Louth County Board have confirmed chairman Peter Fitzpatrick resigned on Sunday night, only to change his mind and end up leading talks with Croke Park officials today.
Yesterday, Fitzpatrick was due to oversee a stadium announcement ceremony at the proposed site for the 14,000 capacity stadium in Dundalk, but those plans were shelved on Sunday after the GAA’s An Coiste Bainistíochta met at the weekend and agreed to instruct Louth not to proceed with the current plans pending a reassessment.
Louth officials met on Sunday night to discuss the issue, with speculation following Fitzpatrick had quit.
Louth GAA revealed today: "Louth GAA chairperson Peter Fitzpatrick had tendered his resignation on Sunday night but following discussions in the last 24 hours, he has withdrawn his resignation and will lead delegation to Croke Park this afternoon."
Last month, Louth GAA announced that Ganson LTD had been appointed main contractor for the project, with a start date set for 17 July. However, project costs are now reported to be approximately €25m, more than double the initial €12m forecast.
Louth are hopeful of accumulating €18m for the project and are hoping for GAA funding to make up the deficit, but there appears to be a dispute over the proof of funding.
The former Wee County manager, who guided the side to the 2010 Leinster final - which they lost to a controversial Meath goal from Joe Sheridan - was appointed to the position in December 2019 and ten months later planning permission for the stadium was granted.
Two months after that, they appointed Mickey Harte as their senior football manager with Fitzpatrick believed to have played a key role in the three-time All-Ireland winner heading to Leinster.
He will be part of discussions with the GAA today as they attempt to iron out the issues.
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