Former Mayo ladies football captain Sarah Tierney has detailed in which she felt "intimidated" and "undermined" in her dealings with management, sparking the departure of 14 members of the senior set-up this summer.

Tierney was speaking at a press conference last night and outlined some of the interactions she had with Mayo manager Peter Leahy since the beginning of the year.

"We didn't leave because of Cora and we didn't leave because of selection issues," Tierney explained.

"For me personally, I would have noticed negativity in his management style from the outset of the year.

"I'll give you a few examples. I was late returning to the Mayo panel this year, I returned on January 12th. I was sitting exams so I was away. When I returned to the panel, we had training on the first night. I had had a very good relationship with Peter when he was involved with us inn 2017 and 2013 when he was involved with us previously.

"On my first night back, the majority of the training was all running. I made a passing comment to him like 'Jesus Peter, is it going to be all running tonight or will it be any football'.

"I didn't mean anything malicious by it, it's not my character. The following night I received a phonecall from Peter about the  comment I made and he basically attacked me on the phone.

"He basically said he didn't give a "f**k" about how many All Stars I had or what name I had made for myself in football. He was the manager and what he said goes this year.

"He didn't care what name anyone had, he would have no problem dropping someone who stepped out of line.

"He also said to me that he would be making a phonecall to Marie Corbett about her behaviour and that it was inappropriate at training.

"The tone and the context of this conversation set the tone for the year ahead and any encounters I had with him.

"Obviously my role as captain, I was going to him about questions and comments and it was constantly thrown back in my face, negative comments about my personality or about my performance."

She continued: "On the May 30th, we had training in Rochfortbridge up the country. At the end of training everyone had gone and I went up to Peter to say that we had an issue in the backs all season. In the league we had been conceding high scores.

"I said 'I think there's a massive communication issue here and if we can get a past player in to come in as a player or a guest coach to talk us through a few things that it would add value to the set-up'.

"He took it on board that night. The following Friday night, June 1st, it was approximately 6.30pm down at the centre of excellence and he gave me the 'curly finger' as he called it and summons me out of the room.

"I knew what was coming. I was brought away from all players and all of management. It was like a personal attack that evening, I can only describe it as I've never felt so intimidated in my entire life. 

"He told me I was getting absolutely roasted at training, that I was performing absolutely shite, that the reason I was distracted the previous night at training was because I was so caught up with going to him with this suggestion of bringing this guest player in. 

"He was doing this action - 'you're listening to the others, you're listening to the others' - and I was standing back. He was getting visibly aggressive with me at this stage. It was probably the first time I stood up to him and said 'who are these others you're referring to? I don't understand what you're on about.'

"The conversation ended that night, but I swore driving home from training that night that I'd be in a one-on-one situation with him again unless the liaison officer was there. I felt totally intimidated."

OTBAM host Ger Gilroy stressed throughout the playing of the press conference audio that Peter Leahy [above] has been invited to come on the show to give his side of the story. Image: ©INPHO/Morgan Treacy

"On June 8th, two weeks before our Connacht final, we played Roscommon in a challenge game. As I was leaving the dressing room, I saw 10 players - which is about a third of our panel - over at a car with Denise [McDonagh] and there was a player visibly upset and I was thinking 'what is going on here?'

"Peter had mistreated this player, excluded her from the team that evening and treated her really badly. Me and Denise were consoling her and Denise was apologising to this player.

"She was told she wasn't selected on the team that night on purpose and that she wasn't going to make the Connacht final squad. Two weeks beforehand to tell this to a player is not acceptable. 

"While me and Denise were consoling this other player, the manager was upstairs having a laugh and joke with another girl who was good friends with the girl who was upset and saying 'oh you'll have a fun journey home tonight.'

"This in my eyes is not acceptable. Throughout the year I've had a really difficult relationship with the manager. I can honestly say it was repetitive, it wasn't a one-off occurrence and on a number of occasions it was overly aggressive.

"I don't know what I did to deserve this. I feel like my role of captain, I couldn't execute it to the best of my ability. I was being undermined, I felt isolated, paranoid, intimidated and I started to lack hugely in my own self confidence because of it. 

"A lot of the issues that I would have spoken to him about that led to these interactions were in relation to attendance at training, communication between players and strength and conditioning - requesting an upper-body gym programme.

"I feel that in my role in captain it's within my right to ask and demand the best. I felt like I was constantly, constantly shot down."