Paralympics Ireland

8 | Paralympics Ireland Annual Report | 2019 various categories on the night. Nicole Turner was named on the shortlist for the Young Sportsperson of the Year award following her brilliant 2019 that resulted in a World Championship Bronze Medal. Paralympic sport was also well represented in the Sportsperson of the Year category as Ellen Keane and the combination of Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal were named on the longlist. Also on the longlist in this category was Jason Smyth who advanced forward to the 10 person shortlist. Katie George Dunlevy and Eve McCrystal rounded out a memorable year after being named as the recipients of the prestigious 'Outstanding Contribution to Sport Award' by the Irish Post newspaper after they enjoyed a remarkable 2019. Sta‚ It was a year of positive change for the staff of Paralympics Ireland as we welcomed several new staff members to the team at the Sport Ireland Head Quarters. Dr. Martin McConaghy was appointed to the role of Chief Medical Officer for Paralympics Ireland. Dr. McConaghy is a very experienced medical practitioner that has huge experience in sport having worked with Munster and the Irish International Rules team amongst others. Martin has been very involved in the production of our Tokyo travel strategy and has played a key role in our response to the Covid 19 crisis. Colin Armstrong has joined the team as our Office Administrator and has taken over the responsibility of GDPR co-ordinator and is an important member of our Tokyo HQ team. Ciaran Flynn has been appointed as the new Performance Operations Manager for Paralympics Ireland. Ciaran occupied a similar role previously with Tennis Ireland and he is now working very closely with our Director of High Performance, Dave Malone and Chef de Mission, Denis Toomey. Alison O'Riordan was recruited in 2019 as the coach for our successful throws team. Alison coached the GB athletes at the 2012 London Paralympic Games and also at Rio2016 Games. Alison has also worked in Australia where she was the High Performance throws Coach at the Australian Institute of Sport. Board I would like to thank Eoghan Clifford and Pat McGinty for their service as board members of Paralympics Ireland following their departure from their positions in 2019. They have both played important roles during their terms serving on the board of the organisation. Welcome to our new board members Catherine Walsh and Louise O'Reilly who have both joined the board recently. Catherine, who has represented Ireland in Cycling, Athletics and Triathlon and competed at 7 Paralympic Games, is our new Athletes Commission representative following her appointment as chair of the commission earlier this year. Louise is a barrister and arbitrator who represents Ireland on the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators in Washington DC, is the Irish alternate member of the ICC International Court of Arbitration in Paris, and a member of the Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators of Sport Resolutions, UK. We have a very challenging year ahead as the world recovers from the Covid 19 Crisis and the postponement of the games to 2021. I have no doubt that we will rise to those challenges and with the help, support, advice and experience of our board allied to the expertise of our staff I believe that Paralympics Ireland will thrive. Conclusion 2019 was a year that saw much success for Paralympics Ireland. We saw medals won at World Championships and qualification slots achieved across several sports. We introduced our new Strategic plan and have made significant progress in it's implementation. We have also attracted some brilliant talent to Mary Fitzgerald competing at her first World Championships

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