A syndicate of investors led by local barrister John Temple has prevented football club Dundalk FC from facing insolvency, by concurring to purchase the team from Brian Ainscough. In the past year, Boston-based entrepreneur Ainscough has struggled to accumulate sufficient funds to manage the escalating debt, resulting in the non-payment of salaries for employees and team members this month. The Club, having been formed in 1903, was in danger of closure, until Temple stepped in.
The Club released a statement on Tuesday evening, which read: “John, born and raised on Avenue Road, Dundalk, will head up an alliance of investors who have signed up to finance the ongoing wages of the team until season’s end, and take a look at the club’s long term sustainability.” It is expected that roughly 20 percent of the share of the club will continue to be held by four investors brought in by Ainscough.
Temple said, “Dundalk is renowned for their love of football, which makes the club incredibly significant for its employees, players and fans.” He further added, “We are completely behind Jon Daly and the team to perform well on the field,” before suggesting that resolving the club’s off-field issues was his immediate priority.
Despite having tried and failed to obtain the club the previous year, John Temple and Silverlane Investments are committed to reinstating the club’s reputation; their prime aspiration is to upgrade the club’s venue into a Uefa category four stadium, with ambitions of rivaling Tallaght stadium for national and European games.
In order to elevate Oriel Park to meet the basic requirements established by Uefa, a comprehensive investment strategy will need to be implemented. We received confirmation from Thomas Byrne, the Minister of State for Sport, on Monday of a €500,000 grant for the refurbishment of the floodlights and pitch.
The good news connected with today’s meeting about the acquisition was characterised as a “silver lining” by Temple. He previewed the appointment of a new group of directors and a forthcoming meeting with the personnel and players once everything is finalised in the upcoming week.
He expressed proudly that this was a major day for all linked to the Dundalk Football Club. In the event of a financial shortfall, the FAI can provide Uefa solidarity funds approximating €72,000 to help cover the club’s costs. It was disclosed that Ainscough did not carry out the mandatory financial audits prior to the change in control.
Last weekend, the interim FAI CEO David Courell clarified, “We awarded the licence in November 2023. The club transferred management the following month. As a result, we vetted the financial soundness of the former owners. We will learn from this experience to ensure that all future ownership changes will not exploit this loophole.”
Stephen McGuinness, the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland’s General Secretary, issued a demand for an investigation. Currently, Dundalk remains in operation, permitting a shift in emphasis to their struggle against demotion. They had a disappointing season at Oriel, which began with eight games without a victory, leading to the dismissal of Stephen O’Donnell as head coach.
Noel King replaced him after being recruited by Ainscough, yet he resigned only 25 days later due to health complications. Daly was finally engaged and revealed that pay had not been distributed to staff and players following a 2-1 defeat to St Pat’s on 5th September, which left the Lilywhites at the bottom of the leaderboard.
The team’s place in the Premier Division may hang in the balance until the season’s final match, a Louth derby against Drogheda United on 1st November. At the moment, Dundalk is trailing Drogheda by one point.