Mar 27, 2023
The Federation of Irish Sport celebrated the winners of the 2022 Volunteers in Sport Awards proudly supported by the National Network of 29 Local Sports Partnerships at a luncheon awards ceremony at The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown. The special guest speaker at the awards Thomas Byrne, Minister of State with responsibility for Sport & Physical Education, presented the recipients from each county with a custom-made medal recognising their amazing dedication to volunteering across a variety of different sports. In addressing the gathering he said “….Volunteering is the backbone of sport in this country. From the grassroots to the board room we need volunteers, we depend on volunteers.”
In addition to the 32 county award winners, the overall Outstanding Achievement Award was presented to Aislinn Nugent of Valleymount LGFA from Co. Wicklow in special recognition of her promotion of inclusivity, community spirit, health and well-being through Sport in the community for over 20 years.
The Volunteers in Sport Awards celebrate the contributions of the band of volunteers across the country who give their time to Irish sport and physical activity every year. This equates to approximately 37.3 million hours of volunteering across Ireland’s 13,000 registered sports clubs and associations and, according to Sport Ireland’s 2021 ‘Researching the Value of Sport in Ireland’ report, is worth an estimated €1.5bn to the exchequer.
Feb 23, 2023
Annual Leaders Forum with Minister Thomas Byrne TD, Minister of State with responsibility for Sport and Physical Education
Invitations have been issued to members to attend Annual Leaders Forum on Wed. 1st March for NGB CEO’s/Managers, LSP Coordinators/Managers and Senior Management in volunteer led organisations who are members of the Federation. The event will be hosted at Irish Sport HQ and available online.
Keynote Address: Minister for Sport & Physical Education, Minister Thomas Byrne TD
Presentation on the National Sports Policy Action Plan 2021-2023 – A Review, Update and Planning for the road ahead from TCAGSM Officials, followed by Q&A
Reflections on the Leadership Challenges in our Sporting Organisations, HR Specialist Una Clifford HR Nua
Dec 12, 2022
‘Give the gift of nominating a standout volunteer in your club’
12th December 2022: The Federation of Irish Sport today announced the launch of the 2022 Volunteers in Sports Awards. The county awards will return to an in-person awards ceremony, recognising the army of volunteers who make sport happen in communities, in every county across the country. Nominations are now open at www.volunteersinsport.ie. The awards are #DedicatedtotheDedicated.
The 2022 awards will be celebrated in the Greater Dublin Area at the beginning of March 2023. Nominations are open from Monday 12th December via the dedicated awards website. Entries will close on the 25th January 2023. Nominations received will be shortlisted and put forward for consideration by the Judging Panel. Winners are chosen on a county basis, with 32 award recipients and one overall Outstanding Volunteer Award.
Volunteers are the cornerstone of sporting activities in clubs and communities nationwide. Unpaid, they give freely of their time, energy and are dedicated to the development of their chosen sport. Over 450,000 volunteers are needed on a weekly basis to run club activities, giving on average 3½ hours per week. The estimated economic value of volunteering in sport and physical activity is worth €1.5bn. Without them sports clubs would not exist.
Commenting on the announcement Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht, Jack Chambers, TD said, “It’s an honour to be part of the launch of these national awards, recognising the many volunteers who are the backbone of local sports clubs in every community across the country. They are responsible for making sure weekly training sessions take place, managing teams, organising inter-club matches, ensuring pitches, courts and clubhouses are kept operational most importantly bringing communities together through sport. Last year’s winners represented a wide variety of sports and all ages of volunteers. I would encourage all club members to reflect on who they know in their club that has made a difference and had a positive impact in their community through their dedication to their sport.”
Mary O’Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport said, “I am delighted to launch the return of the Volunteers in Sport Industry Awards. While the awards were successfully hosted online for the last two years due to the pandemic, nothing beats the warmth and connectivity of gathering in-person to recognise the selfless work being done by volunteers behind the scenes at clubs and sporting organisations. There is a strong sense of volunteerism in sport in Ireland. We had been on track to reach the 2027 target of 55% for social participation, club membership or attendance at a sporting event. However, Covid has impacted this and we need to encourage more participation and volunteering to get back on track to reach this target. Shining a light on our volunteers in sport is a way to recognise and remind people of the invaluable role they play in society.”
Also present at the launch the of the awards was the 2020 Co. Kildare recipient Tom Egan of Salmon Leap Canoe Club and his daughter Irish Canoeist Jenny Egan a multiple World Championship and European Medallist and Multiple World Cup Medallist and currently ranked World No. 1.
To keep up to date with all the latest announcements visit www.volunteersinsport.ie and follow @iresport on twitter and on LinkedIn
#DedicatedtoheDedicated
Apr 1, 2022
We are delighted to announce the return of the Irish Sport Industry Awards, in association with Clubforce. The awards will be celebrated on Tuesday 17th May at The Westin Hotel in Dublin. For more details and how to nominate an entry please visit our dedicated website and click here.
Feb 16, 2022
It’s back! Our 2022 Member CEO Forum will take place on Tuesday 1st March. Hosted by broadcaster Gráinne McElwain, the 2022 member CEO Forum, ‘The Pandemic was Game Changer. How does the Sports Sector Play the Game Now?’ is exclusively for member CEO’s, LSP co-ordinators and member Chairpersons and invited guests. There will be expert insights on the national importance of sport and physical activity. We are delighted to announce Raelene Castle, CEO of Sport New Zealand will join us live on the day! Guest Speaker Information: 
The Federation of Irish Sport are delighted to host Raelene Castle, CEO of Sport New Zealand as part of the upcoming member CEO Forum to be held on March 1st. Prior to joining Sport New Zealand in 2020, Raelene spent seven years working in Australia as Chief Executive of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and then Chief Executive of Rugby Australia. She was previously Chief Executive of Netball New Zealand from 2007 to 2013. She has held several governance roles in sport, previously serving as a board director of the ANZ Championship Netball, International Federations of Netball Associations, SANZAAR Rugby and the World Rugby Council. Raelene was made an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) in 2015 for services to Business and Sport. Lisa Wainwright the CEO
of the Sport and Recreation Alliance UK and received an MBE in the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to sport. She has held Executive roles at England Netball, Volleyball England and British Basketball. Internationally she has held roles on the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) World Ethics Panel, European Volleyball (CEV) Credentials Panel, has been a member of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Governance Commission as well as being a Director of the British Olympic Association. She is currently a Technical Director for International Volleyball (FIVB). A graduate of the UK Sport CEO Executive Leadership Programme Lisa has set up her own company Ljwainwright Limited. In 2019, she was awarded Women CEO of the year alongside being awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Bedfordshire University and named in the 2020 OUTstanding 100 LGBT+ Executives List for the third year in a row. Her motivations are simple, to enable people to better themselves through sport.
Cian Ó Lionáin is the Assistant Secretary-General with responsibility for Sport and Tourism in the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. He started in this role in mid-2021 having previously spent a considerable period of time in the Department of Housing where he dealt with policy matters in the housing, water and local government areas. He has previously worked in the Department of Finance and in Brussels as part of Ireland’s Permanent Representation to the EU. He has a keen interest in sport and previously served in a personal capacity on the board of a sports NGB, at county management level and on local sports club management committees. Despite his real interest in sport, his own playing career across a range of sports was characterised by enthusiastic mediocrity. Cian will make a presentation to our attendees, sharing insights and updates on the Government Sports Action Plan.
Our host for the CEO Forum will be broadcaster Gráínne McElwain. 
For our panel discussion we are delighted to have Dr. Declan Jordan, Senior Lecturer in Economics, Centre for Sports Economics and Law UCC and Benny Cullen, Director of Research and Innovation at Sport Ireland join us to share their insights into the economic value of sport in Ireland and the importance of volunteering.
Representing the Federation will be CEO Mary O’Connor and Chairperson Clare McGrath.
