THE OWNER OF the National Flight Centre has said he decided not to fly an anti-John Delaney banner over the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, after it “became contentious.”
Captain Kieran O’Connor, who is a pilot with 45 years of experience, denied claims of outside influence, telling TheJournal.ie “There is nothing else involved in this.”
A group of Irish football fans had banded together to pay €922 for a plane to fly over the stadium before the Ireland-Scotland match, carrying a banner saying “ENOUGH IS €NOUGH #DELANEYOUT.”
The planned protest against the FAI Chief Executive attracted significant attention on Friday evening, but was cancelled by the National Flight Centre before its scheduled take-off from Weston Airport on the Kildare/Dublin border on Saturday afternoon.
One of the supporters, Keith McLoughlin, told TheJournal.ie nobody from the group was informed of the cancellation until he went to the airport himself to watch it take off, and was told it had been grounded “for maintenance.”
Gardaí confirmed in a statement that they also visited the flight centre earlier on Saturday afternoon, and “were informed that the plane would not be taking off due to technical issues.”
Gardaí attended Weston Airport on Saturday 13th June 2015 to advise those in charge of the plane about their legal and safety requirements under Air Navigation legislation and to be aware of flight paths if flying over or near the Aviva Stadium.
Later in the afternoon, however, staff at the airport informed McLoughlin the grounding of the flight was due to the controversial nature of the banner, and not for technical reasons.
This afternoon, O’Connor refused to comment, when these contradictory explanations were put to him by TheJournal.ie.
However, he admitted taking the booking on Thursday, and being aware of the banner’s message at that time, but said subsequent controversy changed his mind.
These guys took a photograph of it before the event and they put it in the newspapers, and after they did, that’s when the contention started.
And that contention obviously influenced me in not towing the banner – it’s as simple as that.
I said ‘Woah, that’s contentious, I’m not getting involved in this.’
The Ireland supporters group have been promised a full refund, as O’Connor noted.
I don’t want to lose the money. I’d rather put the money in my pocket, but you’ve got to think about the other man [Delaney].
They got the money back and that’s the end of it.
The group of Ireland supporters, including some living abroad, are calling for John Delaney to be removed as Chief Executive of the FAI, or step down.
In a statement before the weekend, they criticised heightened security and the confiscation of an anti-Delaney banner at the Ireland-England match on 7 June.
These acts are a clear attempt to silence those that simply wished to display their dismay at how football is being run in this country.
TheJournal.ie requested comment from the FAI, but did not receive a response at the time of publication.
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