CATHERINE MARTIN

 

Catherine Martin is the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. She has overseen the Sports portfolio through the lifetime of this Government, a period in which sport has won well in terms of funding and support.

This is the third year she has appeared on our list, since her appointment.

Maintaining the momentum created by the National Sports Policy was always going to be a challenge with the unexpected and considerable challenges of Covid but even with the additional blows of the energy crisis, a way has been found to assist sporting clubs in a way that other sectors must look on with envy.

Together with Minister of State Jack Chambers she has been steadfast in support of the advancement of Women in Sport on and off the field of play.

She is Deputy Leader of the Green Party, and served as a Councillor on Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council between 2014 and 2016 and was elected to Dáil Eireann in the constituency of her predecessor as Minister, Shane Ross.

 

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This is the tenth edition of our Sport for Business listing of 50 Women of Influence in Irish Sport.

Read more about the list and nominate who you think should be a part of it in 2022.

We are proud to do so again this year with AIG, an organisation that has pledged its commitment to equality in its partnerships with Gaelic Games, Tennis, Golf and more, for whom “Effort is Equal” and with whom we have ambitious plans to extend the reach of this annual celebration of the Women who are making a difference.

This year’s list will be drawn as before from the worlds of leadership, partnership, storytelling and performance.

We began this journey in 2013 when challenged that we would never be able to produce a list of twenty Influential Women in Irish Sport. The 20 stretched to 30, then 40 and 50 and it still does not do justice to the talent that is out there.

This year once more, to keep things fresh we will introduce at least 30 per cent of fresh names from last year. That will be the hardest part to have some names replaced but if it was too easy it would be of less value.

The list we will build over the coming weeks is a snapshot of those women who are making a mark on how sport is played, consumed, grown and delivered.

They are part of making the role of women in sport unexceptional by being exceptional in what they do.