February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Ray O’Hanlon and Stephen McKinley
In an unexpected move, William J. Flynn, the president of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade Corporation, has resigned from his position and from the corporation’s board, calling the board “rotten to the core.”
In his resignation letter, a copy of which was acquired by the Irish Echo, Flynn indicated that attempts to reform the St. Patrick’s Day Corporation had proved increasingly frustrating, and called for the Ancient Order of the Hibernians national council to step in.
For several weeks, Flynn has led calls for the reforming the “legal, financial and IRS status” of the corporation, and called for a meeting of the board on Sept. 6.
Last week’s Echo reported that Flynn labeled the corporation’s present financial structure “a first-class legal and financial mess.”
In response, Jim Barker, the executive secretary of the parade committee, whom Flynn has targeted for specific criticism, had called for an annual meeting to be held this Thursday, Aug. 16. One seasoned parade committee observer who declined to be named, suggested that Barker, who has not responded to calls from the Echo, was attempting to stage a very public coup. Flynn had said that the so-called annual meeting on Thursday would be illegal under the rules of the corporation.
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Flynn last week called for Barker’s resignation.
Barker indicated to the New York Post that he had no intention of resigning unless all 16 officers and directors of the parade voted in favor of such a move.
Barker also told the Post that “all the people” who had been “in charge of the parade since 1993” would be at “our annual meeting” on Thursday of this week.
“It’s up to them to decide what happens,” Barker told the Post.
In his resignation letter, Flynn singled out Jim Barker and John Dunleavy, whom, he said, offered “stubborn resistance: stonewalling every attempt for pertinent information.”
“I have repeatedly asked for the Corporation’s certified financial statements, as well as documents relating to IRS status, etc., only to be frustrated at every turn.”
He also pointed to what he saw as the “illegality” of the meeting called for this Thursday, Aug. 16, when “only 16 of the Corporation’s 37 directors and trustees have been invited.”
A letter written by Flynn on Aug. 2 proposed returning the organizing of the parade to the jurisdiction of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. “Barker and Dunleavy will fight tooth and nail to oppose most all of the recommendations set forth,” Flynn said in his resignation letter.
In a separate interview on Tuesday, Flynn told the Echo that “I can afford no longer to spend more time cleaning up something that is rotten to the core. This is a failure of corporate governance and the absolute need for transparency. . . . I put it in the hands of the AOH to make a decision, and they have my support.”
Last Friday, Aug. 11, the National AOH president, Tom Gilligan, offered his support to Flynn in an open letter.
“It is no surprise to the National Board,” Gilligan said in his letter, “that a man who has exhibited such wisdom, integrity, and imagination as a leader in industry and in the conflict in Ireland has done so again in presenting a plan for sweeping change in the management of the NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade.”
On Tuesday, responding to the news of Flynn’s resignation, Mike Cummings, the AOH national press secretary, said that he was saddened that Flynn had resigned, but he recognized why he had taken this step, what he called “the stonewalling of the gang of two,” alluding to Barker and Dunleavy.
“The larger issue,” Cummings said, “is what can be done about accountability for the last six to seven years, where there has been none?”
Cummings added that the National AOH would consult with the general council over Flynn’s suggestion that the AOH take jurisdiction over the parade corporation.
“This requires some rolling-up-the-sleeves work, and we will be consulting with Bill Flynn,” he said.
Flynn paid tribute in his letter to the volunteers who help organize the St Patrick’s Day parade. “It is they who have made the parade a national American institution, making all of us in the Irish community very proud,” he said. He ended the letter by repeating his call that the AOH “take immediate steps to assert their jurisdiction over the St. Patrick’s Day parade.”
“If and when they do so, I am prepared to do everything in my power with the help of friends and associates in the Irish-American community to raise the funds required to run a successful parade,” he said.
A source close to the parade committee told the Echo that if Barker were to hold his Thursday meeting, then “none of the allies of Flynn will be there. Barker will stack the deck. This meeting will not be the entire board.”
The same source, prior to the news of Flynn’s resignation, said that whatever Flynn’s actions, he had considerable support in the wider Irish community. “The Irish community supports Flynn on this,” he said. “[Barker] feels that his way is the only way.”
Concerning the meeting called by Barker on Thursday, the source added, “I would not be surprised if a number of people were suddenly found to be on vacation. For this guy Barker, please God, there will be a day of reckoning.”