Kieran Mulvey to be appointed as Chair of Sports Ireland

Oct 7, 2015

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, and the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD, today (Tuesday) announced that Mr Kieran Mulvey is to be appointed as the Chairperson of the newly-established Sport Ireland.

 

Sport Ireland, which is the new State Agency with responsibility for sport, arising from the merger of the Irish Sports Council and the National Sports Campus Development Authority, came into operation with effect from 1st October 2015. The Sport Ireland Act 2015 was signed into law on 13th May.

 

Minister Donohoe said: ‘I have today informed the Government that I intend to appoint Mr Kieran Mulvey as Chairperson of the Board, subject to the endorsement of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications.  I am delighted that Kieran has agreed to serve as Chairperson of the new Board and I am sure that his experience as Chairperson of the Irish Sports Council over the last five years will be of considerable value to Sport Ireland’.

 

Minister Michael Ring said: ‘The establishment of Sport Ireland is a positive move for Irish sport, delivering a single well-structured agency focused on the continued development of Irish sport. I am confident that Mr Mulvey has the right skills to take the new agency forward and that he and his Board will work hard to make sure that the transition to a single Sport Ireland is a safe and smooth one. I wish the Board and the Sport Ireland management and staff well in their work for Irish sport’.

 

In addition to the Chairperson, 10 members who previously served on the Boards of the Council and the Authority have been appointed to the Board of Sport Ireland. They are Bernard Allen, Seán Benton, Donal Óg Cusack, Roy Dooney, Mary Dorgan, Frances Kavanagh, John Maughan, Caroline Murphy, Patrick O’Connor and Liam Sheedy.

 

Minister Ring said: ‘Some members of the Council and the Authority have been appointed to the new Sport Ireland Board in order to ensure some continuity on the Board. We are at a critical and exciting phase in the development of the National Sports Campus, with construction of the National Indoor Arena well underway. Also we recognise the significant contribution that members of the Council and the Authority have made to the work of their respective agencies and the need to ensure a continuation of that work for Irish sport. I believe that the experience and skills of those members will be very valuable over the next few months as we move from two agencies to one’.

 

Ends

Press Office, Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, 01 604 1090 / 01 604 1093 www.dttas.ie pressoffice@dttas.ie

 

 

Sport Ireland Board – Information Note

The Sport Ireland Act 2015 provides for a Board of 13 members, including a Chairperson. In addition to the 11 positions listed above, the remaining 2 positions on the Board will be filled following an advertising and selection process by the Public Appointments Service. It is expected that the selection process will be completed and the 2 Members appointed before the end of the year. To allow for the establishment of Sport Ireland on 1st October with a full Board membership, the Minister has appointed two representatives from his Department for the first meeting of the Board, who will be replaced once the PAS process is completed.

 

 

Biographies of Board Members

 

Kieran Mulvey – Chairperson

Kieran was Chairman of the Irish Sports Council.  He has been Chief Executive of the Labour Relations Commission since 1991.  He is the Director General of the new Workplace Relations Commission.  He is a former General Secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) and the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT).  He has also acted as a Consultant with the EU and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on matters relating to public management, human resources and industrial relations. He chaired the negotiations which led to the Public Service Croke Park, Haddington Road and Lansdowne Road Agreements.  He is a Fellow of the Educational Institute of Scotland and holds an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the National University of Ireland.

 

Bernard Allen

Bernard was a Member of the Irish Sports Council.  He was Lord Mayor of Cork City 1988 – 1989.  He was a member of Dáil Éireann from 1981 to 2011.  A front bench spokesperson for Health, Social Welfare, Environment and Local Government, Foreign Affairs, and Tourism, Sport and Recreation, he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Education and the Environment with special responsibility for Youth and Sport from 1994 to 1997.  He is a member of the Pitch and Putt Union of Ireland, Bol Chumann na hÉireann, Golfing Union of Ireland, GAA and FAI.

 

Seán Benton

Seán was Chairman of the National Sports Campus Development Authority. He is Chairman of Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services, Harold’s Cross and Blackrock; former Chairman of the Education and Finance Board, former Chairman of the Office of Public Works (OPW);  previously a Commissioner of the OPW and former Director of Finance at the Department of Health.

 

Donal Óg Cusack

Donal Óg was a Member of the National Sports Campus Development Authority.  He is an Engineer by profession.  He is a former Cork Hurling goalkeeper and winner of several All-Ireland medals and All-Star Awards.  He is also a media pundit and Chairman of the Gaelic Players Association.

 

Roy Dooney

Roy was a Member of the National Sports Campus Development Authority and was Chairman of the NSCDA Operations Company Ltd. He is a Communications Consultant by profession.  Roy was a Member of the National Sports Strategy Group from 1995-1997 and a former Commissioner of the Eircom League. He is a former international athlete who represented Ireland at Marathon, Road and Cross-Country championships at European and World levels.  Roy is a former co-opted member of the Board of Athletics Ireland.

 

Mary Dorgan

Waterford based Mary Dorgan was a member of the Irish Sports Council.  She is the former Assistant CEO of the Health and Safety Authority.  Mary is a certified Mediator and has extensive experience as non-executive director across both public and private sectors.   She was recently appointed to the Board of the National College of Art and Design.  Mary has a keen interest in all sports and particularly in promoting participation.

 

Frances Kavanagh

Frances was a member of the Irish Sports Council.  She is a Senior Director of Sport with Special Olympics Ireland and also served as Director of Sport and Competition for the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. She has served on many committees and Boards representing Special Olympics at National, European and International level and has also been Chair of the International Sports Rules Advisory Committee. Frances is a former Board Member and President of the Federation of Irish Sport.

 

John Maughan

John was a member of the Irish Sports Council.  He was Senior Football Manager of Clare, Mayo, Roscommon and Fermanagh and led Mayo to the 1996, 1997 and 2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Finals. He also managed the Mayo under 21 side to an All-Ireland in 2004. He inspired Clare to win the Munster Football title for only the second time in 1992 and also managed NUI Galway in the Sigerson Cup. He is currently coaching underage footballers in his club, Castlebar Mitchells.  He held the position of Captain with the Defence Forces of Ireland.  He is a football analyst for RTÉ Radio Sport. John is currently employed as a Purchasing Procurement Officer with Mayo County Council.

 

Caroline Murphy

Caroline is a Broadcaster and Psychologist who runs her own Communications Consultancy.  She presents ‘It Says in the Papers’ on Morning Ireland and has many years’ experience of Sports Broadcasting in both Radio and Television.  She was a member of the National Sports Campus Development Authority and its representative on the High Performance Committee of the Irish Institute of Sport.

 

Patrick O’Connor

Patrick was a member of the Irish Sports Council. He is a Solicitor, Coroner, Arbitrator and Notary Public and is a former Vice Chairman of the Press Council of Ireland. He is a member of The Law Society of Ireland, The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Mental Health Tribunal, and the IRB, ERC, 6 Nations and IRFU Disciplinary panels. He has previously served on the Board of Management of St. Louis Community School, Hope House, the Irish Association of Suicidology, the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board and the Courts Service Board. He has held various offices within the Law Society of Ireland most notably as President (1998-99).

 

Liam Sheedy

Liam was a member of the Irish Sports Council. He is Area Manager for the Mid-West Region with Bank of Ireland.  A former Tipperary hurler he went on to manage his county to All Ireland Minor glory in 2006 and delivered National League and two Munster titles at senior level before capturing All Ireland success in 2010.  He is also an RTE hurling analyst on The Sunday Game.

Gold for Ireland in Moscow

Sep 29, 2015

A busy September came to an end for Ireland &South Dublin Taekwondo’s Jack Woolley with his final outing at the Russian Open World Taekwondo Federation [Olympic Style] ranking tournament in the Dinamo Krylaskoye Arena in Moscow. Before the event the team pairing of Jack & SDTKD Coach Niamh Buffini were enthused by the number 1 seeding position attained by Jack for the event due to previous results this year. This seeding led to Jack having a bye in the preliminary round of the event, giving him the opportunity to keep a close eye on his possible opponents as they fought early in the morning. Jack was paired against a US Open Medallist, Russian Opponent in the 2nd round match where he had a blistering start, defeating his opponent  by a staggering 55 points to 7. With 3 points for head kicks and spinning body kicks, and 4 for spinning head kicks Jack registered points effectively on the electric scoring body protectors & head protectors with a barrage of varying high point techniques, leading the referee to stop the event after the end of the 2nd round applying the ’12 point gap rule’ where a match is ended from the end of the 2nd round if a points gap of 12 is reached or exceeded.  Jacks next match was once again against a Russian, and once again only 2 of 3 rounds were fought where Jack won 32-0. The semi-final was then set up for a match against one of the seeded Kazak players in the division. At the end of round 1 Jack was behind by 2 points to nil, however a stern talking to by his Coach Buffini riled him up for a bout of his relentless kicking, Jack regained the lead and ended the batch by TKO when a strong jabbing kick led to his opponent having to retire with a broken elbow. Knowing a medal was now secure was not enough, a possibility of Jacks first senior gold was now a close reality if he could manage to see off the Russian National Team opponent who had clinically progressed through the opposite side of the draw to the final. After a 3 round high scoring match that ended 19-12 in the favour of Woolley, a first senior gold was secured and a valuable 10 Olympic Ranking points to add to his collection. Emotions were riding high due to the success and were enhanced when Jack was then awarded ‘Male Most Aggressive Fighter’ award and a prize of $3000 for his high octane, high scoring performances. This event was the final one of a momentous month for Jack who reached the podium on 2 other occasions throughout Europe, winning bronze in the Polish Open, and Silver in the Israel Open.

Jacks Coach Robert Taaffe noted, ‘We are doing all we can to give young Jack the best chance possible for upcoming major games, and the support from his club mates, our venue Tallaght Leisure Centre and the Irish Taekwondo Union has been invaluable. To compete at this level in WTF Taekwondo is extremely difficult, and the hard work is now reaping the rewards deserved’.

After the event there was an outpouring of congratulations on social media from supporters where

Jack responded, ‘ Thank you everyone it’s is a massive honour to even compete at this level but to take a gold medal and $3000 for the most aggressive player is unbelievable! I was speechless for a good half hour I was very emotional and it was honestly an incredible experience I have good a great team and honestly the best coaches anyone could ask for! But now that this competition is done I have to train harder and go for gold once again thanks you everyone for all the support.’ Jack will return to Dublin airport just in time for Monday night training at where he assists the coaching of grass roots children before kitting up for his own in preparation for the Serbia Open in a fortnight.

Belfast win Atlantic Cup

Sep 29, 2015

The Belfast Trojans added a European title to their Irish title by winning the GFL International Atlantic Cup in Groningen over the weekend. The Trojans had a comfortable 26-7 win over Dutch hosts, Groningen Giants in the Final played on Sunday 27th September. The previous day, they defeated Gent Gators of Belgium in their Semi-Final. This is the second time the Trojans have won the title in three years – they won the 2013 title held in Ireland in conjunction with The Gathering.

 

The turning point in the first quarter of the game was an interception by the Trojans which set up a 30 yard field goal by Gregory Gibson. From that point forward, the Trojans never looked back. Their defence came good again early in the second quarter when Neil Graham sacked the Groningen QB in the end zone for a safety. The Trojans capitalised even further when David Colvin returned the ensuing free kick for a touchdown to give the Trojans a 12-0 lead, which they held onto until halftime.

 

The Trojans running game got going in the second quarter adding two touchdowns. Neil Montgomery had a short yardage touchdown in the third quarter to put the Trojans up 19-0. The game was then sealed in the fourth quarter with another rushing touchdown, this time by Matt Armstrong. Groningen scored a touchdown late in the game to make the final score 26-7 to the Trojans. The Trojans finish the 2015 season with an unbeaten 12-0 record for their first team – prior to this game, Groningen had also been unbeaten in 2015.

 

The previous day, the Trojans defeated Gent Gators of Belgium by a score of 27-14 in their Semi-final. The Gators opened up the scoring early in the game, but three unanswered touchdowns gave the Trojans a 20-8 lead at halftime. Both teams scored touchdowns in the second half to make the final score 27-14 to the Trojans.

 

The Trojans performance in this tournament serves to underline the significant improvements in the standard of play in Ireland in recent years – where the SBC is now regarded as one of the best purely amateur leagues in Europe.

 

Next years Atlantic Cup is being hosted by Luxembourg with the tournament expected to return to Ireland in 2017.

 

Atlantic Cup Results 2015:

 

FINAL – Belfast Trojans 26-7 Groningen Giants

 

3rd PLACE PLAY-OFF – Gent Gators 26-12 Luxembourg Steelers.

 

SEMI-FINALS:

 

Belfast Trojans 27-14 Gent Gators.

Groningen Giants 35-6 Luxembourg Steelers

Deaf Sport Ireland: Qualifier for Deaflympics 2017

Sep 29, 2015

The Irish Deaf Men’s Football Team will face the Deaf Great Britain team in a qualifying match on October 24th. This match is a qualifier for the 2017 Deaflympics. 

 

Kick off is at 1pm in Dalymount Park, Dublin. 

Entrance to the match is €10 (under 16s go free) and can be purchased on the day. 

 

To buy a ticket, call into the DSI office, or email: lorelei@deafsportsireland.com to have one reserved.

"The Story So Far"

Sep 24, 2015

Dear National Governing Bodies CEO,

The National Sports Campus has seen significant development and progress since its inception especially over the past two years.

To commemorate and document this progress, and to illustrate the array of facilities which are now in place or under construction, we have produced the attached booklet “The Story So Far” outlining the achievements to date, including:

  • the National Aquatic Centre
  • the headquarters of the Football Association of Ireland
  • the Irish Institute of Sport Building and the recently completed High Performance Centre
  • facility management and operation of Morton Stadium, Santry
  • Irish Sport HQ – home to 20 national governing bodies of sport in Ireland
  • the National Horse Sport Arena
  • the National Diving Training Centre
  • the National Modern Pentathlon Centre
  • the commencement of work on the National Indoor Arena
  • the NSC Multi-Sport Pitches & Pavilion
  • the development with the GAA and FAI of national centres for Gaelic games and soccer
  • the Campus Conference Centre

It is very important that we mark the significant progress made in the development of the National Sports Campus and demonstrate its benefits to the entire Irish sporting community. I invite you to please take time to view the booklet and see for yourself”. Click here to download a copy of the booklet. (PDF 45.1MB) or press the link to our website. http://www.nscda.ie/nscstorysofar.php