The President of the Irish Athletics Boxing Association (IABA) said: He revealed that he had been charged with sexual assault a year ago.
Gerry O'Mahony was charged with sexual assault in May last year. He will appear at Dungarvan District Court in Waterford on May 15, 2023.
No court appearances were reported at the time and O'Mahony continued to serve as IABA president.
The law stipulates that the prison sentence upon indictment shall not exceed 10 years.
The case has been sent to the Circuit Criminal Court for trial by jury and was last mentioned on May 27, 2024. The trial date is now set for July 2.
Contacted on Wednesday, IABA president Neil O'Carroll said he was not aware of the issue and it had never been discussed at board level.
“It is important to point out that while Jerry's role is a volunteer and an elected role, he is not a member of staff, nor does he receive compensation in any way from the IABA, it is purely a volunteer position as an elected member,” he said. .
The association later released a statement saying it had first learned of O'Mahony's involvement in the litigation, and that “he has voluntarily offered to step down as IABA president until these matters are resolved.”
“These duties will include a full range of domestic and international activities,” the statement said. Mr O'Mahony was due to attend the Olympics next month as a sports ambassador.
“We are mindful of the presumption of innocence of each individual and will not be making any further media comments regarding this matter, which is currently before the courts,” the statement concluded.
The allegation is that O'Mahony sexually assaulted the woman at The Village Inn, Strandside, Abbeyside, Dungarvan, on an unknown date between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010.
O'Mahony was one of two people appointed last month to attend the Olympics as the association's goodwill ambassadors to “represent the Irish boxing family”.
They will be “appointed as IABA's first ambassadors in recognition of their many years of significant contributions to the sport and community of boxing both at home and abroad.”
Gerry O'Mahony has been elected IABA president in July 2022 after a period of turmoil within the association.
Prior to being elected to that position he had been president of the Munster branch of the Association for over 15 years.
The final lineup for the IABA tournament was announced last weekend, with four boxers winning the preliminary rounds in Bangkok, bringing the total number of competitors to a record 10.
Not since 1960 has a national team sent so many boxers to an Olympic final.
Following his win, O'Mahony released a statement saying he was delighted for all the fighters who took part.
“It's a big day for Irish boxing, for all the clubs in Ireland, it gives them something to aim for,” he said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“This is really great for all the kids who boxed and for those who didn't make it. It wasn't for a lack of trying. They gave it their all and we're so proud of them all.”
The success of this qualification round means Ireland will have boxers in every category in the women's competition, as well as four out of seven divisions in the men's competition.
