Chief Executive of GOAL John O'Shea is to retire next month from the post he has held since he founded the organisation in 1977.
His retirement was announced this afternoon in statements from Mr O'Shea and from the board of the humanitarian agency.
The move follows the settlement, also announced today, of his High Court action, aimed at restraining the GOAL board from taking any steps to suspend or remove him from his position.
Ms Justice Mary Laffoy was told by Paul McGarry SC, for Mr O'Shea, that the matter had been settled and could be struck out.
No details of the settlement, which was welcomed by the judge, were revealed in open court.
In a statement issued following the conclusion of court proceedings, it was announced that Mr O'Shea will retire from his role as CEO at the end of August after a mutually acceptable arrangement was agreed between the parties.
In addition GOAL's board has said that it "intends to explore opportunities to collaborate with John for the betterment of the organisation given John's vast experience and expertise."
The statement added that Mr O'Shea "would like to thank all of those people involved in GOAL, especially the thousands of GOALies, who assisted the organisation over many years in alleviating the suffering of the world's poor."
The board has said it wanted to pay tribute to Mr O'Shea and his "astonishing work and contribution to GOAL and support for the downtrodden of the developing world is deservedly renowned.
“Since 1977 GOAL has delivered over $1bn in aid and emergency relief programmes to the poorest of poor in over 50 countries, saving tens of thousands of lives and improving countless others,” it said.
In a statement, Mr O'Shea said: "I wish to express my profound thanks to many thousands of individuals who have helped me in my efforts to alleviate the suffering of some of the poorest people on the planet.
He said, “I would like to pay a special tribute to the citizens of Ireland who have been so phenomenally generous in their financial support of GOAL since the organisation's inception in 1977.
Mr O'Shea said “I am proud to be a fellow countryman of such people. To the many international donors and governments, especially the Irish Government. I also offer my deep thanks and appreciation for the trust and financial assistance they invested in GOAL over the years.
He added: “I wish GOAL continued success and I know that the organisation will remain true to its philosophy of bringing relief to those in greatest need - the poorest of the poor."
