John Foley appointed chairperson of Sport Ireland

John Foley has been announced as the new chairperson of Sport Ireland, succeeding Kieran Mulvey.

Mulvey had been chair of the national sport authority since its establishment in 2015 and chair of its predecessor, the Irish Sports Council, since 2010.

Foley is a former CEO of Waterford Crystal and now operates as a business consultant. Since 2009, he has held the position of CEO/Interim CEO with a number of Irish sporting organisations: Athletics Ireland, Cycling Ireland and Tennis Ireland.

Commenting on the appointment, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin said: "I want to congratulate John on his appointment and I wish him well during his term on the board.

"I believe that he will make a valuable contribution to the work of Sport Ireland and the development of Irish sport over the next five years."

Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne said: "This is an important and challenging time for sport as it continues to recover from Covid-19. John Foley has demonstrated that he has the skills and expertise to lead Sport Ireland in supporting the recovery and continued growth of the sport sector. I wish him every success during his tenure on the Board."

The appointment followed a public call for applications on the state boards website and an assessment process managed by the Public Appointments Service.

Two further appointments to fill vacancies on the board for ordinary members will be announced shortly.

Dr Una May succeeded long-serving CEO John Treacy as Sport Ireland chief executive officer in January last year.

Meanwhile, Cycling Ireland has announced the appointment of James Quilligan as its new chief executive officer with effect from 12 June.

Qulligan, a