longer. I’ve been involved in the industry for 25 years. I was picked by the riders to be the high performance riders representative. But I now believe it is a waste of time”, explained O’Connor to RT\u00c9.<\/p>\n
O’Connor also criticised what he saw as a lack of engagement with the Departments of Agriculture and Sport to harness potential economic benefits of the horse sport industry.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for the Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon said the resignations were a matter for Horse Sport Ireland.<\/p>\n
However, addressing Dr Robert Huey’s recent appointment, they outlined how the Articles of Association of Horse Sport Ireland state how one board appointee must come from Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
“A Department Official and a representative of the Northern Ireland Sports Forum interviewed the nominees to evaluate the competencies and skills that were needed to complement the skillset of the Board as a whole,” they said.<\/p>\n
“Candidates were asked during the interview process if they have any Conflicts of Interest to declare. Five candidates were interviewed. The Minister appointed the person following consultation with Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD, and Minister of State with responsibility for Sport and Postal Policy, Charlie McConalogue TD,” they said.<\/p>\n
“At the time it was felt Mr Huey had the required expertise and governance experience to effectively contribute as a Director to the Board of Horse Sport Ireland,” they added.<\/p>\n
![\"Minister](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/00239982-614.jpg\"\/)
\nMinister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan<\/p>\n
However, the Department confirmed the Minister was not aware of Huey being named and criticised in a DAERA industrial relations tribunal in 2021.<\/p>\n
“Mr Huey was questioned whether he had any conflicts of interest in relation to the role for which he was been considered. He declared he had none,” they added.<\/p>\n
In a statement, Horse Sport Ireland said it “operates in full compliance with recognised governance standards, including the Sport Ireland Governance Code and, where applicable, the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies. The organisation remains committed to maintaining the highest standards of transparency, accountability, and good governance across all its activities.”<\/p>\n
The organisation said it had contacted the IEVA to seek a better understanding of the basis for this decision to withdraw representation.<\/p>\n
HSI also acknowledged the contribution of Barry O\u2019Connor, thanking him for his time and engagement.<\/p>\n
“Following his decision to step down, a process will commence over the coming months to appoint a replacement athlete representative,” the group added.<\/p>\n
In February, Fianna F\u00e1il Senator Joe Flaherty raised “serious misgivings” about Horse Sport Ireland when speaking in the Seanad.<\/p>\n
Flaherty called on the Department of Agriculture and Sport Ireland to look at ceasing state funding to the organisation.<\/p>\n
“The level of HR strife within the organisation in a very short window is deeply troubling,” he told the chamber.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The State-funded body governing equestrian sport in Ireland has been plunged into fresh controversy after a series of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":483111,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-483110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}