The Olympic Centenary Ball on Saturday was a powerful and emotional gathering of over 300 Olympians and those who have, in some small way, contributed to Ireland’s Olympic story.
The President’s Award was exceptional this year, with Sarah Keane stepping down after two terms that have spanned being brought back from the brink of controversy to the position of confidence and authority it now holds.
One award was in the area of sport, which went to Terry McHugh, Ireland’s six-time Olympian in Javelin and Bobsleigh, more on that tomorrow, and the other in the sports administration field, where the recipient was Paul McDermott.
Paul has never won an Olympic medal and has never been one to push himself forward for credit, but he has served Irish sport to powerful effect over the last 25 years.
Once Sarah revealed his name as the recipient, everyone involved in sports at the time will have risen faster and clapped louder.
He joined a much smaller Irish Sports Council back in 1999 in a communications role and cut his teeth through those early years meeting with media and telling the story of Irish sport away from the big beats of Gaelic Games, Rugby and Football.
I first met him while working with Bill O’Herlihy on helping to promote then Minister John O’Donoghue and his department.
He was then, and he is now, a straight talker, an honest purveyor of the facts, and a cute analyst of why we might be asking specific questions and tailoring an answer to suit.
In 2013, he took on the responsibility of high-performance sports and the national governing bodies, bringing the same skill set to bear on getting stuff done and making things happen.
That is easier to say than to do and while Paul will always deflect credit to the many others across sport that are part of the team behind the team in High Performance, it is so often the case that the one at the top sets the tone, the tone begets the culture and that is what delivers a record summer of achievement and a new benchmark of what success looks like.
And through it all he remains approachable, honest and willing to go the extra yard.
Well done Paul McDermott, an honour well deserved.
The Sport for Business Membership comprises nearly 300 organisations, including all the leading sports and sponsors, as well as commercial and state agencies.
