Chairman Harkin hails ‘an historic day’ for Finn Harps

The overwhelming level of support was accompanied by a strong turnout in Jackson’s Hotel on Monday night, with the Drumboe suite packed out and a further 150+ watching online as 397 members out of 400 voted in favour of the takeover.

And that is something Harkin believes will send a clear message to Gonzalez about the passion and enthusiasm that exists among the Finn Harps community.

With the prospect of new investment and the ambition to turn the club professional, Harkin believes the proposed takeover could mark the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the club.

“The result was just remarkable, 99%. Nobody could have foreseen that level of approval rate and it’s a great starting block for him to take over,” Harkin said.

“Hopefully everybody goes back now and talks to their friends and gets enthused by what’s happening.

“He’s extremely ambitious and we’ll hopefully have the funding to turn the club professional and really aim high as well so it’s an historic day for the club.”

Harkin also reflected on the financial pressures involved in running Finn Harps as a fan-owned club, highlighting the work of those who have kept the club going through difficult periods.

“It has been full-time the last four or five years and the stresses of this role and any role on the board is enormous because cash flow is so difficult to manage when you’re a fan owned club.

“A bad couple of weekends with weather or a turn in results, or a couple of signings that don’t go well or injuries- there are so many variables that can affect your income and put you under pressure to pay the bills on Monday morning.

“There are some people in this club that have kept it alive over the last number of years and for the people that were there before us. It’s an historic night for everyone in the club and we deserve a bit of luck,” he said.

Gonzalez outlined his ambitions for the club which has sparked excitement among fans, and from meeting the Filipino businessman and former professional footballer earlier this year, Harkin had the same positive feeling about the future for the club.

“And the person we have found is passionate for the game and their understanding of the game makes it unique because they’re not a normal investor and he’s bought into all the values of the club from community to football to ambition and hopefully he will be able to help us deliver that.”

And while the deal isn’t fully done yet, another meeting on Tuesday, November 3 will take place to confirm the takeover.

On that night, a minimum of 20 people are needed in attendance, and a 51% majority will suffice to pass the vote.

“The final steps now are to meet back in two weeks and have the second vote, which is a 51% majority. It will really just be straight into the second vote, and once we get that down the line, it's down to the nitty-gritty of the contracts, in which us board members will be sitting down with our solicitors and are in communication with Freddy’s to make sure all the protections are there for the club going forward.”