Limerick man Declan Madden has been elected as the 135th President of the Union, at the Annual Council meeting held in Dublin yesterday.
Born and raised in Rathkeale in County Limerick, he is a proud member and former Captain of Garryowen FC where he enjoyed a long and successful playing career before moving into administrative roles.
He was educated at St. Munchins College, where he was first introduced to rugby. He was appointed to the Munster branch in 2007 and held many positions, including Chair of Munster’s Age Grade Committee, Chair of Munster’s Finance Committee, and President of the Munster Branch in 2009/10.
In 2013/14, he was appointed to the IRFU Committee. In 2015, he became an office holder of the Union on his appointment as Chair of the IRFU Management Committee, a role he held until the end of the 2021/22 season. He was appointed Junior Vice President in 2022.
Speaking about his election, Declan says: “Rugby has given me so much over the years, both from a playing and a volunteer perspective, and it is a huge honour for me to now become the 135th President of the IRFU, in the year the Union celebrates its 150th anniversary.
“The vision for Rugby in Ireland is to “Inspire, Connect & Thrive” and I am committed to driving this vision over the next year. The success of our Men’s National Team as back-to-back Guinness Six Nations champions, our Women’s National Team heading into a Rugby World Cup Year, having both Sevens teams competing in the Paris Olympics and a thriving grassroots game means we now have more people than ever before playing and supporting the game.”
“However, without the incredible efforts from our volunteers in Clubs and Schools the Union would simply be unable to provide the wonderful rugby service, that they do, in local communities. Volunteers are the lifeblood of our game, and I am really looking forward to visiting Clubs all over the country over the next year to meet and greet everyone working to grow the game at every level.”
“Over the past year as Senior Vice President I have had the privilege of travelling and attending games with not only our Women’s National Team but for the first time ever our U20’s Women’s team who took part in a Six Nations Summer Series. A key part of the new strategic plan for Rugby in Ireland is accelerating the growth of the women’s game and I am looking forward to seeing how this develops over the coming years.”
I would also like to recognise and congratulate Greg Barrett on a hugely successful year as President and thank him for the contribution he has made to the IRFU since joining the committee in 2013.”
The IRFU Financial Statements for 2023/2024 will be published in November. The IRFU has budgeted to report a significant deficit in 2023/2024, as it is a Rugby World Cup year, due to the cost of competing in the Rugby World Cup and the loss of the Autumn Nations Series Matches in November.
“Both on and off the pitch it has been a successful year for Irish Rugby,” said CEO Kevin Potts addressing the meeting.
“In June, we published a new strategic plan for Rugby in Ireland, which sets out our collective ambition for the next cycle, and with more men, women, boys, and girls playing than ever, despite some disappointments, we believe that rugby is in a good place in Ireland.”
“Interest in our game has continued to grow, driven by successive Guinness Six Nations victories by our Men’s National team and their superb win over the World Champions South Africa in Durban, our Women’s National team securing qualification for the 2025 Rugby World Cup, and both our Sevens teams competing in Paris at the Olympics.”
“The continued success of our Men’s National team has resulted in very strong ticket sales, and we are incredibly grateful for the public’s support.”
Next week, we will consider the Commercial and Marketing parts of the IRFU Annual Report.
Sport for Business will host its annual Women in Sport Conference in Dublin on Thursday morning, November 28th. This is one of many events planned for the remainder of 2024.
Register your interest to attend a Sport for Business event here.
The IRFU and each of the four Provinces, as well as Bank of Ireland, Vodafone, Aviva, Energia, PwC and Aldi, are among the 300 organisations, which include all the leading sports and sponsors, as well as commercial and state agencies, that are members of the Sport for Business community.
Find out more about joining us today.
Check out our upcoming events to discover ways of connecting in person with our membership.
