“My time at Killarney has come to an end,” he said.

The GM found himself involved in a public disagreement with the club’s Management Council last year.

An internal Deloitte report last April highlighted operational flaws, deviations from the club constitution, and lack of appropriate communication between the five-person council and Mr Flannery.

In response the Council issued an action plan but Mr Flannery subsequently wrote to members describing parts of the document as inaccurate and saying it gave a “good example of the kind of misinformation which has been officially and unofficially shared around our club over the past year or so”.

In a detailed note to members, he claimed:

I have no doubt regarding the motives behind the distribution of this kind of misinformation and given the grave nature and seriousness of the content sent from the Council, I have had no choice but forward this to the membership for (their) information.

At the club’s subsequent annual general meeting in November the chairman of the management council, Mike Daly, confirmed he would not be continuing as chairman this year.

Thanking the club’s staff and contractors yesterday, Mr Flannery made no mention of the controversy and said he took great pleasure seeing the progress made in Killarney’s offering to members and visitors on and off courses since his appointment in 2013.

“The management and members of this club are very lucky to have such a great team looking after them, and I wish you all continued success and happiness moving forward.

"I’d like to remind members of the importance of appreciating and supporting these businesses as much as possible when you visit the club.”

In a separate note to members, the club’s management council said it was sorry to have lost the services of Mr Flannery.

“The Council and the members wish every success in his future endeavours.”

It added it hoped to make an appointment replacing departed club professional Dave Keating in the “very near future”.