Sport for Business, in partnership with Liberty Insurance, has begun the publication of our annual list of the 50 Most Influential Women in Irish Sport.
For 2017 we are extending the recognition given to women who are taking a lead role in sport by also identifying 50 of the next generation that are coming through, at pace, to make their mark within sport.
This is not about Women’s sport, it is about the influence that women are wielding across all sport. We will identify leaders on and off the field of play. They will include those who are role models in terms of their abilities on and off the field of play. They will come from teams and individual sports, from sponsorship partners, from the media, from the administrative corridors of power and from places where influence may be subtle but no less powerful.
There are those who stand out as obvious candidates and others who you may be meeting for the first time. The one common thread among our two groups of 50 women is that they care about sport and are using their intelligence, insight and powers of innovation to make sport relevant to all.
Sarah Keane
Sarah Keane has been in the upper reaches of Irish sports administration since becoming CEO of Swim Ireland in 2004.
She was thrust into a far brighter spotlight though in 2016 when she was part of the three person crisis team dealing with the fallout of the ticketing issues surrounding the arrest of Olympic Council of Ireland President Pat Hickey.
In 2017 she was elected as President to succeed him and carries a large burden of hope and expectation from the sporting community who see her as a powerful advocate for change and greater engagement.
It will not be easy and with it being a non executive and purely voluntary role she will combine it over the next four years with her continuing role as CEO of the national Governing Body for swimming.
Nurturing Oliver Dingley’s success from an Olympic Final in Rio to who knows in Tokyo; managing with Paralympics Ireland the staging of the European Paralympic Swimming Championships in Dublin in 2018; and continuing to drive participation in her sport will make this a year unlike any other for Keane
A lawyer by profession she was an associate partner with Matheson and holds a Masters degree in corporate law.
A strong advocate of opportunities for Women in Sport and a regular attendee at Sport for Business events in this area, she is showing the way for how Women can rise to the top and bring about positive change.
Mary Davis, Special Olympics
Sonia O’Sullivan, Olympian
Sinead Galvin, Galvin Sports Management
Evanne Ní Chuillin, Joanne Cantwell and Jacqui Hurley, RTÉ
Louise Kidd, AIG Insurance
Ellen Keane, Paralympian
Siobhan Earley, Gaelic Players Association
Maeve Buckley, Line Up Sports
Suzanne Eade, Horse Racing Ireland
Sinead Heraty, Irish Ladies Golf Union
Sinead Kissane, Journalist at TV3
Irene Gowing and Sorcha Fennell Sheehan, Bord Gais Energy
Jo Donnellan, Sponsorship Manager at Heineken
Elaine Carey, Chief Commercial Officer Three Ireland
Sarah O’Connor, Head of Sport at Wilson Hartnell
Georgina Drumm, President at Athletics Ireland
Sue Ronan, Head of Women’s Football at FAI
Fiona Hampton, Head of Sales and Marketing at Ulster Rugby
Karen Campion, Head of Business Partnerships at FAI
Miriam Malone, CEO at Paralympics Ireland
Cliona Foley, Journalist
Cliona O’Leary, Head of TV Sport at RTÉ
Edel McCarthy, Sponsorship Manager Electric Ireland
Lisa Browne, Head of Marketing Electric Ireland
Sarah O’Shea, Honorary General Secretary at Olympic Council of Ireland
Helen O’Rourke, CEO at Ladies Gaelic Football Association
Kelli O’Keefe, Teneo PSG
Jennifer Gleeson, Sponsorship Manager at Diageo
Mary O’Connor, CEO Federation of Irish Sport
Carol McMahon, Ulster Bank
Deirdre Ashe, Liberty Insurance
Sian Gray, Head of Marketing at Lidl
Roisin Glynn, Social media Manager at AIB
Michelle Tanner, Head of Sport at Trinity College
Gemma Bell, Sponsorship Manager at Bank of Ireland
Tracey Kennedy, Chair Cork County GAA Board
Katie Taylor, World Champion Boxer
Joy Neville, Referee
Niamh O’Donoghue, FAI Board Member
Joan O’Flynn, CEO Camogie Association
Lindsay Peat, Rugby Player
Annalise Murphy, Olympian Sailor
Dee Forbes, Director General at RTÉ
Emma Byrne, Footballer
Fiona Coghlan, Grand Slam Rugby Winning Captain
Dr Una May, Head of Participation at Sport Ireland
Anne O’Leary, CEO of Vodafone
Cora Staunton, Ladies Gaelic Footballer
Sarah Keane, President Olympic Council of Ireland
Jessica Harrington, racehorse trainer and Irish Times Sportswoman of 2017
