One of the most heated political races in the history of Irish sport ended last night when Mr Pat Hickey was comfortably re-elected for a fourth term as president of the Olympic Council of Ireland.
Of the 37 votes cast at the a.g.m. of the Olympic Council in Dublin's Jurys Hotel, Mr Hickey defeated Mr Richard Burrows by 27 votes to 10. It was an anti-climactic conclusion to what had become an absorbing fight for one of the top jobs in Irish sport.
For Mr Burrows, the joint managing director of Pernod Ricard and an accomplished sailor, ousting Mr Hickey was always going to require a significant change of heart from a number of the 27 Irish sporting federations, as well as the council's 10-man executive body.
Despite the well-documented backing from sports such as athletics, boxing, swimming and cycling, Mr Burrows failed to secure a shift in the support for Mr Hickey from the executive body. His 10 votes were less than some pre-election campaigning had indicated.
"I'm absolutely overwhelmed at this result," said an emotional Mr Hickey. "I must be doing something right. But I would like to say a sincere thank you to all the federations who supported me, and to those who didn't, I hope I can gain your support over the next four years.
Mr Hickey, who is also a member of the International Olympic Committee, now goes forward for another four-year term as president of the organisation which is responsible for the selection, preparation and partial funding of the Irish Olympic teams in the build-up to the 2004 Games in Athens. He has held the position since 1989.
"While I am disappointed at the result I am not surprised," Mr Burrows said. "I have been greatly heartened by the support I received but I still hope the need for change will be speedily implemented."
But the election was not without its minor controversy. The Irish Basketball Association arrived without its expected senior delegate, Mr Scott McCarthy, and the meeting ruled that the second most senior executive, Ms Mary Baneham, would instead cast the vote. The IBA had intended to have its president, Mr Finn Ahern, cast the vote but that request was overruled.
There was an even stronger victory in the vote for vice-president when Mr Louis Kilcoyne, representing the Football Association of Ireland, was re-elected by 30 votes to seven ahead of Mr Nick Davis of the Athletics Association of Ireland.
