Apr 26, 2012
Setanta Sports Ireland has secured the TV rights to ensure live coverage of the Paralympic Games for the first time in Ireland.
All coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games will be broadcast on a freeview basis on the Setanta Ireland channel.
At a launch in Irishtown Stadium today, Setanta Sports Ireland confirmed that they will be showing live coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Setanta Sports also confirmed that they will be showing this coverage on a ‘freeview’ basis on Setanta Ireland. This means that the coverage on the Setanta Ireland channel on satellite will be unencrypted so that all viewers in Sky homes will have free access to the channel whether they are a Setanta subscriber or not. This combined with the Setanta Ireland channel being free on UPC and the Setanta player being available in all eircom broadband homes means that approximately 1.3 million households will be able to view the games.
Present at the launch were five Irish Paralympic athletes who are targeting success at London 2012. Mark Rohan, Orla Barry, Padraic Moran, Eimear Breathnach and Darragh McDonald were delighted to know that those friends and family who won’t be able to make it to London will still have a chance to see them compete.
Brian Quinn Marketing Director of Setanta Sports commented “We are delighted to be broadcasting the games on a freeview basis. This means that the majority of Irish households will be able to follow the Irish performances. I would like to pay tribute to Allianz for their support. They are not simply a sponsor of our coverage, they have played a far bigger role than that. Without them live Paralympics TV coverage would not be seen in Ireland. We appreciate their vision and are very thankful to have the opportunity to bring live coverage to the friends, families and fans of Irish Paralympians.”
Brendan Murphy CEO of Allianz Ireland added “For the first time ever Irish audiences will witness the achievements of Team Ireland as they happen, which for Allianz, as a long-time partner of the Paralympic Movement, was seen as a fundamental need in the Irish market. By supporting Paralympics Ireland and Irish athletes, Allianz supports their quest for medals but also, through our association with Setanta, to drive awareness of the Paralympic movement and provide live, real time access to all that is achieved.”
Liam Harbison CEO of Paralympics Ireland is delighted with the extra coverage “This is a momentous announcement for Irish Paralympic sport. The Irish Team are on the cusp of great success at London 2012 and we’re thrilled that the support of Setanta and Allianz will allow the Irish public to view, admire and be inspired by the achievements of Ireland’s elite Paralympians. Paralympic sport at the top level is exciting, gripping and ferociously competitive – we look forward to Setanta bringing this to Irish sports fans.”
Apr 19, 2012
Senator Eamonn Coghlan and chief executive of the Irish Sports Council John Treacy will address the Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children tomorrow, 19th April on the issue of tackling childhood obesity through sport.
Committee Chairman, Jerry Buttimer TD said: “Senator Eamonn Coghlan and John Treacy are among Ireland’s most successful and celebrated athletes and both continue to have a huge interest in athletics and promoting healthy lifestyles, particularly by encouraging young people to participate in sport.
The recent Growing up in Ireland report on obesity in children makes for grim reading as it highlighted a huge problem with the matter and found that obesity in Irish children is higher than in many northern European countries.
That study found that Irish children are becoming more obese and that this was creating serious health risks for the future. It highlighted that by the age of 19, 19% of Irish children are overweight and that 26% of Irish children were outside the healthy range for their weight.
Apart from the huge health and personal issues that are being stored up for the future, there will also be a big economic burden from treating the effects of obesity in coming years. This is now a serious health concern that needs to be dealt with urgently.
Both Senator Coghlan and Mr Treacy have a strong interest in, and ideas about, how to tackle obesity through the promotion of sport and recreation. The Committee is looking forward to meeting them tomorrow to get their perspectives on the issue and discuss in detail their views and ideas on dealing with the issue of childhood obesity.
The meeting takes place tomorrow, Thursday, 19th April, 11.30am in Committee Room 2, LH 2000. Committee proceedings can be followed live at: http://bit.ly/24YmPI
Apr 16, 2012
ISA Mitsubishi Youth Nationals – Friday – Action from Dublin Bay 2012 on Vimeo.
ISA Mitsubishi Youth Nationals – Saturday – Action from Dublin Bay 2012 on Vimeo.
ISA Mitsubishi Youth Nationals – Sunday – Action from Dublin Bay 2012 on Vimeo.
Apr 12, 2012
Spurred on by the growth of members, clubs and events, TI is currently recruiting for a Development Officer on a fixed term contract to support its affiliated clubs as the sport continues to grow.
On the back of a large growth in the number of members, clubs and events this post-holder’s primary responsibility will be to promote and strengthen participation and development through the network of triathlon clubs in the Republic of Ireland, similar to the work that has been recently undertaken in Northern Ireland by Development Officer Johnny Davis.
2011 was another pivotal year in the growth and development of Triathlon Ireland. Membership has grown well over 6000+ members, and the number of clubs affiliated to TI now numbers nearly 70!
Responding to this rapid growth has provided many challenges for the organisation. As such, we are seeking an additional staff member on a fixed term full-time basis to ensure the continued growth and development of the sport, and as such, the quality of service to our clubs and our wider membership.
About the Role
The Development Officer will be based in TI’s Kilmacanogue office, and some travel as well as weekend and out of hours work will be required. Reporting directly to the CEO, the successful applicant will work alongside the existing TI Administration Officers, the NI Development Officer and with TI regional coaches, and as such will need to demonstrate the ability to work both independently and effectively as part of a small office team.
The role is initially available for a six month term, though extension may be offered subject to satisfactory performance of the successful applicant, and the 2013 funding budget of the organisation.
The salary offered for the position will be circa$26-28K/annum , depending on the qualifications, skills and experience of the successful applicant.
Additional information is contained in the Position Description and Personnel Specification found here
Recruitment Timeline
Recruitment for this position will involve a merit-based, transparent and open process. A three person selection panel will assess all applications and conduct interviews of the short-listed candidates.
5pm 18 April 2012: Applications Close
19-20 April 2012: Short-listing of Applicants
23-24 April 2012: Notification to short-listed applicants for interview.
25-27 April 2012: Interviews Held
Early May: Successful Applicant Announced.
How to Apply?
Please email your application to ceo@triathlonireland.com by 5pm, 18 April 2012.
Please include a covering letter of not more than 1 page, a CV detailing your skills and experience relevant to the position and a 2-3 page document adressing the selection criteria in the Position Description.
Enquiries
Any queries regarding the role, after reading the Position Description, can be directed to Matt McKerrow on +353833847569 or on ceo@triathlonireland.com
Apr 4, 2012
New Three Year Statement of Strategy Published
The Irish Sports Council announced a total package of €25.58 million investment in more than 100 sports organisations for 2012.
- €10.92 million allocated to governing bodies of sport
- €8.27 million to GAA, FAI and IRFU to support their participation programmes
- €5.38 to 31 Local Sports Partnerships
- €1.01 million in grants to the sports bodies under the Women in Sport Programme
The Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Mr Michael Ring TD made the official announcement at an event in Dublin which was attended by representatives of the sports bodies. He commented “This grant funding of €25.58 million is a significant investment in Irish sports and is a strong indication of this Government’s commitment to sport. I want to pay tribute to all of the sports organisations; they are continuing to do outstanding work for sport in Ireland and are playing a very important role in delivering opportunities in sport both nationally and for local communities throughout the country.”
The Council’s budget was reduced to €44.5 million in 2012 from €47 million in 2011. Given the importance of 2012 for Irish sport the High Performance budget was left untouched at €10.5 million. The GAA, IRFU and FAI see cuts of 10% in their budgets with 5% for the bigger governing bodies and 2.5% for the small sports. The Local Sport partnerships will see a reduction of around 7% in their annual grants.
Kieran Mulvey, Chairman of the Irish Sports Council said: “The Council has taken great care in allocating money to ensure that the most vulnerable sports bear the least impact in 2012. The priority this year was high performance because everyone wants to see our athletes do well in London. This means the NGBs and LSPs have to plan the year with less resources. They are doing a fantastic job on behalf of the country and it is important that we recognise and acknowledge their outstanding work”.
In addition there will be a reduction in the Women in Sport programme based on the recommendations of a review into the programmes. The review’s outcomes emphasised targeting the individual sports that made the greatest impact and where NGBs and LSPs have worked together to increase participation among women.
The total Irish Sports Council budget for 2012 is €44.5 million. The main spending areas are NGB core grants (25%) approximately), Local Sports Partnerships (12%), Youth Field Sport (18%), High Performance (24%) and other Council programmes (10%). The Council operating costs, including salaries, comes in around 7% of total budget.
The Council also published its Statement of Strategy for the years 2012 to 2014. It will concentrate on implementing its Participation strategy, developing the governing body sector and sustaining the high performance system. The document includes a report on progress against measures set out in the previous strategy. In the development of the strategy sports bodies were surveyed on the work of the Council. 97% stated that Council funding was Vital or Very Important to their organisation and 86% replied that they enjoyed an Excellent or Very Good relationship with the Council, responses consistent with similar surveys in previous years.
John Treacy Chief Executive of the Council commented on the strategy: “We were happy to report excellent progress on all areas of work over the past three years and we have set out our priorities for the next three years. The Council received very positive feedback from the sports sector on our work. The excellent working relationships in the sector is something that we can all be proud of”.
Grants Brochure | ISC Strategy
