In the weeks building up to his eventual sentencing earlier today, a significant portion of the public dialogue surrounding Tom Humphries' case was centred on David Walsh, Dónal Óg Cusack and the character references they provided for the convicted paedophile, Humphries.
As she announced Humphries' sentence, Judge Karen O'Connor gave special mention to the two letters she had received from the accused's 'friends.'
Explaining his reasoning for providing the testimony, Cusack tweeted a statement in which he said he had been helping 'a human in a dark place.'
Subsequent to this, Cusack has tonight announced that he will now step down from his coaching role in the senior Clare hurling set-up, and has also resigned from the Board of Sport Ireland with immediate effect.
Taken from posts he made on his Twitter account, Cusack explained his decision:
I have informed the Clare County Board, Clare Senior Hurling Management and Players that I will not be resuming my position as Coach in 2018.
I wish everyone involved the very best both on and off the field.
I have informed the Minster for Transport, Tourism & Sport of my decision to resign from the Board of Sport Ireland, with immediate effect.
I do not wish any controversy to detract from the important work of the Board.
It was an honour to serve and I wish all involved in Sport Ireland continued success.
