Minister Ross announces appointments to the Board of Sport Ireland

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Shane Ross TD announced that three new members are to be appointed to the Board of Sport Ireland. The new members are:

• Olive Loughnane
• Padraic Moran
• Roger O’Connor

Minister Ross said: “I am delighted to appoint three new members to the Board of Sport Ireland. I sought candidates with specific skills and experience in the areas of finance, disability advocacy and an involvement in sport. Each of the three people I am appointing bring excellent skills and a breadth of knowledge and experience which will be invaluable to the work of Sport Ireland in supporting and developing Irish Sport. Their appointments are particularly important and opportune following the recent launch of the National Sports Policy and the implementation of its actions. I am delighted that they have agreed to serve on the Board and I wish them well in their roles.”

Welcoming the appointments, Sport Ireland Chairman Kieran Mulvey said: “I am delighted to welcome the three new members to the Board of Sport Ireland. Their skills, expertise and commitment will be a valuable addition to the ongoing implementation of our strategic objectives for sport in Ireland, and the ongoing development of participation in sport, high performance sport, anti-doping, coaching, the Sport Ireland Institute and the Sport Ireland National Sports Campus.”

The appointments follow on from an application and shortlisting process run by the Public Appointments Service based on a public advertisement and a further assessment procedure that was introduced by Minister Ross.

Newly Appointed Board Members

Olive Loughnane

Olive competed as a high performance athlete from 2000 – 2013. She became World Athletics Champion in 2009. She represented Ireland at four consecutive Olympic Games. Since retiring from competitive sport in 2013 Olive has been a member of the Sport Ireland High Performance Committee. She currently works as a Statistician in the Central Statistics Office (CSO). She will shortly complete a Post-Graduate Diploma in Public Management in the Institute of Public Administration.

Padraic Moran

Padraic is a two-time Paralympian and a former world champion in the sport of Boccia. With over 20 years national and international competitive experience, he possesses a wealth of knowledge across the sports disability sector. Apart from extensive experience in existing disciplines, more recently he has been assisting in developing Power Chair Football within Ireland. He has worked with Youth Sport Trust UK and is currently working with East Coast FM and Sky Ireland.

Roger O’Connor

Roger is highly qualified as a finance professional, having attained a Bachelor of Commerce Degree and a Master of Business Administration, both from UCD. He has been a full member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants since 1997. He has worked in elite professional sport since 2000, holding the position of Head of Finance and he has also served as Managing Director of an international tournament organiser and rights holder. He is currently CFO of the Curragh Racecourse Ltd.