'It's a disgrace' - Billy Walsh backs Bernard Dunne in IABA fallout

Former IABA high performance director Billy Walsh has urged Sport Ireland and the government to "make people accountable for their actions" in the wake of Bernard Dunne's acrimonious departure from the boxing association.

Dunne's exit stems from a complaint he lodged against two volunteers back in October 2021 after an unsigned SWOT analysis critical of his performance was circulated at board level prior to the Tokyo Games, where Ireland's boxers would deliver a gold (Kellie Harrington) and a bronze (Aidan Walsh).

The IABA said that it "has always regarded this document as malicious and an appalling attack on a member of staff and on the high performance unit", and aired their hope that Dunne will change his mind and return to his post.

However Walsh, who resigned from the high performance position in 2015, said too much damage has been done for Dunne to come back, adding that the Dubliner has been in "a bad place" for months.

"I think it's crazy to be at this stage," Walsh told Claire Byrne Live. "Three (high) performance directors later, two Oireachtas Committee meetings - which ended up just being talk shops - and nothing has happened.

"Nobody has stood up and actually taken these people to task. It's a disgrace. There's people's psychological welfare being affected by this.

"Sport Ireland, or the Irish Government, need to stand up and make people accountable for their actions - or their inactions.

"To leave was such a difficult thing for me. I spent lots of nights crying on my own. I was in Doha when I made the decision that I was going to resign.

"Psychologically I was in a bad place and I know Bernard has been in a bad place for several months now, because this has been going on since February 2021 and it hasn't been