The Olympic Federation of Ireland yesterday hosted its inaugural golf tournament at the K Club in Co. Kildare. The purpose was to raise money for the Make A Difference Athletes’ Fund.
Golf is one of the few Olympic sports where regular sporting participants can also take part without causing embarrassment and there was a good turnout yesterday including familiar faces including former Sport Ireland CEO John Treacy, Michael Carruth, Sonia O’Sullivan, Henry Shefflin, Niall Quinn and many more.
Monies raised will be distributed directly back to the athletes through a series of grants that athletes can apply for.
A total of 30 teams and 120 participants took to the Palmer South Course at The K Club.
Others taking part included swimming Olympian Shane Ryan and Olympic silver medallist, sailor Annalise Murphy, while boxer Aidan Walsh – who returned home with a bronze medal from last summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games – was the keynote speaker at the post-golf dinner last night.
Financial grants for athletes have a significant impact on their training and development, with many Irish Olympians and Olympic hopefuls putting their lives on hold to represent our country.
The Make A Difference Athletes’ Fund is just one example of the many supports and initiatives organised by the OFI for the development of both current and future members of Team Ireland, and a clear example of the important work carried out by the Federation between Olympic cycles.
To date, these funds have assisted athletes in their preparation for events, from fine-tuning performance with the use of technology including wind tunnels and gait analysis, to contributing to coaching support.
The event was chaired by Eamonn Coghlan, and he was joined not only by Irish Olympians, but many from across the Irish sporting and sponsorship spheres.
“We understand the financial pressure that athletes are under as they strive for excellence and know that the funds raised today will play a vital role both in the future of Irish sport across competitions and in the preparation needed to optimise our performance at the highest levels, said OFI Commercial Director Catherine Tiernan.
