Aug 28, 2013
Mayo Sports Partnership Profile
Background
Established in November 2004 the Sports Partnerships main aim is to increase participation in sport and physical activity among all sectors of the community.
It has three main functions:
Information – To establish a consultation process with sport clubs and organisations and to identify their needs and resources. Initiate research and compile a sports directory. One stop shop for sport in Mayo.
Education– Provide quality opportunities for training courses for volunteers held locally.
Implementation – To develop sports policy within the county through a strategic plan for sport in Mayo and select participation programmes to suit local needs.
We are also involved in facilitating and co-ordinating a number of targeted programmes, projects and initiatives at local level. Target groups include Disadvantaged, Youth at Risk, People with a Disability, Teenage Girls / Women, Older People and Unemployed.
Staff
The Sports Partnership office managed by Sports Co-ordinator Charlie Lambert also contains Administrator Padraic Durcan, Sports Inclusion Disability Officer Ray Mc Namara and Community Sports Project Worker Anne Ronayne.
During 2012 some of our major projects and initiatives included:
Middle Aged Men
Men on the Move
The Mayo Men on the Move Initiative arose from an allocation from the HSE to deliver a physical activity programme for men aged over 35. 
More than 150 men all aged 35 plus from the Ballina, Belmullet, Claremorris and Westport areas are engaged in this unique physical activity programme co-ordinated by the Mayo Sports Partnership.
This programme has now been extended to other locations in the County with approximately 200 men now participating on a continuous basis in this programme.
Teenage Girls and Women
3rd West of Ireland Womens Mini Marathon:
On 
Sunday 5th May 2012 3,000 women ran, jogged, walked and strolled the 10km route in the third annual West of Ireland Women’s Mini Marathon in Castlebar. As a ‘women in sport’ project the Western People West of Ireland Womens Mini Marathon is a prime example of sustained increases in participation by women in local sports. Examples are that Mayo, Westport, Ballina, Swinford ACs all have increased their membership each year after the mini marathon as well as their associated groups in Ballinrobe, Ballyhaunis, Castlebar and Claremorris. In all 8 Meet and Train Groups are now in operation which has doubled in the last 2 years.
Jobseekers
Goal to Work East Mayo
Mayo Sports Partnership was involved in the organisation and delivery of “Goal to Work” sports coach training programme in Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo. T
his training programme gave 12 unemployed people an opportunity to become trained soccer/gaelic and rugby coaches.
Progression rates were impressive for newly trained coaches, of the twelve who took part in the 14 week training programme (2 days per week and 3 weekends) two progressed into full-time employment, two into part-time employment, one into 3rd level education, two on to internships, and another onto a community employment scheme.
People with a Disability:
Handcycling Programme
The Hand and Tandem Cycling eight week programme established by Mayo Sports Partnership in conjunction with IWA Sport, Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland and Cairdeas, Kilmovee Family Resource centre and supported by Mayo County Development Board proved a huge success. The programme run by Gerry Towey and Donal Harington from Ballaghaderreen Cycling club, giving instruction and showing lots of young cyclists and Para-Cyclists the way forward. A hand cycling programme took place every Thursday over the summer months.
Club Development Work:
Recreational GAA
In November 2012 MSP helped to fund a series of Camán Abú adult recreational hurling workshop sessions in Mayo. From the workshops – three clubs sprouted – registering with CrokePark for Camán Abú – and who now host regular Camán Abú sessions. These clubs – in Claremorris, Ballina James Stephens HC and Ballyvary – can now offer a recreational hurling outlet for adults in a fun and safe environment.
Pic: A group from Claremorris participating in the Caman Abú sessions
The Sports Partnership office is situated at the CedarBuilding ( Beside Roadstone) Moneen, Castlebar however if you need more information contact the Partnership at 094-9047025,e-mail msp@mayococo.ie or log onto www.mayosports.ie
Factfile
– 15,000 people participated in locally delivered programmes in 2012
– Represents 500 sports clubs / organisations in the county
– Co-organises the largest participation event for women in the West of Ireland namely the West of Ireland Womens
Mini Marathon
– In 2012 5,000 people contacted the Sports Partnership to access general or specific sport-related information
– Over 50% of total funding is leveraged locally through partner contributions and benefit in kind
Aug 26, 2013
AFL Europe Championship – Dublin 2013
Location:
DCU Sports Ground
DATE:
3rd to 10th August 2013
PARTICIPATING TEAMS/ATHLETES:
National teams representing Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland and Sweden
Host:
Australian Rules Football League Of Ireland(ARFLI)
About ARFLI:
The Australian Rules Football League Of Ireland was founded in 2000 to administer the sport of Aussie Rules on the Island of Ireland and have been at the forefront of the sport internationally since foundation.
EVENT HISTORY:
The first AFL Europe Championship was held in the Oresund region of Denmark and Sweden, with matches held in Copenhagen, Farum and Malmo. Ireland’s national team won the championship, coming from behind to beat Denmark in the final.
EVENT PREPARATION:
ARFLI bid to host the event in November 2010 and were awarded hosting rights shortly afterwards having held a tender process among Irish Universities for facilities provision. Following that process DCU was selected and submitted as the facilities provider during the bid process.
Once the championship was awarded an organising committee was formed by ARFLI and corporate and state support was sought, with Fáilte Ireland become the main partner, The Score.ie becoming the main media partner, Uniphar providing medical support, Livestream Digital/Asgard Media as production partners and AerTV Sports as a broadcasting partner and the Australian Embassy as an awards partner. Several months before the championship commenced, the staff of DCU Sport began planning the facilities provision for the event and ultimately Ireland’s first full size football oval, dressing rooms for all teams, medical facilities, tournament headquarters and lecture facilities were delivered. A tournament website www.dublin2013.org <http://www.dublin2013.org> went live in September 2012, with all design and branding elements provided by Internationally renowned sports branders Lockerroom 51.
THE EVENT:
Venue
DCU Sport couldn’t have been more helpful, from their administration to ground staff. They were, from the outset in a position to provide two tournament ovals and warm up areas if required and the surface of the oval earned widespread praise as the best ever provided for an event in Europe.
Spectators/Attendees
More than a thousand people attended the four match days, with close to 400 in attendance for the final day’s play. There were also more than 160 participants in the event itself.
Volunteers
A number of volunteers were provided from within the league’s membership base and also from that of the Ireland Australia Association.
How was the event structured?
The six teams were drawn in two groups of three according to performance at the previous event in 2010, with each team playing against the other teams in their pool and one crossover match against the equal seed in the opposite group. These matches took place on Saturday 3rd, Tuesday 6th and Thursday 8th. Following the group stages, the winners of each group met in the Grand Final on Saturday August 10th, that being Ireland and Great Britain. Denmark and Sweden played off for third, while Croatia and Germany played off for fifth. Ireland came from behind to win the Grand Final with the very last kick of the game, a goal which can be seen here http://youtu.be/b5pz4jNs3OM
Where next for the Irish Team?
The Irish Team will now turn their attention to defending the sport’s World Championship, the AFL International Cup in Melbourne next August and look to extend a competitive unbeaten run, which stretches back to 2008. Those interested in taking up the sport can find details at www.arfli.com <http://www.arfli.com> . For ARFLI the next major challenge is the development of a permanent full size oval in Ireland which can be utilised by our clubs and national teams.
How the event went, Cian Quigley, President, ARFLI:
Following years of planning and months of preparation, the event was a massive success. All of the visiting teams enjoyed the experience, our sport received media attention which was a multitude greater than anything else we’ve ever received and our team continued their winning ways, but significantly in front of friends and family who would rarely have had the chance to support the team.
Aug 22, 2013
The Irish Sailing Association (ISA) and Minister for Agriculture, Marine & Food, Simon Coveney, today (Thursday 22nd August) officially launched ISA SafeTrx; a revolutionary free Smartphone app designed to save lives on the water. Developed in association with the Irish Coast Guard and DeCare Systems Ireland, ISA SafeTrx allows boat and leisure craft owners to log their voyages directly from their Smartphone which can then be accessed and monitored by their chosen emergency contacts as well as the Irish Coast Guard.
Speaking at the launch today Minister Coveney commented “The concept of safety at sea and on our network of rivers and lakes must become as commonplace as that of safety on our roads. We need to create a culture of safety first for those travelling on our waters for either commercial or recreational reasons. With loss of life continuing across the maritime spectrum, those who make their living from the sea and those who utilise the sea primarily for leisure purposes must ensure that safety becomes a top priority.”
By the end of July this year, Irish Coast Guard statistics showed a 45% increase in the number of emergency missions bringing the total figure of individual incidents to 1,572. Throughout the history of the Irish Coast Guard the record of annual incidents has never surpassed 2,000 but it is anticipated that this number will be exceeded by as early as the autumn. ISA Chief Executive Harry Hermon remarked “Last year over 1,000 people were assisted from difficulty by the Coast Guard and the RNLI with over 160 lives saved. Unfortunately not all seafarers returned safely. I believe that ISA SafeTrx, which has been designed by Coast Guard professionals and built right here in Cork, will help to reduce the number of fatalities on the water even further. I have no doubt that this will save many lives”.
In no fewer than five out of the ten MCIB reports published so far in 2013, it has been recommended that “Details of an intended trip be left with a responsible person ashore along with the latest time of return and that the person ashore should contact the emergency services shortly after the expected time of return has passed”. ISA SafeTrx will not only facilitate this recommendation, but will also help the Coast Guard to identify the location of the stricken vessel, assess details such as craft description, contact details ashore, previous activity, where the boat was last visible to the network and where headed, persons on board and other information all targeted at reducing the time that seafarers spend in the water waiting for a lifeboat or helicopter.
Chris Reynolds, Director of the Irish Coast Guard commented “SafeTrx helps take the search out of search and rescue. It encourages all sea users to plan and execute their trips better, safer and gives assurance to friends and partners ashore”.
Available for both Android & Apple iOS devices (iPhone, iPad), ISA SafeTrx logs position reports every kilometre (or every 5 minutes if stationary). Should the user fail to return on time their emergency contacts will be automatically alerted via SMS and advised to initiate the appropriate action. Voyage position reports are displayed on the SafeTrx Monitoring Console so where an emergency contact calls the Irish Coast Guard concerning an overdue trip, the Irish Coast Guard will have access to the user’s location and SafeTrx trip data through a secure SafeTrx server. As the ISA SafeTrx app periodically sends location data back to the servers, the Coast Guard’s response team can get help directly and quickly. Whilst the app is not intended to be used as a replacement for statutorily recognised safety devices (marine radios, marine emergency positioning beacons, AIS etc), it is a resource that in some instances may help to raise an alarm earlier and assist emergency services to locate casualties more accurately. The majority of small crafts particularly sea kayakers, anglers, jet-ski users, powerboaters and small sailing boats do not carry the AIS tracking device.
ISA SafeTrx is free and simple to use. Just follow the 4 easy steps:
- Download the app for free
- Register your boat and emergency contact details
- Enter your trip details and ETA. Tap ‘Set Sail’
- Arrive at destination. Tap ‘End Trip’
For more information and to download the app for free go to www.sailing.ie/SafeTrx.
Aug 22, 2013
Competitors, families, friends and diplomats descend on Kinsale in advance of the Cork County Council
IFDS World Championships 25-30 August 2013
Over 500 people have arrived in Kinsale for the start of the Cork County Council IFDS World Sailing Championships on Sunday 25th August and this number will be boosted by the arrival of more supporters over the coming days.
This event is one of the Irish Sports Council – The Gathering funded events and in the spirit of the national tourism initiative all competitors were invited to bring family and friends to Ireland for the event. This drive was led by John Twomey, 10-time Irish Paralympian and current President of the International Federation of Disabled Sailing.
“Over the years fellow sailors have listened to me talking about Ireland and the beauty of Kinsale and the west cork region so when Kinsale won the bid to host this event, friends from all over the world committed to travelling” Stated John Twomey, Paralympic sailor for Providence Team IRL.
In addition to the participants and families, Kinsale has been visited by a number of Diplomatic delegations from Russia and the Czech Republic with further visits planned from other Ambassadors including the Australian and Dutch delegations over the coming week. Carlo Croce, President of ISAF (International Sailing Association Federation) will visit Kinsale for the final days racing, as will a number of international TV crews who are filming documentaries on the event.
The event will be officially opened on Sunday 25th August at 6pm in the James O’Neill Memorial building in the centre of Kinsale by Mayor of Kinsale Cllr Tony Cierans and Cork MEP Brian Crowley. A parade to Kinsale Yacht Club to present nation’s flags will follow the official opening.
There will be a practice race on Sunday 25th August at noon and racing will commence on Monday 26th August with two races scheduled daily starting at 12 noon until Friday 30th August.
The organising committee, led by Regatta Director John Stallard, have been working solidly for over two years to host this major event. Kinsale Yacht Club was redeveloped in the last year without grants and public funding and €800,000 was invested through fundraising by the members and a bank loan that was secured.
Kinsale Marina has been closed to visiting boats for the duration of the event and berth holders were asked to relocate their boats for up to three weeks as approximately one third of the marina was required to host the competing boats and support boats.
“We are very grateful to the Kinsale Yacht Club members who have assisted the organising committee but this is also much bigger than just a sailing event. Cork County Council and every business owner in the town has worked with us so we can showcase Kinsale and so that all our visitors can enjoy our wonderful tourism product” stated John Stallard, Event Director.
Over 100 people have volunteered for the week for various roles from meet & greet, stewards, race office, administration and on the water support.
Earlier this week the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), together with the International Association for Disabled Sailing (IFDS), announced the four ‘Ones to Watch’ athletes for the World Championships and upcoming Paralympic cycle. The IPC’s ‘Ones to Watch’ initiative showcases the top athletes around the world on the road to the next Paralympic Games, and all four of the identified sailors have won medals on the Paralympic stage with their stories have increasingly become known throughout the media. All four athletes will be competing in Kinsale next week.
Headlining the list is Great Britain’s Helena Lucas, the gold medallist in the 2.4mR single-person keelboat at London 2012. She was the only female athlete competing in her event at the last Paralympics and has become a household name in Great Britain for her performance on the Weymouth waters. Germany’s Heiko Kroeger joins Lucas on the list as another athlete in the single-person keelboat event. Kroeger finished second behind Lucas at London 2012, but the Sydney 2000 Paralympic champion is a veteran in the sport, and with Audi sponsoring him is aiming to reach the top of the podium in Rio for the first time in 16 years.
The final two selections – Norway’s Aleksander Wang-Hansen and the Netherlands’ Udo Hessels – compete in the sonar three-person keelboat event. Hessels, who won the event in London with teammates Marcel van de Veen and Mischa Rossen, has been sailing competitively since he was 25, when he took up the sport as part of his rehabilitation after suffering a spinal-cord injury due to a tumour in his back. Wang-Hansen finished with the bronze medal at London 2012 and comes from a sporting family. He is the older brother of Sebastian Wang-Hansen, who competed at the London 2012 Olympics in windsurfing, and he is the cousin a Mats Wang-Hansen, who was a world champion in sailing back in 2000.
For more information see www.ifdsworlds2013.com.
Race Schedule
Please see www.ifdsworlds2013.com for the dates and times of each race.
Opening Ceremony: Sunday 25th of August at 6.00pm
Prizegiving Ceremony: Friday 30th of August at 6.00pm
Media Accreditation
Please contact Rachel Solon at rachel@sailing.ie for the media accreditation form. Please note that accreditation is necessary to access rights free photography / videography from the event and to receive updates.
Media Boat
A media boat will be available on a daily for photography / videography. Advance booking is necessary. For more information contact Rachel Solon at rachel@sailing.ie or +353 (0)87 6245326.
Kinsale Yacht Club
Media facilities with WiFi will be available at Kinsale Yacht Club.
Daily Releases
Every evening the ISA will issue a press release as soon as results have been confirmed.
Photographs
Michael Sweeney from Provision Photography and Bob Bateman will be the event photographers. Rights free images will be available on a daily basis for media / editorial. Once accreditation has been approved download information will be issued via email.
Please contact Rachel Solon at rachel@sailing.ie or +353 (0)87 6245326 for specific requests.
TV
Racing highlight packages will be available. Details to follow in due course.
Interviews
Interviews can be arranged upon request. Please contact Rachel Solon at rachel@sailing.ie or +353 (0)87 6245326 for specific requests.
Real Time Tweeting
The IFDS World Championships and the ISA will be tweeting in real time throughout every race. Please see below for useful links.
Event Twitter: www.twitter.com/IFDSWorlds2013 #IFDSWorlds2013
ISA Twitter: www.twitter.com/ISA_Performance #IFDSWorlds2013
Social Media
IFDS Worlds Facebook: www.facebook.com/IFDSWorlds2013
ISA Facebook: www.facebook.com/ISAPerformance
For more information please contact:
Rachel Solon
ISA Communications Officer
+353 (0)87 6245326
rachel@sailing.ie
Fiona Bolger
+353 (0)86 8211030
fiona@fionabolger.com
Aug 1, 2013
Irish International Ladies Rugby player notorious No.8 Joy Neville announces her retirement after a decade of dedication to the sport. Limerick native Joy won 70 caps for Ireland and was part of the Irish team that achieved the 2013 historical Grand Slam Title.
Looking back on a career which began with her club UL Bohs at the tender age of 19 Joy said. “Today I announce my retirement from a sport that has given me endless challenges, great entertainment and amazing achievements none more memorable than our latest grand slam victory which was 11 years in the making. Throughout my years involved with the Irish team I can categorically state that I would not have had dedicated the last decade of my life to this sport if it were not for those whom I had the pleasure to play alongside.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone and most importantly past players who laid the foundation. All who fought for the Women’s team through thick and thin which provided us with our strong platform that we currently attain. I would also like to thank the current players who I have shared so many emotions with, all the management, medical staff, my wonderful family who were always there to support me both on and off the pitch, my friends who always understood when I could not celebrate their big moments, our wonderful supporters who always stuck in there with the Irish team through good times and hard. “
Ireland’s Ladies Rugby team coach Philip Doyle today acknowledged Joy’s outstanding contribution to the sport. “Joy Neville is an exceptional rugby player and her talent and ability had a huge impact on every game. Her selfless playing style was always for the good of the team. She has left a lasting impression not only to the squad but to Women’s rugby in general. She will be sorely missed and we wish her all the best in her career as coach and an incredible ambassador for the sport.”
Joy states “While it will take some time to adjust to my new role in the squad as a supporter I would like to wish you all the very best of luck in the coming years. So many International sides have commented on the great camaraderie, moral and craic that the Irish women’s team portrays. I am proud to have been associated with a team that has achieved so much and attained such a wonderful reputation. Now I look forward to the next chapter of my life which I hope to continue as Director of Rugby in Limerick Institute of Technology and an Ambassador for Irish Ladies Rugby with Euro Rugby tours.
I hope to look back in 10 years’ time and see a vibrant and healthy women’s Rugby Scene, with the ultimate aim of witnessing Irish Women’s Rugby becoming professional.”
Joy will play with her club team UL Bohs next Thursday in UL Bohs RFC Annacotty against Canadian side Red deer Titans in a friendly pre-season game organised by euro rugby tours @ 6.30pm for more information contact Donal on 061- 624958
