Top Irish athletes receive Irish Sports Council bonuses for 2007

21 Nov 2007

Ireland’s top athletes were rewarded today by the Irish Sports Council (ISC) for their exceptional performances in 2007.  The Performance Incentive Payments were awarded by Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr. Seamus Brennan T.D. to twelve of Ireland’s best performing sports stars under the ISC’s International Carding Scheme at a ceremony in Dublin today. 

David Gillick, Katie Taylor, Eoin Rheinisch and Darren Sutherland were among the athletes named on this year’s scheme.  Gillick has had an excellent season as he retained his 400m European Indoor title at the European Indoor Championships in Birmingham in March. 

Katie Taylor continues to improve as she had another great year winning Gold at the Women’s European Boxing Championships in Denmark in October.  This is the third year in a row that Taylor has taken gold at the European Championships.

Boxing was also represented on the list of recipients with Darren Sutherland and Roy Sheahan named on this year’s scheme.  Sutherland and Sheahan had superb seasons as they both took gold at the EU Championships which were held in the National Stadium.  They also came close to qualifying for the Olympics next year with their performances at the World Championships in Chicago last month.

Eoin Rheinisch was named on the list for his performance at the European Canoeing Championships where he finished in sixth place.  Three of Ireland’s top Badminton players were also awarded for outstanding seasons; Chloe Magee, Scott Evans and Huang Bing.  Derek Burnett and Philip Murphy received Performance Incentive Payments for 2007 after great performances at the Clay Pigeon Shooting World Championships and World Cup respectively.

The final two athletes to receive bonuses for their performances this year were brothers Russell and Matt McGovern.  The brothers performed excellently at the ISAF World Sailing Championships in Portugal during the year and went on to finish an impressive 12th in the European Championships.    

Athletes in the developmental, international, world class and contracted categories receive a bonus of 25% of their annual grant when they achieve an agreed target.  For the elite athletes a medal at a championship event automatically qualifies them for the payment, with 12 athletes achieving this standard. A further 8 athletes in international and development categories exceeded stated targets and therefore were also recognised under the Scheme which was established last year.

Minister Brennan: “The Government is committed to supporting our high performance athletes. We appreciate that it is extremely difficult to attain world class status in sport. It is essential that there is a fair and reasonable assessment of Irish performances internationally and proper celebration of outstanding achievement. ”

Ossie Kilkenny, Chairman of the Irish Sports Council: “The aim of the Irish Sports Council’s Performance Incentive Payment scheme is to recognise and reward those who have excelled in their sport in 2007. There have been some excellent performances this year, right up to World Championship level and it is vital that we support our top athletes and encourage them to fulfil their potential. ”

Also honoured by the Irish Sports Council was the Irish golf team who won the European Amateur Championships during the summer in Scotland. In one of his last tournaments as an amateur Rory McIlroy was key to the Irish challenge alongside team mates Jonathan Caldwell, Shane Lowry, Richard Kilpatrick, Simon Ward, and Gareth Shaw.  The Irish team defeated France in the final to bring the title back to Ireland for the first time since 1987.

2007 Performance Incentive Payments

  • David Gillick – Athletics - €3,000
  • Scott Evans – Badminton - €3,000
  • Chloe Magee – Badminton - €3,000
  • Huang Bing – Badminton - €3,000
  • Eoin Rheinisch – Canoeing - €5,000
  • Derek Burnett – Clay Pigeon Shooting - €5,000
  • Philip Murphy – Clay Pigeon Shooting - €10,000
  • Darren Sutherland – Boxing - €5,000
  • Roy Sheahan – Boxing - €5,000
  • Katie Taylor – Boxing - €10,000
  • Russell McGovern – Sailing - €3,000
  • Matt McGovern – Sailing - €3,000

Note:
2007 Performance Incentive Payments Scheme
The Performance Incentive Payment was introduced in 2006 as a new innovation for the International Carding Scheme.  This initiative is designed to recognise excellent performances particularly in a championship environment.  Athletes in the Developmental, International, World class and Contracted categories will receive a bonus of 25% of their annual grant when they achieve and agreed target.  Performance targets for each sport are included in the sports specific criteria.

A medal at a championship (World or European) event automatically qualifies athletes for the payment, with three athletes achieving this standard. A further nine athletes exceeded stated targets and therefore were also recognised under the scheme this year.

Championship Medalists

  • Katie Taylor, Boxing; Gold at European Championships
  • Philip Murphy, Shooting; Silver at World Championships
  • David Gillick, Athletics; Gold at European Indoor Championships

Recognition for Exceeded Agreed Performance Targets

  • Darren Sutherland, Boxing; Gold at EU Championships
  • Roy Sheahan, Boxing; Gold at EU Boxing Championships
  • Chloe Magee, Badminton; Top 4 in EB/ITF Tournament won doubles with Huang
  • Huang Bing, Badminton; Top 4 in EB/ITF Tournament won doubles with Chloe
  • Scott Evans, Badminton; Top 4 in EBU/ITF Tournament
  • Derek Burnett, Shooting; 2nd in World Cup
  • Eoin Rheinisch, Canoe Slalom; 6th at European Championships
  • Russell and Matt McGovern, Sailing; 12th at European Championships
  • Irish team who won the European Amateur Championships during the summer: Shane Lowry, Gareth Shaw, Richard Kilpatrick, Jonathan Caldwell, Simon Ward, Rory McIlroy

For further information:
Paul McDermott – Irish Sports Council – 01 860 8802 /
Declan Lee – O’Herlihy Communications – 01 660 2744 /