Anne McCormack has been appointed as Hockey Ireland’s new Chief Executive Officer.

McCormack joins from Golf Ireland, where she was Chief Operating Officer and a key member of the team that created Golf Ireland in 2021, transitioning the Golf Union of Ireland and Irish Ladies Golf Union from separate gender-based entities.

In this role she featured on last year’s Sport for Business / AIG 50 Women of Influence.

She brings a passion for sport, having played golf at an elite level representing Connaught and Ireland at underage levels, and was the driving force behind a number of major Golf initiatives including ‘Get into Golf’, ‘Golf4Girls4Life’ and ‘LevelPar’.

As a powerful advocate of inclusion and equality, she further bolsters Hockey Ireland’s already strong track record of gender representation at Board and Executive level roles.

It is a big win for the sport to secure one of the most highly regarded executives working in Irish sport.

“It’s a privilege to be joining such a vibrant and passionate community, and I look forward to working alongside Hockey’s stakeholders, its talented athletes, dedicated staff, as well as the Provinces and Clubs,” she said.

“Sport is a huge part of my life and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to work closely with the Board and continue to drive hockey across the island forward. I firmly believe that through collaboration, innovation and a shared vision, we can take the sport to new heights of success and make a lasting impact for all in the hockey community.”

“Anne was a standout candidate in the interview process and brings very relevant credentials as we look to build on our historic International sporting success, further develop the game of Hockey in Ireland and maintain the current positive momentum we have within the organisation,” added Hockey Ireland Chair Trevor Watkins.

McCormack will take up the role from mid-September and joins at a very busy period for Hockey as the Senior Men host the EuroHockey Championship II in July at the Sport Ireland Campus and both the Senior Women and Senior Men International teams look to Olympic qualification in 2024.

“Matt McKerrow continues as interim CEO until September, and Hockey Ireland would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank Matt for his contribution as we make this transition,” added Watkins.