The Team Behind the Team at the European Games

Today, action at the European Games in Krakow, Poland, kicks off with the Athletics schedule, an event that is taking place in the format of the European Team Championships. The Irish team is supported by a strong ‘Team Behind the Team’, with the strength of the relationship between the Olympic Federation of Ireland, Sport Ireland Institute and Sport Northern Ireland integral to the effective operation of the team.

The 121 athletes on the ground for Team Ireland at the European Games, will be supported by a performance team of seventeen from across all three organisations, which is in addition to their National Federation performance staff. This group is responsible for a range of specialist areas from medical support to physiotherapy, nutrition, physiology and operational logistics.

Team Ireland Chef de Mission for Krakow 2023, Gavin Noble said,

“The European Games is an important event for athletes on many levels. In order for this team to perform to the best of their ability it is crucial that they are supported by a strong team behind their team. To that end we are pleased to once again have a strong team of professionals who will make their job easier on the ground, and the strong working relationship that we have Sport Ireland Institute ensures that there is continuity of support for many of the athletes, while also allowing new athletes and sports the opportunity to benefit from the leaders in performance support in Ireland.”

Director of the Sport Ireland Institute, Liam Harbison added,

“As the Official Performance Support Delivery Partner for Team Ireland, Sport Ireland Institute is delighted to be providing comprehensive support to the athletes and coaches as they seek to achieve their performance goals over the coming days in Krakow.  The Institute team, led by Deputy Chef de Mission, Phil Moore, have worked closely with the OFI and the NGB’s to ensure the preparation for these Games will be top class, and provide a great testbed for our plans to deliver for Team Ireland at Paris 2024.  On behalf of all the team at the Sport Ireland Institute, I extend our very best wishes to all of Team Ireland for a highly successful European Games.”

While the coming twelve days will see a busy schedule across the seventeen sports contested by Irish athletes, tomorrow’s programme features only Athletics, with the main aim of the team being to move out of the Division 3 category. However, many athletes within the team will hold a dual objective of achieving competitive scores that will see them ranked high once all Athletics competition is finished on the 26th of June. The format of the competition will see each division competing separately, with the medals being decided following the final competition, which will be with the Division 1 athletes.

This is the third edition of the European Games, which is a multi-sport event run by the European Olympic Committees and will see athletes compete across districts in the Krakow-Malopolska region.

Team Behind the Team:

PERFORMANCE TEAM:

Chef de Mission: Gavin Noble

Deputy Chef de Mission: Nancy Chillingworth

Deputy Chef de Mission: Phil Moore

Chief Medical Officer: Dr. James O’Donovan

Head of Physiotherapy: Sarah Jane McDonnell

Head of Sport Science: Sharon Madigan

Sport Director: Martin Burke

Head of Operations: Linda O’Reilly

Village Operations: Alex Bocsi

Village Operations: Ed Wyeth

Village Operations: Teresa Rudd

Holding Camp: Mark MacNamee

Medical: Dr. Valerie Hayes

Medical: Dr. Louise O’Connell

Physiotherapy: Ciara McCallion

Physiotherapy: Niall Ward

Psychology: Jo-Anne Browne

MEDIA TEAM:

Head of Media: Heather Boyle

Media Team: Kieran Jackson

Media Team: Trish Mayon

Media Team: Rory Cassidy

Media Team: Clara O’Brien

Media Team: Sinead Naughton

Creative Agency: Georgie Francis, Inform Sport Media

COMMERCIAL TEAM:

Commercial Director: Catherine Tiernan

Sponsorship and Events: Ciara Lyons