MUNSTER RUGBY’S ENDA LYNCH APPOINTED TO BOARD OF FEDERATION OF IRISH SPORT

Nov 26, 2019

MUNSTER RUGBY’S ENDA LYNCH APPOINTED TO BOARD OF FEDERATION OF IRISH SPORT

26^th November2019: The Federation of Irish Sport is delighted to announce that Enda Lynch, Head of Enterprise with Munster Rugby has been appointed an Independent Director of the Federation. The Federation of Irish Sport is the representative organisation for the National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) and Local Sports Partnerships (LSPs) in Ireland. The Federation’s membership consists of over 100 NGBs and LSPs from every corner of the country.

Enda who is Head of Enterprise with Munster Rugby, has had a distinguished career in the areas of sports marketing, sponsorship and communications. Before taking up his current role with Munster Rugby he was the club’s Head of Commercial & Marketing, overseeing all revenue generation and marketing for the organisation for over five years. Prior to that he worked with the then Slattery Communications on major sponsorships such as the Irish Rugby team, The O2,  the GAA All Stars, Ferrari and the Champions League. A Kerry man residing in Cork, he is a Communications graduate of Dublin City University. 

In making the announcement Roddy Guiney, Chairman of the Federation said that he believed Enda’s knowledge of sport and his expertise both in sports marketing and communications would be of major benefit not alone to the organisation but also to our members.  “Enda has been associated with many highly successful brands and sponsorships and we are looking forward to availing of his skills and expertise as we strive to continue to deliver successful programmes for our members”.

Speaking of his appointment, Enda said “I am really looking forward to working on behalf of the organisations that make sport and physical activity in Ireland happen on a daily basis. Given the rate of change of how sports organisations survive and thrive commercially and organisationally, I see the Federation as playing a critical role in helping shape the framework for that development. I look forward to meeting many of my fellow NBGs and Local Sports Partnerships in the months ahead”. 

ENDS

Alliance for Insurance Reform welcomes “small steps” towards reform but describes progress as “unbearably slow”

Nov 20, 2019

Alliance for Insurance Reform welcomes “small steps” towards reform but describes progress as “unbearably slow”

Lack of timeline for Judicial Council reform and lack of resources for Garda Fraud Unit are deeply disappointing

The Alliance for Insurance Reform has welcomed the announcement by the Chief Justice of the appointment of the Personal Injuries Guidelines Committee of the Judicial Council.  But Peter Boland, spokesperson for the Alliance said “this is a small step forward but we need to see real urgency in tackling high awards.

“The Judicial Council Act was signed into law 88 days ago. These appointments chould have been made in one week; and today we learned that plans for benchmarking and information-gathering are expected. The only losers from this foot–dragging are the hundreds and thousands of community groups, charities and small businesses who are being crippled by increasing costs.

“Our experience over the last 2 years has been that deadline after deadline for reform is missed. Today we got no timeline for when the work of the Committee would be complete.  From a policyholders’ perspective, progress appears unbearably slow. The Personal Injuries Commission and the Cost of Insurance Working Group have already completed a huge body of research and this does not need to be repeated.  We are calling on those appointed to this ‘Committee Designate’ to demonstrate an understanding of how serious this problem is and make early recommendations on dramatically lowering awards for minor injuries.

The Conference today also heard from Assistant Commissioner John O’Driscoll on its work in the area of insurance fraud.  Peter Boland said “We are disappointed that no progress has been made on the establishment of a fully-funded and resourced Garda response. Until this deterrent is put in place the incentive to claim fraudulently or to exaggerate claims will remain undiminished”.

Finally, the Alliance said that the insurance industry needs to make a commitment to quantify the scale of premium reductions which will follow reforms.  “Reform in awards and more Garda priority will be useless if the insurers do not commit to meaningful premium reductions” concluded Peter Boland.

Marine Spacial Planning Update

Nov 15, 2019

The launch of the Draft National Maritime Planning Framework (NMPF), by Minister Damien English from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government took place on Tuesday November 12th.

This draft is Ireland’s first complete marine spatial planning document that sets out the policies, to help direct decision making in the maritime area using a plan-led approach. This draft is to go through a public consultation process in the next few months concluding at the end of February, with a view for a final draft to be launched towards the end of 2020, and implementation in 2021. The ultimate outcome will be for a simpler, more streamlined planning process for foreshore, that will enable links to County Development Plans, allowing local authorities to look towards the sea for local development opportunities.

Irish Sailing’s CEO, Harry Hermon sits on the NMPF Stakeholder Advisory Group as a representative of the Federation of Irish Sport.

All NGB’ and LSP’s who use the foreshore for their activities are strongly urged to attend the public consultation process for the Draft NMPF

Regional public meetings to promote awareness and facilitate public and stakeholder participation in the Draft NMPF run from 21st Nov to 10 Dec in Limerick, Westport, Galway and Tralee.

Full details of locations and contacts here https://www.housing.gov.ie/planning/marine-planning/public-consultation-draft-national-marine-planning-framework

Submissions are welcome by email or post too before 12:00 noon on 28th February 2020

Full details on the NMPF

See the full Government Press Release with useful summary breakdowns here – Govt Press release: https://www.housing.gov.ie/water/marine-planning/minister-english-launches-public-consultation-draft-national-marine-planning

Volunteers in Sport Winners honoured in Farmleigh House

Nov 13, 2019

Volunteers from all 32 counties honoured at Volunteers in Sport Awards (Photos at end of Press Release)

• Awards celebrate the 450,000 volunteers contributing to sport in clubs and communities across Ireland
• Swim Ireland’s Mary Dunne receives ‘outstanding contribution’ award and Limerick based Women on Wheels receives the ‘team of volunteers’ award

Volunteers from all 32 counties were honoured at today’s Volunteers in Sport Awards, hosted by the Federation of Irish Sport, in partnership with EBS, in Farmleigh House, Dublin.

The Volunteers in Sport Awards were created to recognise the contributions, commitment and dedication of the 450,000 volunteers who give their time to Irish sport each year.  This equates to approximately 37.3 million hours of volunteering across Ireland’s 14,000 registered sports clubs and associations.

Members of the public, sports clubs and governing bodies were invited to nominate an individual whose contributions to sport has made a real difference to their community, club or county.

The award recipients were selected by a judging panel consisting of 12 individuals drawn from sports administration, the volunteer community and media, including former Director General of the GAA, Paraic Duffy, The Irish Times sports journalist and activist, Joanne O’Riordan and former Irish rugby international, Trevor Ringland.

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin TD was in attendance to present the awards.  In addition to the 32 county-level award winners, Swim Ireland’s Mary Dunne received the overall ‘outstanding contribution’ award and Limerick-based ‘Women on Wheels’ received the ‘team of volunteers’ award.

The award winners are as follows:

Comment

Speaking at the awards, Mary O’Connor, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, said:

“Sport matters. It contributes to our health, binds us together as a community and supports the economy, while bringing a sense of pride to us all.

“This would not be possible without the volunteers who share their time and expertise on pitches, tracks, gym floors and swimming pools across the country each and every week.  To this end, the Volunteers in Sport Awards is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate these volunteers.   

“I would like to extend my congratulations to all our award winners and to thank Minister Griffin for attending our awards ceremony and taking the time out to help honour our award recipients.”

Commenting from the awards ceremony, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin, TD, said:

“It was a real honour for me to attend the Volunteers in Sport Awards. As somebody who has been involved in sport at an amateur level since I was a child myself, I have always marvelled at the commitment that so many club members show to their communities up and down the country.

“It is a real privilege to recognise the contribution made by those who do so much for others in fulfilling the less glamourous but most definitely vital and often overlooked tasks involved in almost any sport you can imagine. The men and women honoured today may not be household names across the country but in their own communities they are real treasures. I was delighted to speak to many of them today. My thanks to the Federation of Irish Sport and all those who made this ceremony such a memorable occasion for all the recipients.”

According to Des Fitzgerald, CEO of EBS:

“EBS has been involved in communities in Ireland for over 80 years and are delighted to reignite our activity in communities around the country by supporting the 2019 Volunteers in Sports Awards with The Federation of Irish Sport. Through a new partnership with The Federation of Irish Sport we are delighted to celebrate volunteers in sport in Ireland and I would like to congratulate all the recipients of the 2019 Volunteers in Sports Awards. At EBS we know that our biggest asset is our people who work with customers in the community. That’s why EBS is delighted to champion the army of volunteers in sport that make sure sport happens throughout Ireland every day.”

For full details on all winners and their achievements please see https://www.irishsport.ie/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Volunteers_booklet_ONLINE_v3.pdf

For more information, visit www.volunteersinsport.ie. 

ENDS

O’Driscoll O’Neil on board with Volleyball Ireland

Nov 6, 2019

Insurance company O’Driscoll O’Neil have been revealed as a new partner of Volleyball Ireland.

The partnership will see the Dublin based firm, become the Headline sponsor of the 2019/20 Volleyball Ireland Association Cup and Shield Competitions, taking the flagship Finals in the Volleyball calendar taken to the next level.  The Cup and Shield Finals will take place on Sunday May 10^th at the Sport Ireland National Indoor Arena, with the event including fun coaching sessions for juniors in between matches and entertainment to keep fans intrigued throughout the day. Improving the quality of the Finals Event is a key aim of Volleyball Ireland’s 20×20 pledge to raise the profile of Volleyball and its female players, coaches and referees.

Sports Team Manager at ODON Kathryn Reddy, was joined by Vinnie Dos Santos of defending Men’s Cup champions Dublin VC and Marie-Claire Sobogal of Shield holders UCD at today’s announcement at ODON HQ in Herbert Place.

Reddy said, “O’Driscoll O’Neil are delighted to add Volleyball to our expansive portfolio of sports. We support and encourage Volleyball Ireland’s ambitious plans to improve the Finals Event for players and supporters alike. We are excited to be a part of what will be a fantastic Event in May for clubs, fans and of course the players. O’Driscoll O’Neil take pride in being the number one Insurance provider for Sports Insurance and with over 25 years of experience within this market we are happy to offer our expertise and services to Volleyball Ireland”

General Manager of Volleyball Ireland, Gary Stewart added, “We are delighted that ODON are supporting this years Association Cup and Shield Competitions. This support will allow us to improve the production of the Finals and create an event and atmosphere that players will love competing in and fans will enjoy watching. It’s our flagship competition and our players deserve to be playing in the best venue in the country, with the stands packed to the rafters.”

National League Clubs, Recreational teams and Student Sport Ireland affiliated clubs are reminded that deadline for entries is November 20^th and can be made via the Go Membership portal (under events and courses). The Cup draw will be streamed live on November 22^nd.

Volleyball Ireland would like to thank Niall, Kathryn, Laura and the rest of the team at O’Driscoll O’Neil for their support.

Ends

2019 National Seminar for Inclusion – Last Chance to Register !!

Nov 6, 2019

Last chance to register!!

Cara in partnership with Sport Ireland are delighted to announce the 2019 National Seminar for Inclusion. The theme for this year’s seminar will be on ‘Children and Young People with Disabilities’ and will take place on Thursday November 21^st in the Castleknock Hotel Dublin. The event will consist of a combination of key note addresses and interactive breakout sessions based around the different areas where children with disabilities have the opportunity to be active; sport, physical activity, and physical education. At this year’s Seminar you will have the opportunity to hear directly from children and young people with disabilities, network, and through interactive breakout sessions discuss the various challenges and solutions facing the inclusion of children and young people in sport and physical activity.

We are inviting anyone involved in or with an interested in enhancing sport and physical activity opportunities for children and young people with disabilities to register to attend this seminar, and join us for this national event.

To learn more about the event, and to book your place online, please visit the following link: https://caracentre.ie/event/national-seminar-for-inclusion/

CLOSING DATE FOR REGISTRATION IS THURSDAY 7TH OF NOVEMBER.

Growing Stronger Together

As the saying goes, nothing about us without us!

When we initially set about planning for this event, we really took that sentiment to heart. We decided from the offset that children and young people needed to be at the core of this event, all the way from the planning of it right up to the day itself.

In the early stages, we held a consultation meeting with some children and young people, to truly understand their experiences, wishes and needs when it comes to being involved in sport and physical activity. We discussed all of their issues and experiences in terms of sport, physical activity, physical education, and being involved in the decision making process. This group of young people are also responsible for creating the title ‘Growing Stronger Together’ for this event, alongside the imagery and branding that goes alongside it. Thank you to all who have helped us shape this day!