The Government has confirmed that Kieran Mulvey is to head up the new ‘Sport Ireland’ organisation.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, and the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Michael Ring TD, today announced that Mr Kieran Mulvey is to be appointed as the Chairperson of the newly-established Sport Ireland.

Sport Ireland, which is the new State Agency with responsibility for sport, arising from the merger of the Irish Sports Council and the National Sports Campus Development Authority, came into operation with effect from 1st October 2015. The Sport Ireland Act 2015 was signed into law on 13th May.

Minister Donohoe said: ‘I have today informed the Government that I intend to appoint Mr Kieran Mulvey as Chairperson of the Board, subject to the endorsement of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications. I am delighted that Kieran has agreed to serve as Chairperson of the new Board and I am sure that his experience as Chairperson of the Irish Sports Council over the last five years will be of considerable value to Sport Ireland’.

Minister Michael Ring said: ‘The establishment of Sport Ireland is a positive move for Irish sport, delivering a single well-structured agency focused on the continued development of Irish sport. I am confident that Mr Mulvey has the right skills to take the new agency forward and that he and his Board will work hard to make sure that the transition to a single Sport Ireland is a safe and smooth one. I wish the Board and the Sport Ireland management and staff well in their work for Irish sport’.

In addition to the Chairperson, 10 members who previously served on the Boards of the Council and the Authority have been appointed to the Board of Sport Ireland. They are Bernard Allen, Seán Benton, Donal Óg Cusack, Roy Dooney, Mary Dorgan, Frances Kavanagh, John Maughan, Caroline Murphy, Patrick O’Connor and Liam Sheedy.

Minister Ring said: ‘Some members of the Council and the Authority have been appointed to the new Sport Ireland Board in order to ensure some continuity on the Board. We are at a critical and exciting phase in the development of the National Sports Campus, with construction of the National Indoor Arena well underway. Also we recognise the significant contribution that members of the Council and the Authority have made to the work of their respective agencies and the need to ensure a continuation of that work for Irish sport. I believe that the experience and skills of those members will be very valuable over the next few months as we move from two agencies to one’.

Sport Ireland Board – Information Note

The Sport Ireland Act 2015 provides for a Board of 13 members, including a Chairperson. In addition to the 11 positions listed above, the remaining 2 positions on the Board will be filled following an advertising and selection process by the Public Appointments Service. It is expected that the selection process will be completed and the 2 Members appointed before the end of the year. To allow for the establishment of Sport Ireland on 1st October with a full Board membership, the Minister has appointed two representatives from his Department for the first meeting of the Board, who will be replaced once the PAS process is completed.

Biographies of Board Members

Kieran Mulvey – Chairperson

Kieran was Chairman of the Irish Sports Council. He has been Chief Executive of the Labour Relations Commission since 1991. He is the Director General of the new Workplace Relations Commission. He is a former General Secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) and the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT). He has also acted as a Consultant with the EU and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) on matters relating to public management, human resources and industrial relations. He chaired the negotiations which led to the Public Service Croke Park, Haddington Road and Lansdowne Road Agreements. He is a Fellow of the Educational Institute of Scotland and holds an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the National University of Ireland.

Bernard Allen

Bernard was a Member of the Irish Sports Council. He was Lord Mayor of Cork City 1988 – 1989. He was a member of Dáil Éireann from 1981 to 2011. A front bench spokesperson for Health, Social Welfare, Environment and Local Government, Foreign Affairs, and Tourism, Sport and Recreation, he was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Education and the Environment with special responsibility for Youth and Sport from 1994 to 1997. He is a member of the Pitch and Putt Union of Ireland, Bol Chumann na hÉireann, Golfing Union of Ireland, GAA and FAI.

Seán Benton

Seán was Chairman of the National Sports Campus Development Authority. He is Chairman of Our Lady’s Hospice and Care Services, Harold’s Cross and Blackrock; former Chairman of the Education and Finance Board, former Chairman of the Office of Public Works (OPW); previously a Commissioner of the OPW and former Director of Finance at the Department of Health.

Donal Óg Cusack

Donal Óg was a Member of the National Sports Campus Development Authority. He is an Engineer by profession. He is a former Cork Hurling goalkeeper and winner of several All-Ireland medals and All-Star Awards. He is also a media pundit and Chairman of the Gaelic Players Association.

Roy Dooney

Roy was a Member of the National Sports Campus Development Authority and was Chairman of the NSCDA Operations Company Ltd. He is a Communications Consultant by profession. Roy was a Member of the National Sports Strategy Group from 1995-1997 and a former Commissioner of the Eircom League. He is a former international athlete who represented Ireland at Marathon, Road and Cross-Country championships at European and World levels. Roy is a former co-opted member of the Board of Athletics Ireland.

Mary Dorgan

Waterford based Mary Dorgan was a member of the Irish Sports Council. She is the former Assistant CEO of the Health and Safety Authority. Mary is a certified Mediator and has extensive experience as non-executive director across both public and private sectors. She was recently appointed to the Board of the National College of Art and Design. Mary has a keen interest in all sports and particularly in promoting participation.

Frances Kavanagh

Frances was a member of the Irish Sports Council. She is a Senior Director of Sport with Special Olympics Ireland and also served as Director of Sport and Competition for the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games. She has served on many committees and Boards representing Special Olympics at National, European and International level and has also been Chair of the International Sports Rules Advisory Committee. Frances is a former Board Member and President of the Federation of Irish Sport.

John Maughan

John was a member of the Irish Sports Council. He was Senior Football Manager of Clare, Mayo, Roscommon and Fermanagh and led Mayo to the 1996, 1997 and 2004 All-Ireland Senior Football Finals. He also managed the Mayo under 21 side to an All-Ireland in 2004. He inspired Clare to win the Munster Football title for only the second time in 1992 and also managed NUI Galway in the Sigerson Cup. He is currently coaching underage footballers in his club, Castlebar Mitchells. He held the position of Captain with the Defence Forces of Ireland. He is a football analyst for RTÉ Radio Sport. John is currently employed as a Purchasing Procurement Officer with Mayo County Council.

Caroline Murphy

Caroline is a Broadcaster and Psychologist who runs her own Communications Consultancy. She presents ‘It Says in the Papers’ on Morning Ireland and has many years’ experience of Sports Broadcasting in both Radio and Television. She was a member of the National Sports Campus Development Authority and its representative on the High Performance Committee of the Irish Institute of Sport.

Patrick O’Connor

Patrick was a member of the Irish Sports Council. He is a Solicitor, Coroner, Arbitrator and Notary Public and is a former Vice Chairman of the Press Council of Ireland. He is a member of The Law Society of Ireland, The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Mental Health Tribunal, and the IRB, ERC, 6 Nations and IRFU Disciplinary panels. He has previously served on the Board of Management of St. Louis Community School, Hope House, the Irish Association of Suicidology, the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board and the Courts Service Board. He has held various offices within the Law Society of Ireland most notably as President (1998-99).

Liam Sheedy

Liam was a member of the Irish Sports Council. He is Area Manager for the Mid-West Region with Bank of Ireland. A former Tipperary hurler he went on to manage his county to All Ireland Minor glory in 2006 and delivered National League and two Munster titles at senior level before capturing All Ireland success in 2010. He is also an RTE hurling analyst on The Sunday Game

Clare v Limerick preview team news and live score updates. We have live score updates from todays All-Ireland hurling semi-final, its should be a great clash between the two Munster teams Limerick and Clare.

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Preview

The second All-Ireland hurling semi-final will take place on Sunday as local rivals go toe to toe for a place in the All-Ireland final with Cork. Both sides will fancy their chances and hold no fear of each other. They are both young sides coming into the game with form and momentum on their sides. They faced each other three times in 2012 with Clare winning two outings, but Limerick winning the all important championship tie. It really is a tough one to call.

Everybody saw the scenes at the final whistle when Limerick won their first Munster title since 1996. There were joyous scenes at the final whistle and Limerick had won a title defeating the two traditional big teams in Munster; Tipperary and Cork. They played a very good brand of hurling and they will be full of confidence. The biggest question for me is the five week lay-off. It must be said thought that they also had a five week lay-off between the Munster semi-final and final which didn’t seem to have a huge impact but since then some Clare players have had two championship games, so they may be at a disadvantage.

The Limerick have played club games in between so there will be a freshness in returning to the intercounty scene. Clare on the other hand have huge momentum on their side. They have bounced back from defeat to Cork and this young team is growing with the more time they are spending on the pitch. The under-21 scene has also provided extra momentum for a number of their players so the confidence in these players is an all-time high. Both managers have named unchanged teams but the tactical battle will be intriguing.

Limerick’s defence have been very good so far. Each of their six defenders have excelled and it will be interesting what type of match-up’s they will go for with Clare’s forwards. Limerick have also faced orthodox forwards lines so far and it will be interesting to see what they will do with the roaming players like Tony Kelly and Padraic Collins. They had an extra man in defence for the second-half against Cork and they used it to almost perfection so it will be interesting to see if they take the same approach to a two-man full-forward that Clare will likely deploy.

Clare overused tactics against Cork but they have certainly learned from this. With Darach Honan and Conor McGrath, they have a dangerous inside line that need to be given service. They are very strong in the middle third, players like Colm Galvin and Tony Kelly provide pace and mobility, while John Conlon and Conor Ryan provide the physicality. They also have a good defence. It will be interesting to see if they double-up on Declan Hannon, like they did with Joe Canning against Galway. Either way I imagine that Cian Dillon will be Hannon’s direct opponent. David McInerney is in great form at the moment while the Clare half-back line is very strong.

This is such an even contest. The more I look at it, the more teams seem to cancel each other out. It’s a first game in Croke Park for the majority of these players so there is no real advantage to either side. A lot may depend on which side uses the wider spaces more efficiently. Will Clare be able to use their pace and mobility to stretch Limerick around the field, or will Limerick be able to dominate physically? It promises to be a cracking encounter and I think it will go right down to the final whistle. Limerick’s goals were the difference last year and maybe the team that scores the most goals may come out on top again here.

Teams

Limerick; Nicky Quaid, Stephen Walsh, Richie McCarthy, Tom Condon, Paudie O’Brien, Wayne McNamara, Gavin O’Mahony, Donal O’Grady, Paul Browne, David Breen, James Ryan, Seamus Hickey, Graeme Mulcahy, Declan Hannon, Seanie Tobin

Clare; Patrick Kelly, Domhnall O’Donovan, David McInerney, Cian Dillon; Brendan Bugler, Patrick Donnellan, Patrick O’Connor; Colm Galvin, Colin Ryan; John Conlon, Tony Kelly, Conor Ryan; Pádraic Collins, Darach Honan, Conor McGrath

Players to Watch

Cian Dillon – He is a very good defender who is having a very good season. He missed the start of the league but he has returned for the championship and played very well. I would predict that he will be given the job of trying to nullify Declan Hannon and if he can achieve this, I think Clare will have a great chance.

Gavin O’Mahony – He was outstanding when these sides faced each other in a qualifier in 2012 and Limerick will want a similar performance. He showed great leadership in that game and he inspired those around him. He is one of their experienced players and he will need to organise the middle third for Limerick in this game. He will have a big role to play.

Betting Advice

The bookmakers have this priced very evenly and understandably so. There are a lot of alternative handicap prices available. It’s very tough to call but I fancy Clare. I think they have more momentum on their side.

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