Karen Coventry was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Special Olympics Ireland in August 2025, bringing with her more than two decades of experience with the organisation and a deep commitment to inclusion through sport.
She first joined Special Olympics Ireland in 2003, supporting Team Ireland at the World Summer Games, and went on to serve in a range of leadership roles before becoming Director of Sport in 2018. In that position, she oversaw the development and delivery of inclusive programmes nationwide — spanning grassroots participation, athlete leadership, health and wellbeing, and performance pathways. Her work played a central role in helping the organisation reconnect communities and rebuild participation following the pandemic.
As CEO, Karen now leads the organisation’s strategic direction, operations and governance, guiding its mission to transform lives through sport for people with intellectual disabilities. Her leadership is defined by a people-centred approach, empowering athletes and volunteers alike and ensuring that inclusion and respect remain at the heart of everything Special Olympics Ireland does.
Karen holds a Master’s degree in Applied Sport and Exercise Psychology and is a former international gymnast — a background that has given her a lifelong understanding of the athlete experience and the power of sport to build confidence and community.
She stands as a passionate leader whose work continues to strengthen access, inclusion and opportunity for athletes across Ireland.
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Previously Listed
Dr Una May, Moira Aston, Mary O’Connor, Michelle Carpenter, Brenda O’Donnell, Sarah Keane
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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, the Sponsors Lounge.the Administrators and others
This year,once again, we will challenge ourselves to generate a minimum of 40 percent of new entrants, to ensure that fresh recognition is given to those who are 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 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 Industry Movers
SPORT FOR BUSINESS Upcoming Events
November 20th – Playing for the Planet – A new event focused on Sustainability in Sport with the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport
December 9th – Our 12th Annual Women in Sport Conference in partnership with Lidl.
January – The Sporting Year Ahead 2026 in partnership with Teneo.
Sport for Business Podcasts
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