Oct 3, 2013
Paralympics Ireland is hosting the 10th European Paralympic Committee General Assembly and Conference in Dublin this weekend.
The hosts are promoting this major international event as their contribution to The Gathering but outside of the opportunities available to show off a little bit of Ireland and the famous Irish hospitality, this is a very important weekend for the Paralympic movement.
A biennial affair that is being held in this country for only the second time – it took place in Malahide 12 years ago – the EPC General Assembly and Conference will bring more than 100 delegates from in excess of 40 countries to the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Northwood.
Starting tomorrow morning and drawing to a close on Saturday evening, the General Assembly and Conference will have even greater significance coming as it does just seven weeks before the world governing body, the International Paralympic Committee holds its General Assembly and Conference in Athens (November 22-24).
A lot of key issues surrounding the Paralympic sport are sure to be debated in the coming days.
Tomorrow’s conference programme will focus on policy, development, co-operation, gender equality and the continuing encouragement of youth participation, with contributions from many important stakeholders.
It will also see the EPC and the European Olympic Committee jointly signing a Memorandum of Understanding. This will represent a ground-breaking formal commitment from the two organisations that they will work together for the development of sport in Europe, particularly at youth level.
The EOC will be represented by their President, Pat Hickey. Mr Hickey will be joined by a host of other dignitaries, including EPC President John Petersson, IPC President Sir Philip Craven, Paralympics Ireland President James Gradwell, and CEO of the Irish Sports Council, John Treacy.
Paralympics Ireland will present a number of awards during tomorrow night’s official dinner at the Guinness Storehouse. The Irish Paralympic Order is the highest honour Paralympics Ireland can bestow, as it is a merit award for outstanding service to the Paralympic movement in Ireland.
Three deserving individuals will receive this award before a further trio of Paralympic legends will be inducted into the Paralympics Ireland Hall of Fame.
On Saturday, the General Assembly will hear reports on finances and budgets, while there will also be reports on the organisation of upcoming major events including the 2014 Winter Paralympics at Sochi and 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
A number of motions will be forwarded for discussion before the executive board elections will be held.
EPC president, John Petersson will be returned unopposed on Saturday and he is looking forward to a progressive and fruitful weekend in Dublin.
“A General Assembly and Conference is an important event for all of us. For the EPC executive board, it is important to have feedback on the activities done in the previous two years and to have support for the future direction of EPC and its activities.
“For the members it is crucial to discuss, evaluate, inspire and get experiences from others and use the time to share knowledge and enjoy the time together with members from the Paralympic Family.
“I know that everybody within EPC together with our friends in Paralympics Ireland have worked hard to make the 10th EPC General Assembly and Conference the best ever. In this regard, I express my deep and grateful thanks to Paralympics Ireland for hosting this important event for EPC.”
James Gradwell, Paralympics Ireland president has emphasised Ireland’s role in developing the Paralympic movement.
“As one of the few NPCs to have participated in every Summer Paralympic Games, we were particularly delighted to see the enormous growth of the Paralympic movement since those humble beginnings in 1960, to the incredible success of the London 2012 Games.
“London 2012 was our greatest ever performance and we look forward to continuing to develop and nurture our wonderful movement with our colleagues in Europe and around the world.
Paralympics Ireland CEO, Liam Harbison believes that the Paralympic movement must continue to build on the giant strides made in recent years.
“Paralympics Ireland are proud to host our European colleagues over the coming days and pleased to play our part in ‘The Gathering’. London was a huge success for Paralympic sport globally but the nations need to continue working to ensure that re success in London is sustained and the movement reaches new heights at future Games.
“Discussions in Dublin this week and at the IPC General Assembly in Athens in November will play a key role in shaping and sustaining that success.”
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar welcomes the international visitors to the Irish capital this weekend and believes that it is a fitting venue for the EPC General Assembly and Conference.
“Ireland has a proud tradition in Paralympic sport and the Irish Paralympic team was magnificent in London, taking home a total of 16 medals including eight gold, three silver and five bronze medals. The Games have a very special place in the hearts of the Irish people and its many highlights will live forever in the memory.”
Oct 2, 2013
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NYCI Child Protection Welfare Certificate_Brochure 2013-2014
NYCI Child Protection Cert 2013 – 2014_application form
Oct 2, 2013
Irish weightlifter Clarence Kennedy has claimed three bronze medals at the prestigious European Junior Weightlifting Championships in Tallinn, Estonia.
This is the first European medal for Weightlifting Ireland and encouragement for all the many weightlifting athletes , volunteer officials and support staff in Ireland. Kennedy overcame athletes from Great Britain, Poland & Latvia to secure third place.
Kennedy (20) is already the highest ranked male Irish weightlifter of all time and is already focusing on the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Kennedy snatched an Irish record 148kg to win bronze in the first half of the competition and then went on to Clean and Jerk an Irish record 180kg to secure both the Clean and Jerk and overall bronze medals.
Watch Clarence in action here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adj3wCNy_4w
Speaking afterwards, Weightlifting Ireland President Harry Leech congratulated Kennedy for his success in a performance which saw him beat athletes from powerhouses of European and World weightlifting:
“Clarence is an unprecedented phenomenon in Irish Weightlifting, with potential to become one of the greatest athletes Ireland has ever produced, from any sport. His result is a testament to his talent, hard work and perseverance and he is a credit to his family, who were present to see him win his three bronze medals,” he said,
“I hope that the Irish Sports Council will now agree to support Clarence as he is a phenomenal athlete with amazing potential. If Clarence is to reach the medal podium at European and World championships, and to grace the platform at the Olympic Games in Rio 2016, he needs funding to train full time.”
A total of 5 Athletes from Ireland competed in different classes, with each athlete creating a new European PB.
Read More on Weightlifting Ireland Here: http://www.weightliftingireland.com/index.html
Sep 30, 2013
Background/History:
Established in 1975, the IOHA is recognised by the Irish Sports Council, Olympic Council of Ireland, the European Handball Federation and the International Handball Federation as the sole governing body for the sport of Olympic handball in Ireland.
Number of Clubs: 10 and growing fast
Number of Participants:
- Primary School 3,500+
- Secondary Schools 800+
- Adults 280+
2012 Highlights:
- EHF Referee Course lead by Allan Lund
- IOHA Hosted a Mummy and Me day in UCD for beginners to increase women’s partitication in handball.
- Irelands first ever European Qualifiers – EHF Euro 2014 Qualification Phase 1 Ireland played Romania, Israel & Belgium
- IOHA signed up to EHF Foster Program – Denmark to help develop the level of handball in Ireland.
- Girls National team played in Sweeden in the Partille cup in June.
- Champions league winners 2010-11 Barcalona’s B team came over to Ireland to play in a pre season tournament hosted by the IOHA.
- IOHA win CocaCola “Thank You Fund” to fund street handball project
2013 Highlights (so far):
- Ireland Hosted Belguim and Estonia in euro qualifiers in DCU in early April.
- The IOHA hosted a gathering tournament for men and ladies that seen teams from England and Germany take part in September 2013
- Irish club Lughnasa, took part in a girls tournament in Scotland hosted by Edinburgh Handball Club
What are the key events for IOHA in 2013/2014?
- On Oct 25th & 26th, Lisburn will host a schools handball day and a tournament for men’s and ladies for being the European City of sport for 2013
- Street handball Event for colleges 13th Oct in ITB Blanchardstown.
- Referee course EHF Nov 15th-17th for school teachers and club members
- The IOHA has signed up to enter an under 18 girls team for the 2014 european open that will take place from the 30th of june to the 6th of july.
- The IOHA will host the European Handball Federation congress in Septetember at the Clyde court hotel.
How can people get involved in Olympic Handball?
Contact us on Facebook/Twitter/website or send us an email at ioha@olympichandball.org
Social Media Channel Links:
http://www.olympichandball.org
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Irish-Olympic-Handball-Association/130456927021610
https://twitter.com/IrelandHandball
Any interesting facts or statistics for inclusion in our Fact File
Many people mix up Olympic handball with GAA Handball, what we say to people is we have “big balls no walls” famous words from Tom Ó Brannagáin.
Sep 30, 2013
Yesterday’s live coverage of the TG4 Ladies Football Finals 2013 from Croke Park saw TG4 get its highest viewing figures to date for the occasion.
Official figures provided by Nielsen report that 625,000 people tuned into TG4’s coverage during the afternoon, with 328,000 watching the exciting climax to the Senior final as Cork edged out Monaghan to win their 8th TG4 Senior title in 9 years, a unique achievement in modern Irish sport.
This viewing made TG4 the highest watched channel in Ireland yesterday afternoon with a share of viewing double that of its nearest competitor. It was also TG4’s highest ever viewership for this fixture, the 13th year it has been shown on the channel.
Viewing for each of the three 2013 Finals broadcast was well up on the previous year. Earlier in the afternoon Cavan won a hard-earned Intermediate final over Tipperary while Offaly came out on top over Wexford in the Junior decider.
Technical Note on Nielsen
- Official TAM Ireland figures are provided by Nielsen TAM. All data collected is from in-home viewing and excludes viewing in pubs, clubs etc.
- All figures are Live + VOSDAL (viewing on the same day as live)
Contact:
Rónán Ó Coisdealbha
TG4 SPORT
Tel: 087 2472841 / 091 505050
E: sport@tg4.ie
W: www.tg4.ie
www.twitter.com/sporttg4
Sep 30, 2013
Sport is to be included in the third edition of the Global Irish Economic Forum taking place from 3rd -5th October 2013 in Dublin Castle. This is the first time that sport is to be included in the event. There is to be a panel on sport on Saturday morning entitled “Promoting the interests of Ireland and its people abroad through Sport”.
The session is to be moderated by Ger Gilroy with the panel being comprised of Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring, Eugenie Buckley of Suiko Consulting (www.suikco.com.au), Paraic Duffy, GAA, Hugo MacNeill, Managing Director, Investment Banking, Goldman Sachs Ireland, Martin Naughton, President, Glen Dimplex and Kevin O’Brien, Cricket Ireland.
Sport’s ability to drive tourism, the hosting of international sports events in Ireland and sport’s use as a tool for the development of relationship as well as its contribution to the enhancement of Ireland’s reputation abroad are all likely to feature in the discussion.
In recognition of the event, the Department of Tranpsort, Tourism & Sport are hosting a reception on Thursday 3rd October at 6pm in the National Concert Hall at which, Irish sporting representatives are to be present to meet with panel members to discuss some of the opportunities and challenges facing Irish Sport. This should allow for a more informed debate and discussion to take place at the Forum proper.
It is hoped that there will be solid outcome for sport from the discussion at the Sports Forum perhaps around the area of sports tourism. The Gathering is an example of an initiative to have been developed at a previous edition of the Global Irish Economic Forum.
More Information is available here: https://www.globalirishforum.ie/2013Programme.aspx
