An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore have asked every community in Ireland to get involved in The Gathering Ireland 2013, the biggest tourism event ever held in Ireland.

Speaking at the launch today in Dublin Castle, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste also urged businesses, clubs and organisations right across the country to get involved in The Gathering.

An Taoiseach said: ‘This initiative needs the widespread participation of communities and local organisations all across Ireland. The Gathering gives each and every one of us an opportunity to do something positive for our country in our own unique way’.

“It’s all about you, your family, your neighbours, your sports club, your college. Whatever community or group you belong to, we would like you to start planning special events to highlight what is great about that community, and about Ireland.”

The Tánaiste explained that the global Irish diaspora will also be crucial: ‘The Gathering aims to engage with our global diaspora, to entice them to come home in 2013 and to encourage them to extend an invitation to Ireland to others. It’s not just about encouraging anyone with Irish heritage – it is also addressed to those who love or have an interest in Ireland’.

The Gathering Ireland 2013 is being spearheaded by Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar, who outlined a series of new festivals and events being held especially in order to encourage more visitors to Ireland next year. These include a new music festival, international GAA events and a new project from the organisers of Riverdance.

Minister Varadkar said: ‘We are inviting the world to Ireland next year for this festival of festivals. It promises to be the biggest tourism initiative ever staged in Ireland. I want The Gathering to be an event that belongs to everyone in Ireland, and which everyone in Ireland feels part of. If you want help organising your own Gathering, then log on to the new Gathering website at thegatheringireland.com to take advantage of all the available supporting material’.

“The public response from people at home and abroad has been fantastic with ideas for potential gatherings coming in every day. These range from family Gatherings, school reunions and even a gathering of twins. Towns and communities are also pitching in. The Gathering team are receiving queries and offers of help from individuals and organisations throughout the world.”

Minister of State for Tourism & Sport Michael Ring announced that Gathering Community Meetings will be held around Ireland in the year ahead. Local Gathering organisations are being set up in every county, comprising sporting bodies, cultural and musical organisations, local authorities, and local development companies.

“This is a people’s project. It is extremely important that this initiative is not confined to big cities but is an event that will happen across the country and show off Ireland at its best. Everyone can help by doing something as simple as sending an e-mail or postcard to a relative or friend abroad inviting them to Ireland in 2013,” Minister Ring said.

Community projects already underway include clan gatherings, genealogical projects, and an outreach initiative where local communities will contact people who have left the country. One Irish family which recently returned from the US is already organising an O’Dea clan gathering for 2013.

Kerry and Waterford County Councils have established dedicated local groups to drive the initiative forward and all local authorities have been briefed on The Gathering. Carrick-on Shannon is holding a special town and community gathering to celebrate its 400th birthday next year.

The Gathering was launched internationally by Government Ministers in 27 cities over St Patricks Weekend, and the project team and corporate partners are now firmly in place. A number of well-known Irish personalities have pledged their support, including Pierce Brosnan, Liam Neeson, Maeve Binchy and Paul O’Connell.

A large number of companies and organisations have already got involved including Google and Facebook, while KPMG and PwC have confirmed they will hold their international alumni events in Ireland, bringing 1,000 international visitors.

Speaking at the launch today in Dublin Castle, Shaun Quinn, CEO of Fáilte Ireland emphasised: ‘The Gathering has the potential to be a real ‘game-changer’ not just for Irish Tourism but also for Ireland as a whole. The real power of the Gathering lies in its ability to leverage the efforts of any Irish citizen, community group or indeed any diaspora member to roll up their sleeves and take an active part in mobilising behind an initiative to support our national recovery. With a fair wind, many of the seeds planted through events and initiatives at local level all around the nation, will bloom into longer term beneficial networks and opportunities for the country’.

Festivals

A calendar of significant festivals and events will form the spine of The Gathering year, and the aim is to foster a multitude of grass-roots events around these festivals. This calendar is constantly evolving and will see many established festivals being significantly enhanced:

• New Year’s Eve Festival
• St Patrick’s Festival
• Galway Arts Festival and Wexford Opera Festival, Cork Choral Festival, Dublin Horse, Bloom and Temple Bar Tradfest

A number of new festivals and events will also be created exclusively for the Gathering. Discussions are currently taking place around the following:

An International Harvest Gathering – a celebration of Irish food;
love:live music, International Music Day;
A new International GAA event with finals held in Croke Park in August;
A Festival of Football: overseas clubs and players will compete in matches around Ireland;
Bringing Riverdance back home and introducing John McColgan and Moya Doherty’s new show;
A multi-venue Christmas 2013 and New Year’s Festival to end the year with a bang.

Ends

Further information
The Gathering Ireland 2013 aims to be the biggest tourism event ever held in Ireland, bringing in 325,000 extra visitors.
Minister Varadkar has allocated €5 million to Failte Ireland this year to set up the support structure and to market the event.
Tourism Ireland will have specific responsibility for promoting The Gathering in overseas markets.

Fáilte Ireland’s call for 2013 Festival & Events funding applications will issue much earlier this year in order to populate the Gathering Ireland 2013 calendar. A dedicated advertisement is running in national newspapers today announcing the new timeline. Approvals will be made in July and August so that The Gathering calendar can be completed as soon as possible.

Gathering corporate support

A growing list of well-known organisations are now on board. These include the likes of:
• Google,
• Facebook,
• Irish Farmers’ Association,
• GAA,
IRFU,
CCMA – County and City Managers Association representing the 32 local Authorities around Ireland, Irish Local Development Network representing the 52 local development companies,
Scouting Ireland, Chambers Ireland
Irish Country Women’s Association, ICMSA- Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, Irish Farmers’ Association
Ireland Reaching Out, Certificate of Irish Heritage, Comhaltas Ceoltoirí Eireann, Conradh Na Gaeilge,
Irish Sports Council, IRFU, FAI, GAA, Horse Racing Ireland
Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, KPMG, PwC
Irish Hotels Federation, The Doyle Collection, Manor House hotels of Ireland, Irish Tour Operators Association, Restaurants Association of Ireland, Bed and Breakfast Ireland, All Hallows College, Vintners Federation of Ireland and Good Food Ireland.

Gathering the community

Ultimately, The Gathering’s success will hinge on the participation of the public and the mobilisation of local communities to create their own local events and to utilise their own overseas connections. To assist this central strand of the initiative, the new website is online at www.thegatheringireland.com.

The website provides online supports and ideas for those interested in setting up their own event. It also includes some examples of local The Gathering events underway. These include:

The Ireland Reaching Out project (where volunteers in Irish communities find those who left, or their ancestors, and contact them so that the global Irish community can once again become connected) will run a ‘Week of Welcomes’, from Donegal to Kerry – during one such week last year in Galway, visitors attended history lectures, genealogy sessions, took trips to the parishes where they hailed from, attended a hurling match and were even guests at a local wedding;
The O’Dea Clan Gathering is planned by James O’Dea who, along with his wife Anola, returned home in the 1980s from Wisconsin Rapids, USA to County Clare and restored the ancestral home of Dysert O’Dea Castle where they will host a great gathering of O’Deas in 2013;
People are now being urged to pitch their ideas and events via the new website and the number, date and location of these will be plotted on a map online as they come in. The number of events is expected to gather apace following nationwide workshops which will take place in communities around the country throughout the summer.

The Irish Sailing Association today (Thursday, 3^rd May 2012) announced that Providence Resources P.l.c., the Irish oil and gas exploration and production company, are to sponsor the Irish Olympic Sailing Team. The sponsorship will enable the team to undertake worldclass preparations in advance of London 2012 and beyond.

The Irish Olympic Sailing Team are considered ‘Genuine Prospects’ for a medal in the London 2012 Games.  Providence Resources have also identified ‘Genuine Prospects’ offshore Ireland, with the largest multi-basin drilling campaign in the history of the state currently underway.

The Olympic sailing team members include:

Annalise Murphy, Laser (Radial)

Peter O’Leary & David Burrows, (Star)

Ryan Seaton & Matt McGovern, (49er)

A further three campaigns will be competing for Olympic qualification during May including Gerbil Owens and Scott Flanigan (470), James Espey (Laser) and Ross Hamilton (Finn)

The partnership was launched today in Dublin by Olympic Sailor Annalise Murphy and Providence Resources Chief Executive, Tony O’Reilly.

Announcing the Sponsorship Olympic Sailor, Annalise Murphy said:

“This is great news for the team. This support has given the whole team a huge boost in our preparations for London 2012. We have a very busy schedule of training and events between now and then.  There is huge excitement in the build up to the Games and we are looking forward to focussing on our performance”.

Tony O’Reilly, Chief Executive, Providence Resources P.l.c., said:

“Providence Resources are proud and delighted to sponsor the Irish Olympic Sailing Team ‘Genuine Prospects’ for 2012, including their preparations for the London 2012 Olympic Games.  We believe they have “Genuine Prospects” for a medal, which would be great news for Ireland, and we encourage everybody to get behind the Irish Sailing Team”.  

Irish Sailing Association Performance Director, James O’Callaghan, said:

“We would like to thank Providence Resources for their support for the team and we look forward to working together to achieve our common goal. . ..This is the first time the Olympic Sailing Team has worked with a title sponsor and we very much appreciate the boost this sponsorship has given our London 2012 preparations”.

Reporting To:                                        Chief Executive Officer, Federation of Irish Sport (the “Federation”)

The Services Support Officer will be responsible for assisting the Chief Executive Officer in the development and delivery of value added support services for the Federation’s members as well as revenue generation opportunities for the Federation.

Skills & Experience

This role is a fixed-term position. A third level qualification or at least 3 years relevant work experience is required. The suitable candidate must have first-hand experience of the operations of voluntary and/or sporting bodies, excellent administrative and writing skills, an ability to understand and explain administrative processes and principles including legal ones to third parties as well as organise and administer and facilitate hearings and meetings within a sporting context. Ability to use sound judgement, influence and resolution skills together with excellent interpersonal and strong computer literacy skills are a must. A high level of initiative and dedication is required as well as an ability to work in a confidential and independent manner.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Supporting the CEO in the delivery of the Federation Strategic/Operational Plan for 2012 and beyond
• Administration of Just Sport Ireland (“JSI”) cases together with the on-going roll out of JSI to Federation members
• Support the launch, administration and roll out of a group insurance scheme for Irish Sport
• Assist with the development and management of the Federation’s business partnership  programme
• Assist with research on philanthropic funding available to support and grant writing where relevant
• Support the delivery of Federation events such as the Volunteers in Sport Awards
• Administration of subscription renewals and membership enquiries and applications
• Develop and adhere to budget and undertake any other assignments as may reasonably be requested by the Chief Executive Officer

• Maintain record of assistance provided to Federation members

This job description is not to be regarded as exclusive or exhaustive.  It is intended as an outline indication of the areas of activity and may be amended in the light of the changing environment within Irish Sport

Application Process:

To apply for this role please e-mail your CV and cover letter describing your skills, professional goals and experience on or before Monday 21^st May to Sarah O’Connor:  sarah.oconnor@irishsports.ie

What follows is a summary of the main proposals.

First, the overarching policy objectives of the proposed Children First Bill is the raising of awareness of child abuse, the recognition and reporting of child abuse, and the management of child safety concerns.

The vast majority of organisations providing services to children will come under the proposed legislation, ranging from large statutory agencies to small local services such as a local Hip Hop dance club. Some of these agencies are in receipt of State funding and have a formal relationship with the State; many others operate independently. There is currently no requirement for agencies/organisations providing services to children to notify the State of their services. (All such agencies in ROI should, however, be operating in accordance with the good practice principles set down in Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children

It follows that the majority of organisations whose employees or volunteers have access to children, or work directly with children, and where a child can attend without a parent or guardian will come under the proposed Children First legislation. Again, these are organisations ranging from professional well-established organisations such as educational institutions and national sporting organisations to the more ad hoc community groups that arrange local sporting or leisure activities for children.

The latter include schools, pre-schools, health and social care facilities delivering services to children and An Garda Síochána, to faith based organisations, sports and youth clubs and arts and leisure organisations. Such organisations will include those with a residential element for children and transport services provided specifically for children e.g. the school bus service.

It must be noted that the definition of “volunteer” is not intended to include a person’s involvement in a school run, or collecting children from sports events, or parents supervising their own children’s activities with friends or any such like activities.

To reiterate, the underlying purpose of the legislation is to ensure that children are protected while present at, or availing of the services of, an organisation falling within its scope.

Centrally, under the proposed legislation sports organisation will now have a statutory duty to develop and implement a child protection and reporting protocol in accordance with the guidelines provided by the legislation and relevant government agencies.

For instance, sports organisations will be asked to appoint a “Designated Officer” to ensure that there is a single and clearly identifiable point of authority and responsibility relating to child safeguarding within the organisation; and to ensure the proper implementation of the proposed legislation and including the maintenance of records and responsibility for staff vetting and training in recognising the signs of abuse and/or neglect.

The proposed legislation is to provide that an employee or volunteer of an organisation is to report to the Designated Officer any concerns or allegations of child abuse which come to their attention in the course of their employment, i.e. the obligation to report arises if the concern or allegation comes to the employee’s knowledge while they are engaged in the activities of the organisation

Where an employee fails to report any concern or allegation which should have been reported under the legislation that employee must be treated in accordance with labour legislation and where a volunteer fails to report any concern or allegation, he or she may be prohibited from working as a volunteer in that organisation, at the discretion of the Designated Officer following an enquiry and having regard to fair procedures.

The controlling regulatory body under the Bill will be the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE). Where the HSE is of the opinion that there is occurring or likely to occur an activity which involves or is likely to involve a risk to a child in the organisation, the HSE may give written directions to the Designated Officer, requiring him/her to provide an Improvement Plan e.g., an outline of remedial action to be taken by the club or organisation.

Where the HSE is of the opinion that there is occurring or is likely to occur a failure to implement child protection policies which involve, or is likely to involve, a risk to the safety or welfare of a child the HSE may serve a Prohibition Notice on the Designated Officer of that organisation.

A Prohibition Notice is to inform the organisation that the HSE is of the opinion that there is occurring or is likely to occur a failure to implement child protection policies which involves, or is likely to involve, a risk to the safety or welfare of a child and the reasons for that opinion. The Notice is also to specify the activity in respect of which that opinion is held, where in its opinion the activity involves a contravention, or likely contravention, of any of the relevant statutory provisions, and specify the relevant statutory provision(s).

A Prohibition Notice may prohibit the carrying on of the activity concerned until the matters which give rise, or are likely to give rise to the risk, are remedied. The Prohibition Notice may include directions as to the measures to be taken to remedy any contravention or matter to which the notice relates or to otherwise comply with the Notice e.g., withdrawal of state funding or even, it seems, ultimately, the shutting down of the club.

A Designated Officer, on receipt of a Prohibition Notice may appeal against the Notice to the District Court. In determining the appeal the Judge may confirm, vary or cancel the Notice.

Where an Improvement Notice or a Prohibition Notice is served, the notice is to be brought to the attention of any persons affected by the notice and displayed in a prominent place in the organisation.

This week also saw the release in Dublin of details on the so-called Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012.

This Bill establishes in Irish law an offence of withholding information in relation to specified offences committed against a child or vulnerable person. The offence arises where a person knows or believes that a specified offence has been committed against a child or vulnerable person and he or she has information which would be of material assistance in securing the apprehension, prosecution or conviction of another person for that offence and fails without reasonable excuse to disclose that information as soon as it is practicable to do so to a member of the Garda Síochána.

A “vulnerable person” is defined as a person who is suffering from either a mental, intellectual or physical disability which is of such a nature as to severely restrict the capacity of that person to guard against serious exploitation or abuse or, in the case of physical disability, to report such to the Garda Síochána.

The maximum penalty under the proposed legislation is five years’ imprisonment. It must be noted that the Bill provides for various defences e.g., if a child or vulnerable person against whom the offence was committed makes it known that they do not want the offence to be reported to the Garda Síochána, though the person accused of an offence under this Bill must show that they knew and relied on that view. In addition, the Bill acknowledges that certain victims may not have the capacity to make their views as to disclosure or otherwise known.

Therefore, a rebuttable presumption that a child under 14 does not have capacity to form a view as to whether the offence or information relating to it should be disclosed to the Garda Síochána is included. Similarly, a rebuttable presumption as to the lack of capacity of a vulnerable person is included.

Finally, the obligations that might be imposed by the above are no doubt onerous on sports organisation, especially those of a smaller scale; nevertheless, The frequency, source, denials and trauma associated with child abuse in Ireland in recent times has been a national shame.  This proposed legislation is a small start in ensuring that it never happens again. Sport is not immune and the debate on both Bills in the Oireachtas should be monitored closely by all of Irish sport.

http://blogs.qub.ac.uk/sportslaw/2012/04/27/children-first-child-protection-law-and-sport-in-ireland/

Dr. Jack Anderson lectures in law at Queen’s University Belfast. He had published widely on the topice of sports law, most recently, a book entitled The Legality of Boxing (Routledge, 2007). He is a qualified arbitrator, being a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and is a member of both the UK Sports Dispute Resolution Panel and the GAA’s Dispute Resolution Authority. Originally from Limerick, his interest in sport is principally, but not exclusively, in hurling and rugby. You can read Dr Anderson’s blog here: http://blogs.qub.ac.uk/sportslaw/

All coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games will be broadcast on a freeview basis on the Setanta Ireland channel.

At a launch in Irishtown Stadium today, Setanta Sports Ireland confirmed that they will be showing live coverage of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Setanta Sports also confirmed that they will be showing this coverage on a ‘freeview’ basis on Setanta Ireland. This means that the coverage on the Setanta Ireland channel on satellite will be unencrypted so that all viewers in Sky homes will have free access to the channel whether they are a Setanta subscriber or not. This combined with the Setanta Ireland channel being free on UPC and the Setanta player being available in all eircom broadband homes means that approximately 1.3 million households will be able to view the games.

Present at the launch were five Irish Paralympic athletes who are targeting success at London 2012. Mark Rohan, Orla Barry, Padraic Moran, Eimear Breathnach and Darragh McDonald were delighted to know that those friends and family who won’t be able to make it to London will still have a chance to see them compete.

Brian Quinn Marketing Director of Setanta Sports commented “We are delighted to be broadcasting the games on a freeview basis. This means that the majority of Irish households will be able to follow the Irish performances. I would like to pay tribute to Allianz for their support. They are not simply a sponsor of our coverage, they have played a far bigger role than that. Without them live Paralympics TV coverage would not be seen in Ireland. We appreciate their vision and are very thankful to have the opportunity to bring live coverage to the friends, families and fans of Irish Paralympians.”

Brendan Murphy CEO of Allianz Ireland added “For the first time ever Irish audiences will witness the achievements of Team Ireland as they happen, which for Allianz, as a long-time partner of the Paralympic Movement, was seen as a fundamental need in the Irish market. By supporting Paralympics Ireland and Irish athletes, Allianz supports their quest for medals but also, through our association with Setanta, to drive awareness of the Paralympic movement and provide live, real time access to all that is achieved.”

Liam Harbison CEO of Paralympics Ireland is delighted with the extra coverage “This is a momentous announcement for Irish Paralympic sport. The Irish Team are on the cusp of great success at London 2012 and we’re thrilled that the support of Setanta and Allianz will allow the Irish public to view, admire and be inspired by the achievements of Ireland’s elite Paralympians. Paralympic sport at the top level is exciting, gripping and ferociously competitive – we look forward to Setanta bringing this to Irish sports fans.”

Committee Chairman, Jerry Buttimer TD said: “Senator Eamonn Coghlan and John Treacy are among Ireland’s most successful and celebrated athletes and both continue to have a huge interest in athletics and promoting healthy lifestyles, particularly by encouraging young people to participate in sport.

The recent Growing up in Ireland report on obesity in children makes for grim reading as it highlighted a huge problem with the matter and found that obesity in Irish children is higher than in many northern European countries.

That study found that Irish children are becoming more obese and that this was creating serious health risks for the future. It highlighted that by the age of 19, 19% of Irish children are overweight and that 26% of Irish children were outside the healthy range for their weight.

Apart from the huge health and personal issues that are being stored up for the future, there will also be a big economic burden from treating the effects of obesity in coming years. This is now a serious health concern that needs to be dealt with urgently.

Both Senator Coghlan and Mr Treacy have a strong interest in, and ideas about, how to tackle obesity through the promotion of sport and recreation. The Committee is looking forward to meeting them tomorrow to get their perspectives on the issue and discuss in detail their views and ideas on dealing with the issue of childhood obesity.

The meeting takes place tomorrow, Thursday, 19th April, 11.30am in Committee Room 2, LH 2000. Committee proceedings can be followed live at: http://bit.ly/24YmPI

ISA Mitsubishi Youth Nationals – Friday – Action from Dublin Bay 2012 on Vimeo.

ISA Mitsubishi Youth Nationals – Saturday – Action from Dublin Bay 2012 on Vimeo.

ISA Mitsubishi Youth Nationals – Sunday – Action from Dublin Bay 2012 on Vimeo.

On the back of a large growth in the number of members, clubs and events this post-holder’s primary responsibility will be to promote and strengthen participation and development through the network of triathlon clubs in the Republic of Ireland, similar to the work that has been recently undertaken in Northern Ireland by Development Officer Johnny Davis.

2011 was another pivotal year in the growth and development of Triathlon Ireland. Membership has grown well over 6000+ members, and the number of clubs affiliated to TI now numbers nearly 70!

Responding to this rapid growth has provided many challenges for the organisation. As such, we are seeking an additional staff member on a fixed term full-time basis to ensure the continued growth and development of the sport, and as such, the quality of service to our clubs and our wider membership. 

About the Role

The Development Officer will be based in TI’s Kilmacanogue office, and some travel as well as weekend and out of hours work will be required. Reporting directly to the CEO, the successful applicant will work alongside the existing TI Administration Officers, the NI Development Officer and with TI regional coaches, and as such will need to demonstrate the ability to work both independently and effectively as part of a small office team.

The role is initially available for a six month term, though extension may be offered subject to satisfactory performance of the successful applicant, and the 2013 funding budget of the organisation.

The salary offered for the position will be circa$26-28K/annum , depending on the qualifications, skills and experience of the successful applicant.

Additional information is contained in the Position Description and Personnel Specification found here

Recruitment Timeline

Recruitment for this position will involve a merit-based, transparent and open process. A three person selection panel will assess all applications and conduct interviews of the short-listed candidates.

5pm 18 April 2012: Applications Close

19-20 April 2012: Short-listing of Applicants

23-24 April 2012: Notification to short-listed applicants for interview.

25-27 April 2012: Interviews Held

Early May: Successful Applicant Announced.

How to Apply?

Please email your application to ceo@triathlonireland.com by 5pm, 18 April 2012.

Please include a covering letter of not more than 1 page, a CV detailing your skills and experience relevant to the position and a 2-3 page document adressing the selection criteria in the Position Description.

Enquiries

Any queries regarding the role, after reading the Position Description, can be directed to Matt McKerrow on +353833847569 or on ceo@triathlonireland.com

The Irish Sports Council announced a total package of €25.58 million investment in more than 100 sports organisations for 2012.

• €10.92 million allocated to governing bodies of sport
• €8.27 million to GAA, FAI and IRFU to support their participation programmes
• €5.38 to 31 Local Sports Partnerships
• €1.01 million in grants to the sports bodies under the Women in Sport Programme

The Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Mr Michael Ring TD made the official announcement at an event in Dublin which was attended by representatives of the sports bodies. He commented  “This grant funding of €25.58 million is a significant investment in Irish sports and is a strong indication of this Government’s commitment to sport. I want to pay tribute to all of the sports organisations; they are continuing to do outstanding work for sport in Ireland and are playing a very important role in delivering opportunities in sport both nationally and for local communities throughout the country.”

The Council’s budget was reduced to €44.5 million in 2012 from €47 million in 2011. Given the importance of 2012 for Irish sport the High Performance budget  was left untouched at €10.5 million. The GAA, IRFU and FAI see cuts of 10% in their budgets with 5% for the bigger governing bodies and 2.5% for the small sports. The Local Sport partnerships will see a reduction of around 7% in their annual grants.

Kieran Mulvey, Chairman of the Irish Sports Council said: “The Council has taken great care in allocating money to ensure that the most vulnerable sports bear the least impact in 2012. The priority this year was high performance because everyone wants to see our athletes do well in London. This means the NGBs and LSPs have to plan the year with less resources. They are doing a fantastic job on behalf of the country and it is important that we recognise and acknowledge their outstanding work”.   

In addition there will be a reduction in the Women in Sport programme based on the recommendations of a review into the programmes. The review’s outcomes emphasised targeting the individual sports that made the greatest impact and where NGBs and LSPs have worked together to increase participation among women.

The total Irish Sports Council budget for 2012 is €44.5 million. The main spending areas are NGB core grants (25%) approximately), Local Sports Partnerships (12%), Youth Field Sport (18%), High Performance (24%) and other Council programmes (10%). The Council operating costs, including salaries, comes in around 7% of total budget.

The Council also published its Statement of Strategy for the years 2012 to 2014. It will concentrate on implementing its Participation strategy, developing the governing body sector and sustaining the high performance system. The document includes a report on progress against measures set out in the previous strategy. In the development of the strategy sports bodies were surveyed on the work of the Council. 97% stated that Council funding was Vital or Very Important to their organisation and 86% replied that they enjoyed an Excellent or Very Good relationship with the Council, responses consistent with similar surveys in previous years.

John Treacy Chief Executive of the Council commented on the strategy: “We were happy to report excellent progress on all areas of work over the past three years and we have set out our priorities for the next three years. The Council received very positive feedback from the sports sector on our work. The excellent working relationships in the sector is something that we can all be proud of”.

Grants Brochure | ISC Strategy

The Women In Sport programme was launched by the Irish Sports Council in 2005 and is aimed at promoting greater participation in sport by girls and women. With the support of the Irish Sports Council, the Irish Flag Football Association (IAFA member organisation) is running a pilot WIS flag football programme in four primary schools in the midlands. Flag football is a recreational non-contact version of American football that is suitable for people taking up the sport for the first time and/or for recreational purposes. Approximately 180 girls in the 10-12 age range are participating in this pilot programme which involves coaches going into schools to run flag football as part of the schools’ physical education lessons. The programme is complimentary to the existing schools flag football programme which is running in a number of boys and mixed schools. The three schools who entered teams into the tournament are all participants in the WIS programme.

The first game of the tournament paired St. Mary’s Edenderry with St. Conleiths N.S. Derrinturn. Following two turnovers, Edenderry came out strong and scored the first touchdown of the game to take the lead. Derrinturn then responded with a long drive which resulted in the tieing touchdown. For the remainder of the game, both defences appeared to have the upper hand. However, with only 15 seconds to go, Derrinturn threw a deep pass into the endzone for the winning score. Final score 12-6 in favour of Derrinturn.

The next game paired St. Patricks N.S. Johnstown Bridge with Edenderry GNS. Edenderry scored early with a 55 yard touchdown run. Johnstown then responded with a touchdown. Edenderry then took the lead with a touchdown pass. Johnstown looked like they would respond, after moving the ball downfield via five completed passes, but the Edenderry defence intercepted them and returned the interception for a touchdown. Edenderry scored again late in the game to make the final score 24-12 in their favour.

 The final game of the tournament paired St. Conleiths N.S. Derrinturn with St. Patricks N.S. Johnstown. If Derrinturn won, they would win the tournament. If Johnstown won, it would end tied and come down to points scored. Johnstown opened the scoring with a touchdown run. Their defence appeared to have the upper hand for much of the game and Johnstown extended their lead to 12-0 with another touchdown. Derrinturn then got back into the game and scored to make it 12-6. With only 30 seconds remaining, Johnstown scored again to make the final score 18-6 in their favour and to put themselves in a tie with Edenderry for the title.

All three teams finished with one win a piece, so it came down to points scored. However, both Edenderry and Johnstown were equal with 30 points each. The tournament would be decided by a sudden death play-off between the two teams. Edenderry scored on the first possession of sudden death after completing three passes to get into the endzone. On Johnstowns possession, the Edenderry defence held strong. Johnstown were forced to lauch a long pass into the endzone on fourth down, but it was intercepted to seal the victory for St. Marys Edenderry.