Feb 24, 2014
The National Sports Campus Development Authority has received notification from ESB Networks that it is necessary to shut power to the building on Wednesday of next week (26th Feb 2014) for upgrade works to allow for a changeover from overhead to underground cables necessitated by development works on campus site as a whole.
The maintenance works are quite likely to result in power outages and interruption to ICT services, so taking into account the health & safety implications of having temporary generators at the offices and the logistics of a safe transfer of power at the start and finish of the works, the NSCDA has determined that the safest course of action is to close the building on Wednesday 26th February.
As a result the FIS Office will be closed & no visitors will be allowed access to Irish Sport HQ on the day. The main telephone line will divert to Conn McCluskey, Support Services Officer who is also available on 083-1285169 and by email conn.mccluskey@irishsport.ie.
We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
Feb 24, 2014
Paralympics Ireland today announced its 2014 Athlete Panel. The panel of forty five athletes across eleven sports is comprised of those considered most likely to qualify for the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. The panel will come together for the first time as a group in March when they meet for the initial multisport training camp of the Rio cycle, in Limerick.
Commenting on the announcement of the 2014 Panel Paralympics Ireland Performance Manager Dave Malone said; ‘Being named on the panel is always a notable step on the journey to secure Paralympic Games qualification for an athlete. We are looking forward to the first engagement as one entity in Limerick in what is set to be another busy year with a European or World Championships as the focus for the majority of athletes.’
The panel boasts several London 2012 medallists including athletes Jason Smyth and Michael McKillop, swimmer Darragh McDonald and handcyclist Mark Rohan. Also notable is the welcome return of the 7-a-side CP football squad who agonisingly missed out on London qualification. Promisingly, there is one athlete each from the two sports set to make their Paralympic debut in Rio; Canoeing and Triathlon, on the panel.
Alongside those named an additional twenty athletes from eleven sports will attend the Limerick camp under Paralympics Ireland’s new Fast Track Programme. This programme provides ring fenced supports for promising athletes that have emerged from the post London 2012 talent search.
With the 2016 Paralympic Games Qualification guide recently published by the International Paralympic Committee targets can clearly be set ahead of the qualification period opening early next year. 2014 will provide many competition opportunities with European Championships in Swimming, Athletics and Football, and World Track and Road Championships in Para-cycling, amongst others (detailed below).
Some notable retirements following the 2012 Games include six time Paralympian Catherine Walsh who claimed tandem cycling silver and bronze in London. Distinguished and decorated Boccia players Gay Shelly and Tom Leahy step aside after five and eight Paralympic Games respectively. Following Equestrian Dressage team bronze at London double Paralympian Eilish Byrne and horse Youri have retired, as has fellow double Paralympian table tennis player Eimear Breathnach who now chairs the Athletes Commission at Paralympics Ireland.
2014 Paralympics Ireland Athlete Panel
Athletics (7) Jason Smyth (Derry), Michael McKillop (Antrim), Orla Barry (Cork), Catherine O Neill (Wexford), Nadine Lattimore (Clontarf, Dublin), John Mc Carthy (Cork), Deirdre Mongan (Galway), Heather Jameson (Garristown, Dublin)
Boccia (2) Roberta Connolly (Foxrock, Dublin), Johnny Cronin (Cork)
Canoeing (1) Pat O’Leary (Galway)
Cycling (7) Colin Lynch (Based in UK), Mark Rohan (Westmeath), Enda Smyth (Santry, Dublin), James Brown (Based in UK) + Brian MyCrystal (Pilot), Katie George Dunleavy (Based in UK) + Eve McCrystal (Pilot)
Equestrian (2) Helen Kearney (Wicklow), James Dwyer (Waterford)
Football 7-A-Side (14) Senior Panel -Brian Mc Gillivary (Firhouse, Dublin) ,Simon Lestrange (Mullingar), Joe Markey (Monaghan), Luke Evans (Artane, Dublin), Gary Messett (Wicklow),Daragh Snell (Wicklow), Eric O Flaherty (Galway), Daragh Byrne (Santry, Dublin), Podge Leacy (Wexford), Peter Cotter (Cork), Aaron Tier (Limerick), Tom Badun (Drogheda), Dillon Sheridan (Ballyfermot), Ryan Nolan (Wicklow)
Sailing (3) John Twomey (Cork), Ian Costello (Kerry), Austin O’Carroll (Cork)
Shooting (1) Sean Baldwin (Kildare)
Swimming (5) Ellen Keane (Clontarf, Dublin), Darragh McDonald (Wexford), Laurence McGivern (Down), James Scully (Meath), Jonathan McGrath (Clare)
Table Tennis (2) Philip Quinlan (Sandymount, Dublin), Rena McCarron (Donegal)
Triathlon (1) Michael Delaney (Dublin 3)
2014 Key International Competitions
4-11 Apr; IPC Powerlifting World Championships, Dubai
10-13 Apr; UCI Para-cycling Track World Championships, Mexico
20-22 June; ETU Triathlon European Championships, Austria
17-26 July, IPC Shooting World Championships, Germany
20 July – 4 Aug; CPISRA Football 7-a-side European Championships, Portugal
4-10 Aug; IPC Swimming European Championships, Holland
18-23 Aug; IPC Athletics European Championships, Wales
24-13 Aug; FISA World Rowing Championships, Holland
25-29 Aug; FEI World Equestrian Games, France
28 Aug – 1 Sep; UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, USA
6-15 Sep; ITTF Para Table Tennis World Championships, China
8-21 Sep; IFDS Sailing World Championships, Spain
19-28 Sep; BISFED Boccia World Championships, China
TBC; ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Italy
Feb 17, 2014
The Irish Sports Council announced an investment plan of €25 million for 2014 on February 12th. This investment includes €11 million for National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs), €5 million for Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) and €8.7 million for High Performance Sport and provides an overview of the Council’s investment strategy for 2014.
€10.6 million will be allocated to support the core activities of 59 Governing Bodies of Sport. In addition, €583,000 will be dedicated to Women in Sport activities across the NGB sector. This investment will look to continue the support of participation programmes which has seen considerable increases in membership including Athletics Ireland (49,000 members) and Cycling (20,000 member).
The National Network of Local Sports Partnerships will receive €5.01 million to support their work in promoting participating in sport and physical activity. In 2013, over 200,000 people took part in local participation programmes while mass participation events such the An Post Cycle Series and Operation Transformation National Walks and Fun Runs attracted over 35,000 participants.
€8.7 m will be invested directly into high performance sports bodies. This investment will continue to build on the success of high performance sport in Ireland which saw a record 67 medals achieved last year at European and World events across a multitude of sports. In 2014, the Council will continue to implement the recommendations of the London Debrief and International Carding Scheme. For the first time Golf will be supported as a single entity by the Council. The establishment of the Confederation of Golf in Ireland is a major development which brings the three golfing organisations together in a joint structure to develop golf in Ireland to its full potential.
2014 promises to be another incredible year of sporting events. One of the highlights of the year will be the Special Olympic Ireland Games taking place in Limerick in June. To support the success of the games, the Council has made an additional provision of €200,000 available to Special Olympics Ireland.
Kieran Mulvey, Chairman of the Irish Sports Council said that “I want to acknowledge the sports bodies and partnerships that provide opportunities to support our mission to increase participation in sport and enhance high performance. I also want to acknowledge the Council’s commitment to the Governance Code for Community and Voluntary organisations. This code for good governance will further strengthen our sector, providing a guide on policies and procedures that will empower all Council funded bodies and assist them in achieving excellence in all areas of their work”.
In addition to High Performance, Governing Bodies and Participation, the Council will continue to lead the development in areas such as Anti-Doping Coaching, the Institute of Sport, National Trails and Research.
John Treacy, CEO of the Council said: “In addition to today’s investment announcement, the Council is also committed to building capability across the sports sector organisations. The strategic provision of Organisational Capability Building services in the areas of Project Management, Governance, Risk Management, Strategic Planning, Change Management, Employee Performance Management and Organisational Leadership will be a priority in developing the sporting sector”.
Irish Sports Council Supporting NGBs in 2014
- Confederation of Irish Golf commences work
- Special Olympics Ireland host summer games in Limerick
- Rolling out Organisation Capability Building Programme
- Supporting NGBs grow membership and drive participation in sport
- Funding 26 NGBs for Women in Sport Programmes
- 59 NGBs will receive funding for core activities
- 18 sports will receive support to deliver High Performance Plans
- 2 more (Gymnastics and Clay Pigeon Shooting) will receive support for high performance projects
- Coaching Ireland delivering services directly to NGBs
- Institute of Sport working in partnership with NGBs to deliver services directly to athletes and coaches
- Local Sports Partnerships work with NGBs at community level to deliver programmes to target groups
- Supporting Sport HQ at the National Sports Campus @ Abbotstown
Irish Sports Council Supporting LSPs in 2014
- Investing in 30 Local Sports Partnerships to support the Participation strategy
- Delivering the An Post Cycle Series across five counties to over 16,000 participants
- Investing in the Sports Inclusion Disability Programme including support to 16 Sports Inclusion Disability Officers throughout the network.
- Working with Operation Transformation to deliver National Walks and 5k Fun Runs to over 35,000 people
- Investing in the Women in Sports programme to deliver activities across in local communities
- Supporting innovation in sport through initiatives such as Park Run
See more here
Feb 14, 2014
John Kelly has been appointed as the new National Handball Manager for the GAA. The Longford native takes over from Tony Hannon who had been acting National Manager and departed the post last November.
A member of the Ardagh St Patricks GAA club in Longford, John has been employed as Fixtures and Events Officer for the past 5 years with the Association and now takes the step up to National Manager. “I am very honoured to have been appointed to the position of National Handball Manager” Kelly said, “In the past five years I have met some incredible people in the sport and have seen the terrific work that is being done at grassroots level and it is a credit to all the volunteers out there. My job is to maintain this great work and build our Association from here as the clubs and the volunteers are the lifeblood of our Association.”
One of his main aims will be to increase the profile of the game here in Ireland and throughout the World.
“We currently boast the top Mens & Ladies Handballers in the World in Paul Brady and Aisling Reilly. This is something not many Irish Sports can say. Paul Brady has been one of the most phenomenal athletes in Irish Sport in the last decade but has not always got the recognition his brilliance deserved. Others like Fiona Shannon, Aisling Reilly, Catriona Casey, Robbie McCarthy and Eoin Kennedy to name a few have raised the standard of the sport significantly in recent years and my aim is to try and raise the profile of GAA Handball to ensure that the talent in our sport gets the recognition it deserves and also our sport grows and appeals to people all over Ireland and indeed worldwide”
He also believes that there is a very bright future for GAA Handball with the talent that the sport currently has at Juvenile level.
“There is great work currently been done at schools level and at Juvenile level throughout the country and it is imperative that we give these players the best possible opportunity to succeed in the sport”
John Kelly was educated at St Mel’s Longford and DIT, graduating with a Degree in Marketing and E-Business. He has previously worked for Celtic FC, AIB, CDC Software and Mars Ireland aswell as his previous role in GAA Handball.
His first official function will be at GAA Handball Congress on Sunday 9th February which takes place in Clare.
Read More Here: http://www.gaahandball.ie/
Jan 29, 2014
DCU are pleased to announce their sporting masterclasses. These workshops have been designed to cover areas that have been shown to be of great value in performance sports settings yet aren’t traditionally covered in formal coaching qualifications. The workshops offer the opportunity to learn from highly successful elite coaches who are happy to share their own experiences, ideas and methods with aspiring coaches and interested parties. The format and content will be suitable for coaches and managers from all sporting backgrounds.
DCU Coaching Masterclass Flyer final External
Presenters include:
A number of different contributors from various sports have been carefully selected to cover the areas chosen.
– Billy Walsh – European, World and Olympic medal winning boxing coach and leader of the Irish Boxing High Performance Unit. Former Coach of the Year
– Jim Gavin – Manager to Dublin’s All Ireland winning football team
– Liam Sheedy – Manager to Tipperary’s All Ireland winning hurling team
– Gary Keegan – Irish Institute of Sport Chief and the coach responsible for developing the high performance unit of Irish Boxing
– Rory Fitzpatrick – Coach to Annalise Murphy, Ireland’s recently crowned European Champion and Olympic sailor
Some of the areas covered will be:
– Leadership in coaching
– Developing a performance environment in your coaching setting
– Creating successful teams
– Self development for the good of your athletes and teams
Dates:
– Wednesday 12 February 7.30-10pm
– Wednesday 26 February 7.30-10pm
– Wednesday 12 March 7.30-10pm
Format:
Each session will consist of two presentations delivered by highly experienced coaches/managers followed by a discussion forum at the end. There will be a short break between each session and refreshments will be provided.
Booking only at:
https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/dcu-sports-coaching-masterclass-workshops-tickets-10099165877
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@DCUcoaching
Jan 27, 2014
The largest study of participation in sport and exercise ever conducted in Ireland was published today (18th December) by Minister for Sport Michael Ring. “Keeping them in the Game”, commissioned by the Irish Sports Council and compiled by ESRI researchers, provides evidence for policy from three large nationally representative surveys of activity, covering everyone from primary school children to older adults.
In launching the report Minister Michael Ring highlighted “the importance of having research of this quality in order to inform important policy decisions around trying to increase the number of Irish people taking part in sport throughout their lives.”
The report highlights the growing evidence linking low levels of physical activity to poor health and focuses on why people take up and drop out from sport and exercise activities at different life stages.#
Key findings include:
- Almost all primary schoolchildren engage in regular sporting activity – it’s what happens after that stage that is a cause for concern
- Many children drop out of regular activity during the second-level years, especially girls
- School exams have a strong negative impact: students participate less in exam years and this has a lasting effect on whether they are active in later years
- Students who play sport get, on average, better Leaving Certificate results
- Activity as an adult is less related to attitudes and beliefs than to life events: most adults believe sporting activity is good for them and want to be more active, but leaving education, work commitments, relocations and family responsibilities lead many to drop out
- Cycling and, in particular, swimming, are most likely to persist into later adulthood; Gaelic games meanwhile have a high drop-out rate
- New sporting activities are mostly taken up through social connections with friends, colleagues and family members; finding facilities is not a barrier
- These factors lead to a widening socio-economic gap as people progress through adulthood – the less well-off are more likely to drop out from sport as young adults and less likely to take up new activities
The study discusses a number of policy implications.
Speaking at the launch, Kieran Mulvey, Chairperson of the Irish Sports Council said: “The Irish Sports Council has made increasing participation in sport and physical activity a key strategic priority. It is vital that we and our key stakeholders have access to this type of research to underpin our efforts in this regard.”
John Treacy, Chief Executive of the Irish Sports Council acknowledged “the thought provoking report which will help us focus in terms of strategic priorities”
Report author Dr. Pete Lunn of the ESRI said: “The findings imply a need to change the way we think about promoting sport and exercise. We are good at getting children involved – it’s keeping people involved as they get older that is the problem. The evidence suggests we could focus more on the major transitions in people’s lives and try to make it easier for them to continue to be active.”
