It appears to be all change at the Irish Sailing Association this year, with some long-term staff members departing Park Road Headquarters in Dun Laoghaire on Dublin Bay.
Four staff have resigned from Irish Sailing in 2023 so far. The most recent are the Head of Communications, Treasa Cox, and South Coast Development Officer, Gail McAllister.
There were other Project Management, Support Services and Accounts departures in that period, too, new CEO Tim Bourke told Afloat.
As regular Afloat readers will recall, ISA President John Twomey hosted a drinks party at the Royal St. George Yacht Club with Sport Ireland's top brass and selected guests in attendance to wave off former CEO Harry Hermon last December.
The longest-serving CEO in Irish sport told the Christmas-time retirement gathering he was leaving the national governing body on a 'stable footing'.
From a staff point of view, however, it appears to have been anything but as Irish Sailing deals with what it describes this week as a 'change of leader and period of change'.
The sailing body hit troubled water in the personnel dept when Hermon was followed out the door early in the new year by two admin staff, one of which wrote to colleagues: "I had not anticipated being in a position where I would be writing this email to you at this stage of my career with Irish Sailing".
In May, we learned of the departure of long-serving regional development officer McAllister after 11 years, who exited weeks after briefing the ICRA National Conference on a buoyant year ahead. Likewise, the Head of Communications announced her departure in June after a six-year stint.
Bourke, who took on the role in January 2023, is not quite sailing solo but is looking to steady the ship with some new crew.
Personnel at Irish Sailing numbered 17 (between part and full-time) in October 2022. Bourke says the number of staff is currently 15 (between part and full-time), which should rise with planned appointments.
He says about the current recruitment situation: "Three of the roles have been successfully filled. Additional roles in Data and Digital Communications have been secured. Recruitment is ongoing for a Head of Communications and a Chief Operating Officer. We are pleased with the number of applicants for the roles".
Happily, "no further departures are anticipated", he adds.