Ger McTavish is a leading figure in Irish sport whose career maps a clear commitment to equity, inclusion and community-level access.

She currently serves as the Disability and Inclusion Lead (Outdoor Recreation & Inclusion) at Sport Ireland, a role she assumed in 2025 after a five-year tenure with the Gaelic Athletic Association, where she was its national Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Manager. She has also previously worked with Special Olympics Ireland and Irish Boxing.

Originally from Connemara in County Galway, Ger’s sporting and personal background is rooted in community sport. She studied Sport Science and Health — a foundation that underpins both her coaching mindset and her later work in sport governance and inclusion.

During her time with the GAA, Ger was instrumental in developing and delivering national-level inclusion, equality and diversity initiatives.

She led programmes aimed at tackling racism, promoting cultural and linguistic diversity (including Irish-language inclusion), and embedding equality and respect across Gaelic games.

At Sport Ireland, Ger’s remit is broader again. She now works across outdoor recreation, disability inclusion and national policy — helping shape how sport and physical activity are delivered, accessed and governed for people of all backgrounds and abilities.

She is a key driver of this week’s Sport Ireland Disability in Sport Week.

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Previously Listed

Dr Una May, Moira Aston, Mary O’Connor, Michelle Carpenter, Brenda O’Donnell, Sarah Keane, Karen Coventry, Michelle Tanner, Mary McAleese, Rosie Barry, Sinead Hosey, Laura Heffernan, Jacqui Hurley, Aoife Lane, Tracy Bunyan, Lisa Clancy, Aoife Clarke, Thelma O’Driscoll, Catherine Tiernan, Helen O’Rourke, Niamh Tallon, Julie Nicholson, Aisling O’Reilly, Evanne Ní Chuilinn, Avalon Everett, Ashley Morrow, Eimear O’Sullivan, Kelli O’Keeffe, Sarah O’Connor, Jill Downey

 

 

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This is the 13th edition of the Sport for Business listing of 50 Women of Influence in Irish Sport in partnership once more with our friends at AIG.

We began this journey in 2013, when we were challenged to produce a list of 20 Influential Women in Irish Sport. The 20 stretched to 30, then 40 and 50, and it still does not do justice to the talent out there.

Substantial progress has been made during this time. The Government, mindful of the importance and need for gender equity, challenged Irish sporting bodies to achieve a 60/40 gender split on their main boards or leadership entities by the end of 2023

Internationally, the gender split in doctors ranges from 46 per cent female in New Zealand to 48 per cent in the UK, 52 per cent in France, and 54 per cent in the United States. Sport has, for too long, lagged.

The gender gap in participation is targeted to be non-existent by 2027, and the profile of our elite athletes is as high for Katie Taylor, Katie McCabe, Rhasidat Adeleke and Leona Maguire as it is for the best of our men.

We are nearing the point where sport is sport regardless of gender.

The gap remains too big in media, sponsorship, attendance, and funding, but it is only by highlighting the wrongs that we can make them right.

This year’s list will again draw from all the multiple areas that make up sport. From the fields of play to the corridors of power, from the boardroom to the studio, and from every corner of the country.

We will divide the list into the CEO Club, the Influencers, and the Sponsors Lounge. the Administrators and others

This year, once again, we will challenge ourselves to generate at least 40 per cent of new entrants to ensure that fresh recognition is given to those making a mark.

This will mean some who fully deserve to remain stepping aside but that is part of what influence and leadership is about and they are in no way diminished by their not being on the list this year.

The list we will build over the coming weeks is a snapshot of women who are changing the way 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.

Recognition of their contribution is rarely asked for but is entirely deserved, and we want your help in identifying those who you feel should be among them.

So, who else do you think should be on the list for 2025?

 

Image Credit: Sport for Business

Further Reading for Sport for Business members:

Read our Sport for Business Coverage of Women in Sport

SPORT FOR BUSINESS  Upcoming Events

 

 

December 9th – Our 12th Annual Women in Sport Conference in partnership with Lidl.

January 2026 – The Sporting Year Ahead 2026 in partnership with Teneo – Launching Soon

 

BOOK YOUR TICKETS HERE

 

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