Mary O’Connor serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Federation of Irish Sport, the national body representing Ireland’s umbrella of sports organisations. A native of Cork, she has built a lifelong career in sport and is widely regarded as a dedicated advocate for participation, governance and investment in the sector.
Before moving into sports administration, Mary enjoyed a remarkable playing career with Cork, winning 12 All-Ireland medals in total, seven in Ladies Football and five in Camogie, making her one of the most decorated players in Irish sporting history. That grounding in team sport continues to inform her leadership philosophy today, emphasising teamwork, shared purpose and collective achievement.
Since taking up the CEO role, Mary has championed the idea of sport as both a public good and a strategic element of national wellbeing, not merely competition, but participation, community impact and organised structure. She regularly argues to the Government and beyond that investment should not only focus on bricks-and-mortar facilities but also on the “human infrastructure” of programmes, staff, coaches and volunteers that turn access into meaningful outcomes.
Under her guidance, the Federation has reinforced its role in policy, governance and funding advocacy, representing over 100 national governing bodies and local sports partnerships. Mary’s voice has been central in setting the agenda on safeguarding, multi-annual funding, talent retention, and the broader sport ecosystem in Ireland.
In recognition of her leadership and advocacy, Mary O’Connor has been included once again among the Sport for Business / AIG 50 Women of Influence in Irish Sport for 2025.
With the Ladies’ Gaelic Football and Camogie Associations both seeking new CEO’s at the moment, she will surely be in the mix, and it may be that when we come to run this list the next time, she could be appearing under a different guise.
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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?
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Further Reading for Sport for Business members:
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