Feb 6, 2018
From Athletics Ireland
The President and Board of Athletics Ireland have today announced the appointment of Hamish Adams as their new C.E.O. The decision was ratified last night at an Athletics Ireland board meeting and Hamish will succeed John Foley who is retiring at the end of April, 2018. Hamish will join Athletics Ireland in May having spent five years as C.E.O of Rowing Ireland.
Commenting on his new role, Hamish Adams said “I feel very privileged to take up the role of Chief Executive of Athletics Ireland. I look forward to engaging with all the Athletics Ireland stakeholders. Ireland has a proud history and tradition in athletics and I look forward to contributing to its continued growth at the commencement of my role as C.E.O in early May. High Performance and coaching as well as the national health agenda to increase physical activity levels are areas I am especially passionate about and I plan to contribute significantly in these areas with the Athletics Ireland Team”.
Commenting on the new appointment, President of Athletics Ireland, Georgina Drumm said “The board is delighted to welcome Hamish as the new C.E.O of Athletics Ireland. We were overwhelmed with the interest in the role which gave a positive reflection on how our sport is viewed. We are pleased to have someone of Hamish’s calibre and experience to be joining our team”.
She added “I would like to thank John for the significant contribution he has made to every aspect of our sport over an eight year period as C.E.O and he will continue to do so until his retirement in April 2018.”
ENDS
Claire Shannon – Claireshannon@athleticsireland.ie
Feb 2, 2018
NGB Funding Key to an Active and Healthier Ireland
02 February 2018,
Sport Ireland announced on Thursday, 1st February, details of grant funding of €20.7 million to National Governing Bodies to support both day to day operations (€10.8 million) and high performance programmes (€7 million) of 56 different sports. A further €600,000 was announced to support women in sport programmes.
Investment is on a similar to 2017 with Sport Ireland funding still some way off the peak of €57 million achieved in 2007. These monies exclude the funding made available to the three field sports namely, the FAI, IRFU & GAA which amounted to over €7 million in 2017. 2018 investment is expected to be announced in the coming weeks. It was confirmed that €1.9 million in direct athlete investment is to be confirmed in coming weeks.
Commenting on the announcement of this year’s Sport Ireland NGB grant funding, Federation of Irish Sport CEO, Mary O’Connor said,
“Funding levels to NGBs are broadly in line with 2017. This is to be expected given as announced in the Budget Sport Ireland funding remained more or less flat on last year’s level. NGBs have a vital role to play in ensuring a more people have access to sporting opportunity. This is because each of our member organisations plays a key role in ensuring their sport happens in Ireland.
NGBs are responsible for development programmes, programmes targeted at encouraging hard to reach elements of society, coach education, training officials, child protection, high performance as well as administration of competition is vital to ensure an increase both in opportunities to participate in sport and allowing those who do partake to fulfil their potential whatever that may be.
We were heartened that in his leadership election manifesto the current Taoiseach and a former Minister for Sport outlined his intention to double the funding available to sport over the next seven years. We do hope that we will begin to see delivery on that commitment in this year’s budget as all of our members are committed to assisting in the delivery of the vision of a more active and healthier Ireland a reality. However, resources both financial and human are vital in ensuring this can and will happen.”
END
Feb 2, 2018
Due to popular demand and the high volume of entries received, the deadline for entries to the Irish Sport Industry Awards has been extended to Monday, 12th February 3.00 pm Sharp.
There are 12 award categories to enter and we encourage all our members and associated businesses to enter one or more of these awards so your contribution to the advancement of the sector can be recognised. For further information on the categories and how to enter please click here http://irishsportindustryawards.ie/
Please note that this is an invitation only event and that there will be no tickets on general sale. Please contact info@irishsport.ie for all queries.
Jan 19, 2018
Bernard Brogan, Mary O’Connor and Michael Murphy launch the Irish Sport Industry Awards 2018 in association with JLT Ireland
The 2018 Irish Sport Industry Awards in association with JLT Ireland were launched on Thursday 18th January 2018, by Bernard Brogan, President of the Federation of Irish Sport, Mary O’Connor, CEO, Federation of Sport, and Michael Murphy, Donegal footballer.
Established by the Federation of Irish Sport, the awards recognise and reward excellence in the business of sport, whilst simultaneously highlighting the contribution of sport to Ireland.
This year the third annual Sport Industry Awards will celebrate the contribution of sport to Ireland’s economy both directly and indirectly. The 12 biggest mass participation events in Ireland, for example, have an economic impact of more than €46 million generating more than 91,000 bed nights for the Irish economy. Some 21% of all tourists in Ireland engage in some form of activity with sports tourism valued at between €350 & €800 million to Ireland each year. €255 million is the combined spend on club membership each year and an additional €200 million is spent by fans on jerseys and memorabilia annually. More than 40,000 jobs are supported by Irish sport whilst tourism is one of the sectors that most benefits.
The winners will be determined by an experienced and knowledgeable judging panel drawn from the business and sports communities and includes Cliona O’Leary, RTE Sport, Athlete Louise Galvin, Rory Sheridan, Diageo Ireland, Liam Harbison, Sport Ireland Institute, Larry Fenelon, Leman Solicitors, and Cathal Dervan ASJI. Also joining the panel are Rob Hartnett of Sport for Business, Amanda Harton JLT, Deirdre McDermott of OSK Accountants and Business Consultants, Mark Doyle of AIB and John Aherne of GoldGraffix, two of last year’s winners.
There are 12 different categories to be entered this year.
- Digital Engagement Community of the Year
- Diversity and Inclusion Award
- Campaign or Program of the Year
- Governing Body of the Year
- Local sports partnership of the Year
- Sports event of the Year
- Best commercial partnership
- Sports Journalist of the Year
- Sports Business of the Year
- Sports Media Outlet of the Year
- Sporting Innovation of the Year
- Outstanding achievement or contribution by and individual to Irish sport
The closing date for entries is Monday, 5th February 2018. The awards will be held on Thursday 22nd February at Dublin City Hall.
For further information, visit www.irishsportindustryawards.ie
#SportMatters
Nov 30, 2017
Thursday 30th November 2017
The Federation of Irish Sport is delighted to welcome the announcement of the many facilities both new and existing that are to be supported by the Sports Capital Grants which the Government has announced today. We are particularly pleased with the additional funding which has seen the original fund of €30 million being increased to €56 million. Given that the scheme attracted so many applications the decision to bring forward funding has enabled a much wider range of projects to receive funding.
We see the Sports Capital Grant programme as an endorsement of An Taoiseach’s stated commitment to doubling funding for sport over a seven-year period. It is, however, vital that the investment in infrastructure is matched by investment in people and programmes in order to ensure that all of the new or enhanced facilities deliver to their full potential for Irish Sport. For that to happen future budgets must begin the complementary process of restoring the funds for current expenditure on sport. These are the funds that enable Sport Ireland and our members – the National Governing Bodies and the Local Sports Partnerships – to create the necessary programmes to ensure facilities all over the country realise their full potential.
(ends)
Contact: Roddy Guiney, Chairman, Federation of Irish Sport
Tel: 087 2523 095
Oct 9, 2017
The Federation of Irish Sport released its pre-budget submission. In the submission the Federation is calling on the Government to look at the 10 points below.
- IMMEDIATE INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR NATIONAL SPORTING ORGANISATIONS & LSPs
- MORE CERTAINITY IN FUTURE FUNDING
- ALLOW STRATEGIC INPUT OF NATIONAL SPORTS ORGANISATIONS & LSPS INTO FUNDING FOR FACILITIES
- MULTI-SPORT DEVELOPMENT OFFICERS
- TAX RELIEF FOR DONATIONS TO SPORTING BODIES
- LOOK AFTER IRELAND’S ATHLETES BETTER
- ATHLETE ACCOMODATION AT THE NATIONAL SPORTS CAMPUS
- GREATER INVESTMENT IN HIGH PERFORMANCE SPORT
- BUILD THE CAPACITY OF OUR NATIONAL SPORTS ORGANISATIONS & LSPs
- A “WILD ATLANTIC WAY” FOR SPORT
To view the full submission of the Pre Budget please click on the following link Sport Matters 2017
