Apr 24, 2019
VENUE: Dublin City University
DATE: 23 May 2019
THEME: SPORT – THE MOST INCLUSIVE COMMUNITY OF ALL?
The Federation of Irish Sport’s annual conference returns on May 23rd and this year we are challenging the world of sport on just how inclusive it is.
The ever-evolving world of technology has meant we live in a world that has never been more connected. And yet the reality is that people have perhaps never felt more disconnected. Problems of alienation, isolation and a sense of not belonging abound.
Sport has perhaps never been more important in bringing people together whether as participants, volunteers or simply fans. But is sport doing all it can do to bring people closer together? That is the question we pose as the theme for this year’s conference.
At the conference a line-up of national and international speakers will be looking at the role of sport in building more inclusive communities. They will explore what sport is doing both in Ireland and abroad to ensure real inclusivity taking in people with disability; ethnic minorities; the ageing population; the LGBT community; while also looking to see how sport is encouraging more women and children to participate. In addition, we will examine the importance of sport in building cross border community in Ireland.
A full programme for the day will be confirmed over the coming weeks.
Tickets are available from https://www.irishsport.ie/tickets/
Limited number of early bird tickets on sale now!
Apr 16, 2019
News Release 16 April 2019
RTÉ and TG4 partner to bring FIFA Women’s World Cup to Irish screens for the first time
RTÉ and TG4 announced today (Tuesday 16 April, 2019) that they have reached agreement with FIFA for live coverage of every game in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France this summer.
Beginning on Friday 7 June with the Opening Ceremony and the Group A meeting of hosts France and Korea, RTÉ and TG4 will share coverage throughout the duration of the tournament with all games free-to-air for Irish viewers.
RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player will broadcast 23 matches including three of the quarter-finals, one semi-final and the final on Sunday 7 July.
TG4 will broadcast 29 matches in total including the opening match, one quarter-final, one semi final, the match for 3rd place and highlights of the final.
Declan McBennett, RTÉ Group Head of Sport said: “RTÉ are delighted that alongside TG4 we can, for the first time ever, bring the FIFA Women’s World Cup in its entirety free-to-air to Irish viewers. It is particularly fitting to be making this announcement exactly six months on from the launch of the 20 x 20 initiative to create a cultural shift in our perception of girls and women in sport.”
Rónán Ó Coisdealbha, Head of Sport TG4 said: “TG4 has been a proactive supporter of Women’s Sport for many years. This new collaboration is another step in the right direction and ties in well with the very important 20×20 campaign. It is also a great example of how Public Service Media outlets can collaborate to bring the best of television content, free to air, to loyal audiences.”
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
RTÉ
Fergus McCormack, RTÉ Sport Press Officer /Fergus.mccormack@rte.ie / 086 8674751
Sharon Brady, Senior Communications Manager RTÉ /Sharon.brady@rte.ie / 087 685 8975
TG4
Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, Communications Manager TG4 /trevor.o.clochartaigh@TG4.ie / 087 2476624
Rónán Ó Coisdealbha, Head of Sport, TG4 /ronan.o.coisdealbha@TG4.ie – 087 2472841
Apr 16, 2019
World Para-Swimming Allianz European Championships recognised as Sporting Event of the Year – Irish Sports Industry Awards
Orreco awarded ‘best sports business’ and Uppercut awarded ‘best new sports business’
Garrett Fitzgerald, Munster Rugby Honoured with Outstanding Contribution Award
Other winners include the 20×20 campaign and SoftCo’s sponsorship of Hockey Ireland
Last night (Monday, 15 April) saw the fourth annual Irish Sports Industry Awards take place in the Crown Plaza, Blanchardstown.
The sports industry in Ireland supports 40,000 jobs, stimulates €1.9 billion in household spending and generates €1 billion in tourism receipts each year. The award ceremony, hosted by the Federation of Irish Sport, seeks to recognise and reward excellence in the sporting industry, while simultaneously highlighting the contribution sport makes to the Irish economy, both directly and indirectly.
The World Para Swimming Allianz European Championships was recognised as ‘Sporting Event of the Year’. The week-long event held in the National Aquatic Centre brought over 500 athletes from 40 countries to Dublin. This was the fifth ever hosting of the competition and its first time being hosted in Ireland. It saw a total of 548 medals awarded and 22 new World Records set, with Irish athletes taking home a gold silver and bronze medal.
Thriving business innovation
Irish sports tech company Orreco received the ‘Sports Business of the Year’ award and Gary Keegan’s high-performance consultancy, Uppercut received the ‘New Sports Business of the Year’ award. SoftCo’s sponsorship of the Irish Women’s Hockey Team, who reached the World Cup Final last August, was recognised as ‘Best Sponsorship’. 20×20, an all-inclusive movement to shift Ireland’s cultural perception of women’s sport, won the Sporting Innovation of the Year.
Munster Rugby Chief Executive Garrett Fitzgerald received the ‘Outstanding Contribution’ award in recognition of his leadership role in transforming Munster Rugby from newly-professionalised representative side to one of the most successful professional rugby franchises in Europe.
The Irish Times’ Mary Hannigan received the ‘Jimmy Magee Sports Journalist of the Year’ award and The42.ie was recognised as ‘Sports Outlet of the Year’.
Award winners in full
A total of 14 award categories were recognised on the night. The full list of winners is as follows:
Outstanding Contribution: Garrett Fitzgerald, CEO Munster Rugby
Sports sponsorship of the year: SoftCo and Hockey Ireland
Sporting Event of the Year: World Para Swimming Allianz European Championships
Sporting innovation of the year: 20×20
Sports business of the year: Orreco
New Sports Business of the year: Uppercut
Sports Media Outlet of the year: The42.ie
Jimmy Magee Sports Journalist of the year: Mary Hannigan, The Irish Times
National Governing Body of the year: Cricket Ireland
Local Sports Partnership Initiative of the year: Cork Local Sports Partnership for Staying Fit for the Future
20×20 Award: Waterford Local Sports Partnership and FAI Soccer for Girls
Inclusivity Award: GymAble by Gymnastics Ireland
Programme to increase participation: Cork Local Sports Partnership Sports Schools Programme
Social media: AIG
There was also a special recognition award presented to Sara McFadden in honour of her achievements as Ireland’s first visually impaired rally car navigator.
The Federation of Irish Sport is the representative body for 102 sporting organisations. It works on behalf of its members to create a greater awareness of the importance of sport across a wide number of areas including business, tourism, health, community, diversity and the economy.
Speaking at the awards, Mary O’Connor, CEO, Federation of Irish Sport, said: “It is a privilege to recognise and celebrate the incredible contributions made by individuals, businesses and Irish sporting associations to the continued vitality of the Irish sports industry and its impact on the wider Irish economy.
“The sports industry in Ireland supports 40,000 jobs, stimulates €1.9 billion in household spending and generates €1 billion in tourism receipts each year, not to mention the vast health, social and community benefits it delivers in Irish society on a weekly basis.
“Recognition nights like tonight are incredibly important in highlighting the significance of sport to Irish society and the economy.”
Apr 12, 2019
Pitchero is a team management system, a communication hub for players and a sharing platform for members to post the latest club news, Pitchero provides everything you need to run your sports club online. Pitchero are partners of the Federation of Irish Sport.
Website:https://www.pitchero.com/
AIG has been offering Ireland quality insurance for car, home, travel and more for the last 40 years. AIG’s love of Sport has been seen through there multiple sports sponsorships in recent years including all codes and age grades of Dublin GAA, The All Blacks, The Irish Open Ladies Golf and many more. AIG are proud supporters of the 20×20 campaign and are committed to supporting women in sport.
Website: https://www.aig.ie/
JLT is one of the world’s largest providers of insurance, reinsurance and employee benefits related advice, brokerage and associated services. JLT has been a proud partner of the Federation of Irish Sport for a number of years and works with our members to ensure their needs are met when it comes to all things Insurance for our sporting bodies.
Website: https://www.jlt.ie/
Future Ticketing is a global provider of cloud-based, digital ticketing for events, sports organisations and venues selling from 1,000 to 1,000,000 plus customers. Future Ticketing are at the heart of sport in Ireland with clients including Connact Rugby, Shamrock Rovers Football Club, Gymnastics Ireland, Paralympics Ireland, Punchestown, The Curragh and much much more. Future Ticketing are Irish owned and run.
Website: https://www.futureticketing.ie/
The social investment fund, Clann Credo helps organisations achieve their potential by providing loans to community organisations, charities and social enterprises that make a social impact. Clann Credo are proud partners of the Federation of Irish Sport.
Website: https://www.clanncredo.ie/
CORE Sponsorship falls under the One Core brand and offers tailored sponsorship advice, plans and tracking to brands large and small. They work to magnify the commercial value of sponsorship for brands and rightsholders, they collaborate across the full CORE offering and seek out the best sponsorship opportunities for their clients.
Website: https://onecore.ie/sponsorship/
As one of Ireland’s largest national banks AIB offers a full range of personal and corporate banking services. Their involvement and investment in sport to date has been huge. Their support of the GAA has seen them rewarded on the sponsorship stage for their #TheToughest campaign. AIB are past winners of the Irish Sport Industry Award Category for Best Sports Sponsorship and we are delighted to have them on board this year as sponsors.
Website: https://aib.ie/
Conroy Consulting is a business consultancy with a very strong involvement in sport. They have worked within many sporting environments including athletics, rugby and football both nationally and internationally. Conroy Consulting led the successful Irish bids bringing both the Europa League Final 2011 and 4 games in next year’s UEFA European Championships to Dublin.
Leman’s Solicitors are a legal firm based in Dublin City Centre. The firm, founded in 2007, has gone from strength to strength over the last ten years and specialises in areas including corporate, real estate, employment and dispute resolution. As long standing partners of the Federation of Irish Sport Leman’s solicitors have worked with many of our members in the area of dispute resolution and have added huge value via advice and assistance across the sporting sector.
Huge thanks to all our sponsors who make it possible for us to recognise and reward the people, programmes and organisations that add such value to the Irish economy via their tireless work in Sport.
Apr 5, 2019
The Federation of Irish Sport announce shortlist for Irish Sport Industry Awards 2019
4th April 2019: The Federation of Irish Sport has announced the shortlist of finalists for the 2019 Sport Industry Awards. The awards were set up in 2015 to highlight the contribution that sport makes to Ireland’s economy both directly and indirectly. The winners will be announced at a ceremony on Monday 15th of April in the Crown Plaza Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. The Awards recognise and reward excellence in the business of sport, whilst simultaneously highlighting the contribution of sport to Ireland.
A women in sport award, under the banner of 20×20, will be a new addition to the award ceremony this year in a move towards showcasing the increasing contribution and value of women in sport in Ireland. In all a total of 14 awards will be distributed on the night, reflecting the diverse nature of Irish sport.
Speaking at the announcement of the short-list, Mary O’Connor, CEO, Federation of Irish Sport, said “The awards were set up to highlight the importance of the business of sport in Ireland and the value of sport to the Irish economy. Today sport supports almost 40,000 jobs, represents almost €2.4 billion in household expenditure and has been estimated to contribute almost €1.9 billion in tourism revenue. And that is beyond all of the other contributions sport makes in areas such as health, inclusivity, diversity and reputation both at home and abroad.”
The winners will be determined by a judging panel drawn from both the business and sporting community. The panel is Cliona O’Leary, RTE Sport, Athlete Fiona Coghlan, Carol Andrews, BNY Mellon & 30& Club Founder, Amanda Harton, JLT Insurance, Sinead Galvin, Galvin Sports Management, David McHugh, Line Up Sports, Gerry McDermott, Fingal County Council, Miriam Malone, Paralympics Ireland and Jill Downey, Core. The panel is chaired by Sport for Business founder and past Irish Sport Industry Award winner Rob Hartnett.
Shortlists:
1. Best Sporting event of the year:
World Para Swimming Allianz European Championships
Ladies Gaelic Football TG4 All Ireland final
All Ireland Hurling Final
Guinness Series – Ireland v New Zealand
Airtricity Dublin Marathon
2. Best Sports Sponsorship of the year:
Vodafone & IRFU
LIDL & Ladies Gaelic Football
Liberty & Camogie
SoftCo & Hockey
Allianz & Paralympics
3. Best Sports Business of the year:
Orrecco
Sport for Business
Croke Park Stadium
Kitman labs
Line Up Sports
4. Best New Sports Business of the year:
Galvin Sports Management
Leading Sport
ND Sports Performance
Uppercut
Profile 90
5. Best use of Social media by an organisation:
Basketball Ireland
Gymnastics Ireland
AIG
Horse Sport Ireland
LIDL
6. Best Sports Media outlet of the year:
The 42.ie
Sport for Business
GAA Now
Irish Independent
Pundit Arena
7. Jimmy Magee Sports Journalist of the year:
Keith Duggan
Kieran Shannon
Ian O’Riordan
Cliona Foley
Mary Hannigan
8. Best sporting innovation of the year:
FAI Walking Football
South Dublin/FAI Frame Football
Munster Rugby High performance leadership programme
Park Run
20×20
9. Best programme or campaign to increase participation:
Athletics Ireland – Daily Mile
LIDL Ireland and LGFA
Cork Sports Partnership – School sports programme
Basketball Ireland – Junior NBA
Badminton Ireland – Shuttle time schools programme
10. Inclusivity:
Louth County Council Sports Unit – Sports Inclusion Disability Programme
Gymnastics Ireland – GYMable
Irish Sailing – Watersports Inclusion Games
#GameOn Autism Golf Programme Ireland
Irish Wheelchair Association
11. 20×20
Basketball Ireland – Women’s Coaching Forum
Volleyball Ireland – Transition Year Women in Sport programme
Dublin City Sports and Wellbeing Partnership – GAGA Programme
Sara McFadden
Waterford Sports Partnership & FAI – Soccer for Girls
12. LSP initiative of the year
Wexford Local Sports Partnership – Experiencing Success
Wicklow Local Sports Partnership – Wicklow Warriors
Cork Local Sports Partnership – Staying Fit for the Future
Limerick Local Sports Partnership – Sports Talk
Fingal Local Sports Partnership – Athletics League
13. NGB of the year
Horse Sport Ireland
Gymnastics Ireland
Cricket Ireland
Basketball Ireland
Special Olympics Ireland
Outstanding Achievement award will be announced on the night.
For further information please contact sinead.conroy@irishsport.ie
Mar 28, 2019
Cricket Ireland are inviting applications from organisations to become an Official Charity Pender. This is a significant area for many sports and a chance to support and highlight the fantastic work being carried out.
The closing date for applications is the 10th of April and it is anticipated that successful organisations will be selected before the 12th of April. The partnership will officially commence on the 1st of May, just in time for some of the key games this summer including Ireland -v- England at Malahide. The partnership agreement period is for one year, however this could be extended if the arrangement is deemed a significant benefit to all parties.
Cricket Ireland has addressed what it will distribute as part of the partnership. This includes player appearances, tickets for matches, programme, online and big screen content as well as social media and a presence at the big games. In return, they are looking for a commitment to pre-event planning and post-event feedback around the key fundraising opportunities and a real commitment to working as a partnership.
Further details can be found here http://www.cricketireland.ie/news/article/cricket-ireland-charity-partner-tender-2019
