Oppose Drogheda United Dismissal Of Joanna Byrne

The recent ousting of Joanna Byrne TD, the first female co-chairperson of Drogheda United Football Club, by the rest of the board of directors is a warning to all other League of Ireland (LOI) clubs, their fans and staff.

Byrne was asked to comment on whether Ireland should play Israel in September and October of 2026. In a statement as a Sinn Féin spokesperson for Sport Byrne noted that: 

“It appears that their morals, and principled position, was only on paper – not in actions where it counts… Israel should not be in this competition”.   

This caused unease at the highest levels within the club she had led without any incident beforehand. The statement was issued in a political capacity and did not mention Drogheda United at any point.

However this started a chain of events including a statement from club owner the Trivela Group, which led to Byrne being removed. Questions need answering. Why move against Joanna Byrne now and not when Trivela bought the team in 2023?

Who was behind all this and what was the motivation? What do fans of the club do in response to this?

The Trivela Group was founded in 2021 by Ben Boycott in Alabama. Joining him on the board were Ken Polk and Marc Koretsky, Bill Boycott joined later as project manager.

Trivela owns four football teams in Europe, Africa and Haiti. Part of its charm offensive in Ireland included a meeting at the Irish Stock Exchange in November 2024.

Being part of a multi club setup caused difficulty for Drogheda as they were denied a license to compete in the 2025/2026 Conference League under UEFA rules on multi club ownership - Trivela chose Danish side Silkeborg IF as entrants in the competition.

Through Trivela FC in Togo the club stadium is named after Vapor Ministries. Vapor Ministries operates  four “Thrift Stores” in Alabama and has missionaries in Togo, Kenya and beyond, Ben Boycott served on its board. 

While all statements from Trivela are couched enough to hide the real motives behind the dislike of the statement made by Joanna Byrne on the Ireland-Israel fixtures, their actions make it clear that it was reason enough to force her out of the club.

It looks like the whole episode appears to have split the fan base. The F45U Ultras offered full support with others silent. Local media such as LMFM while interviewing Joanna Byrne on March 24th, allowed presenter Gerry Kelly five days beforehand to give the usual story about keeping sport and politics separate while singing the praises of Trivela for clearing debts while suggesting that the whole controversy was got up by an unnamed political party.

The one minute thirty second opinion piece sounded like a piece of public relations rubbish with a large love letter to the Trivela Group attached.

What are the consequences of all this? What do we do now?

The effects of this will ripple through the League of Ireland. Undoubtedly there will be those within clubs who will want to use this as a reason to carry out their own silencing of individuals who raise issues at clubs that go well beyond football.

Indeed it is highly likely that people could find themselves ‘out the door’ using Joanna Byrne as the pretext. This must be resisted by staff and volunteers at all clubs. Joanna Byrne has been removed for expressing an honestly held opinion on whether an international match should or should not be played, who is next?

Free speech on Palestine and other issues is at stake. The next steps involve not attending fixtures including Drogheda United FC - a boycott. This starts in Drogheda itself, with an active campaign needed to force Trivela to reinstate Joanna ASAP. Hit the owners where it hurts - in the pocket. Refuse to attend all games that the team plays at other venues. This will need much organising but can have the impact needed. 

Before 2023 Drogheda United were a fan owned club. This was necessary across the league as there were no sugar daddy types to keep clubs going. Volunteers were/are a central pillar of most teams, money was in short supply. This has changed in recent years with increased attendances and more media attention. Football vloggers are seen at Drogheda and other venues with cameras ready.

A visit from a popular vlogger can yield thousands of views on Youtube and other platforms. It all adds up to bigger exposure. This brings LOI teams to the attention of big money investors. The results are mixed.

Success for Shamrock Rovers, convulsions at Shelbourne when new owner Acan Illicali tried to sack Damien Duff and was driven from the club. Rumblings at Galway United over how billionaire owning Comer brothers run things at the Dyke Road.

Trouble at Cork City with businessman Dermot Usher facing protests over ticket price hikes and a club yo yoing between the First and Premier Divisions, while at Waterford, ex chair Andy Pilley is currently serving a thirteen year sentence for retaining criminal property, defrauding creditors and giving false representation for personal gain.

There are ways of avoiding all of this, it is particularly relevant to the remaining fan owned clubs in the LOI. 

1. Those clubs that are fan owned should remain so. It means refusing outside investment in most if not all cases, even if it means the club going bust and a new ‘Phoenix’ club replacing it on the same fan owned basis as before. 

2. The basis of fan owned clubs is one member one vote, also known as democracy. This principle must be respected at all times within clubs in order for them to function and plan for the future (success or failure included). 

3. Fans of clubs bought out should prepare for a return to fan ownership. This involves a lot of fundraising, conversations and having a long term plan but can and do succeed usually in small ways such as Fisher FC and Clapton CFC.