{"id":596015,"date":"2026-07-21T02:06:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T02:06:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/596015\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T02:06:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T02:06:11","slug":"not-an-investigation-so-why-are-munster-rugby-carrying-out-a-root-and-branch-review-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/596015\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Not an investigation\u2019: So why are Munster Rugby carrying out a root-and-branch review? \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Munster Rugby<\/a> are undergoing a governance and organisational review under the independent chairmanship of Martin Kelleher. He issued a press release on Monday to clarify the nature of the undertaking and provide background. Here\u2019s a brief explainer of a process that is \u201cprogressing\u201d. <\/p>\n

Who called for the review?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe board of Munster Rugby has commissioned the review to assess whether the organisation\u2019s governance, leadership, culture, engagement and communication, organisational and operational arrangements are appropriate and effective,\u201d the release states.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the nature of the review?<\/b><\/p>\n

The release says \u201cthe review is forward-looking in nature\u201d. <\/p>\n

But how is that going to identify system failures, flaws or issues that pertained to past governance and necessitated the review<\/b>?<\/b><\/p>\n

The next part of the release is particularly puzzling. \u201cIt is not an investigation, a disciplinary process or a fault-finding exercise, and it does not seek to attribute blame to individuals. Its purpose is to support learning and reform, to strengthen governance, accountability and decision making, and to position Munster Rugby for long-term sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n

If its purpose is not to look for historical precedent or to expose or find flaws, then how can previous glitches or shortcomings be investigated, and those findings or lessons unearthed to ensure <\/b>better governance <\/b>in future?<\/b><\/p>\n

The tone and content of the release don\u2019t explicitly deal with that scenario, which seems an oversight at face value.<\/p>\n

Who is driving the review besides Kelleher?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe review is the responsibility of the independent chair, Martin Kelleher, and a board-appointed steering group. It is being conducted by The Governance Company, an independent consultancy specialising in corporate governance, led by David W Duffy. The chair and the steering group report independently to the board. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe chair is independent of Munster Rugby and holds no conflict of interest that could compromise objectivity. The conduct of the review, its methodology, its evidence and its conclusions are matters for the chair, the steering group and the reviewer, and not for the executive or management of Munster Rugby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who will participate in the review?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe views of key internal and external stakeholders are being sought. This includes playing and non-playing staff and a broad range of others with a direct interest in how Munster Rugby is governed and run.\u201d A broad church, then. <\/p>\n

How is it being done? <\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cEngagement is being conducted through structured interviews and confidential surveys, alongside a review of documentation and benchmarking against good practice.\u201d <\/p>\n

Does it have <\/b>IRFU<\/b><\/a> approval and support?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes.<\/p>\n

Will feedback from individuals remain confidential?<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes. \u201cConfidentiality is a fundamental part of the process. It encourages honest participation, protects the privacy of those taking part and preserves the integrity and fairness of the review. Individual contributions will not be disclosed. The interest of the review is in the themes and the evidence that emerge.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if the review is forward-looking <\/b>and not reflective, then what evidence can be gleaned?<\/b><\/p>\n

Not specified.<\/p>\n

Will there be any updates?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe review will not comment on its emerging findings while its work is ongoing. No further detail on the process will be provided at this stage, in order to protect the confidentiality of participants and the integrity of the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

What will happen at the end of the stated process?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe reviewer will provide a report setting out findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with an executive summary suitable for wider stakeholder communication. The board [of Munster Rugby] will formally consider the findings and is responsible for determining and implementing the actions arising,\u201d the release stated.<\/p>\n

Kelleher said: \u201cThe review is independent, it is structured and it is under way. We are hearing directly from those who know this organisation best, including staff across the province. And in the coming weeks we will be asking a wider group of stakeholders for their views. We are doing so in a way that allows people to speak freely and in confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile there is understandable interest in this process, a review of this kind is not undertaken in public. It is conducted through evidence, and evidence takes the time it takes. We will not shorten that work to meet a deadline, nor will we let it drift. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we have concluded, we will report our findings and recommendations to the board. I firmly believe there is an appetite from the board for change and transformational improvements in the short and longer term and this review will be the foundation for that change.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Munster Rugby are undergoing a governance and organisational review under the independent chairmanship of Martin Kelleher. He issued…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":596016,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[76],"tags":[18,19,17,40691,12311,2525,132],"class_list":["post-596015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-irfu","tag-munster-rugby","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116955524944080558","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596015","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=596015"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596015\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/596016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596015"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596015"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596015"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}