Sarah Keane is the first female President of the Olympic Federation of Ireland, having been elected to that role in February 2017. [1] [2] She is a former member of the Irish water polo team, [3] and is CEO of Swim Ireland, [4] a position she has held since 2004. [1]
Keane is a lawyer, with a bachelor's degree in Law and a masters degree in Commercial Law; she also holds diplomas in both corporate and financial management. [5] Before taking up her post at Swim Ireland she was an associate partner at Matheson law firm in Dublin. [3]
Keane was first elected to the Board of the Olympic Federation of Ireland in 2014. [5]
Keane has three children, and lives in Dublin. [3]
Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km (35 mi) north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth but with the south fringes of the town in County Meath, 49 km (30 mi) north of Dublin. Drogheda had a population of 44,135 inhabitants in 2022, making it the eleventh largest settlement by population in all of Ireland, and the largest town in the Republic of Ireland by both population and area. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea. The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Newgrange is located 8 km (5.0 mi) west of the town.
Mary Patricia McAleese is an Irish activist lawyer, academic, author, and former politician who served as the eighth president of Ireland from November 1997 to November 2011. McAleese was first elected as president in 1997, having received the nomination of Fianna Fáil. She succeeded Mary Robinson, making her the second female president of Ireland, and the first woman in the world to succeed another woman as president. She nominated herself for re-election in 2004 and was returned unopposed for a second term. McAleese is the first president of Ireland to have come from either Northern Ireland or Ulster.
World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series, the Rugby World Cup Sevens, the World Under 20 Championship, and the Pacific Nations Cup.
Michelle Smith de Bruin is an Irish lawyer and retired Olympic swimmer. She won three gold medals at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, for the 400 m individual medley, 400 m freestyle and 200 m individual medley, and also won the bronze medal for the 200 m butterfly event. Smith's rise to dominance in the 1995 European Championships, followed by her wins in Atlanta at a relatively advanced age for swimmers were marked by allegations of doping, which were never proven. Smith was, however, later banned for four years by FINA, the international swimming federation, for manipulation of an anti-doping sample, by deliberate contamination with alcohol, a decision upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport when Smith appealed. Already superannuated in swimming terms, Smith never returned to competitive swimming and later worked as a barrister, practising under her married name of Michelle de Bruin.
Mary Hanafin is an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport from 2010 to 2011, Deputy leader of Fianna Fáil from January 2011 to March 2011, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation from January 2011 to March 2011, Minister for Social and Family Affairs from 2008 to 2011, Minister for Education and Science from 2004 to 2008, Government Chief Whip from 2002 to 2004 and Minister of State for Children from 2000 to 2002. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency from 1997 to 2011.
Events from the year 2004 in Ireland.
Sport in Ireland plays an important role in Irish society. The many sports played and followed in Ireland include Gaelic games, association football, horse racing, show jumping, greyhound racing, basketball, fishing, handball, motorsport, boxing, tennis, hockey, golf, rowing, cricket, and rugby union.
Joan Burton is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Tánaiste and Leader of the Labour Party from 2014 to 2016, Minister for Social Protection from 2011 to 2016, Deputy leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2014, Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs from 1994 to 1997 and Minister of State at the Department of Social Welfare from 1993 to 1994. She served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency from 1992 to 1997 and 2002 to 2020.
John Paul Phelan is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Carlow–Kilkenny constituency since the 2011 general election. He previously served as Minister of State for Local Government and Electoral Reform from 2017 to 2020. He also served as a Senator for the Labour Panel from 2002 to 2011.
Catherine McGuinness is a retired Irish judge who served as a Judge of the Supreme Court from 2000 to 2006, a Judge of the High Court from 1996 to 2000, a Judge of the Circuit Court from 1994 to 1996 and a Senator for the Dublin University from 1979 to 1981 and between 1983 and 1987. She was appointed by President Patrick Hillery to the Council of State from 1988 to 1990 and by President Michael D. Higgins from 2012 to 2019.
A team representing Republic of Ireland as an independent state or polity has competed at the Summer Olympic Games since 1924, and at the Winter Olympic Games since 1992. The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) was formed in 1922 during the provisional administration prior to the formal establishment of the Irish Free State. The OFI affiliated to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in time for the Paris games.
The Olympic Federation of Ireland or OFI is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Ireland. Athletes from Northern Ireland have the option of participating under its auspices or in the Great Britain Olympic Team. Its mission statement is "To manage and enhance the performance of Team Ireland at Olympic Games whilst developing the Olympic Movement in Ireland." In 2018 the Olympic Council of Ireland was renamed as the Olympic Federation of Ireland.
Ciarán Cannon is an Irish Fine Gael politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway East constituency since 2011. He previously served as a senator for the Progressive Democrats and was the last elected leader of that party. He served as a Minister of State from 2011 to 2014 and again from 2017 to 2020. He served as a Senator from 2007 to 2011, after being nominated by the Taoiseach.
Ann Power is an Irish judge who has served as a Judge of the Court of Appeal since November 2019. She previously served as a Presiding Judge of the Kosovo Specialist Chambers and Specialist Prosecutor's Office from 2017 to 2019 and a Judge of the European Court of Human Rights from 2008 to 2020.
Averil Power is an Irish former politician who served as a Senator for the Industrial and Commercial Panel from 2011 to 2016. She first held office as a member of Fianna Fáil, but left the party in 2015 and sat in the Seanad as an Independent for the rest of her term. She stood as an Independent candidate for Dáil Éireann at the 2016 general election, but was not elected.
Ruth Coppinger is an Irish politician and member of the Socialist Party. She was elected as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin West constituency in 2014. At the 2016 general election, she ran as a candidate for Anti-Austerity Alliance–People Before Profit and retained her seat in Dáil Éireann until 2020. She lost her seat at the general election in February 2020.
The Social Democrats are a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Ireland. The party was launched on 15 July 2015 by three independent Teachtaí Dála, Catherine Murphy, and Róisín Shortall, and Stephen Donnelly. It promotes the Nordic model and pro-European views.
Ellen Keane is an Irish Paralympic swimmer and gold medallist competing in S9, SM9 and SB8 classification events.
Kellie Anne Harrington is an Irish amateur boxer, amateur World champion and an Olympic gold medallist.
Sarah Thomas is an American marathon swimmer. She is the first person to complete four consecutive crossings of the English Channel and the first person to swim a current-neutral swim over 100 miles. She holds the world record for longest, second-, and third-longest current-neutral swims, and various other records in both fresh and salt water categories.