Offaly Sports Partnership marks contributions to sport and public life by former members

The recent AGM of Offaly Sports Partnership paid tribute to four former members for their contributions to sport, community and public life in the county

Birr’s John Carroll was acknowledged for his commitments in supporting the development of several projects, including the Handball Club and the Sport and Recreation Centre in Crinkle, the swimming pool and the Gaelscoil in Birr, and various projects of the Birr 2020 group.

Edenderry’s Robert McDermott was acknowledged for his huge contribution to the sport of rugby. A former president of Leinster Rugby, Robert has also coaches at the provincial level. He joined the Sports Partnership in 2017 and chaired the management committee between 2020 and 2024.

In her absence, Tullamore’s Miriam O’Callaghan was acknowledged for a lifetime of commitment to the sport of Camogie. A participate, coach, official, and committee member at all levels, Miriam was elected national president of the Camogie Association in 2003 and led the organisation in its centenary year. She served for ten years as chair of Offaly Sports Partnership and is currently a member of the board of Sport Ireland.

Danny Owen from the Kilcormac/Killoughy club was acknowledged his dedication to Gaelic Games throughout his life. Inducted into the Offaly GAA Hall of Fame earlier this year, Danny was a dual player before committing fully to the sport of hurling. He was a member of Offaly’s 1981 breakthrough team which defeated Galway in the All-Ireland final. He managed the Kilcormac/Killoughy senior hurling team in making the breakthrough to win the county senior title in 2012, and progress to the All-Ireland final in 2013. Danny also served a term on the Board of Sport Ireland.

All four honourees have served as elected members of Offaly County Council.

At the AGM, reports were presented on the €630,000 investment made by the Sports Partnership in 2023. A comprehensive review of the operating year was presented to members, which included commentary on:

* Various projects for children of school-going age that reached over 5,000 participants in the county

* The 'drop and move' project for adults that was hosted in ten GAA clubs.

* Adapted programmes for both people with a disability and older adults. Cumulatively these programmes reached over 1,000 participants.

* The staging of two events designed to increase participation of children of an ethnic minority background within mainstream sport.

* The very successful Women in Sport Week in March.

* Leadership training programmes in secondary schools.

* Management of three grant schemes during the year.

* The hosting of a workshop and provision of one-to-one support for clubs applying for capital funding.

* The range of community-based projects in the four sports hubs in the county.

Members noted and welcomed the recent announcement of sports capital and equipment grants by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. Provisionally, close to €6 million has been secured for investment in 50 projects in Offaly.

The meeting concluded with the election of officers and the executive committee for the coming year with the following being elected: Chairperson, Jude Feehan; Vice Chair, Councillor Ollie Bryant; Financial Monitor, Joe Meegan; Sports Representative. Ciara Ni Cheilleachair; Employer’s Representative, Lourda Giles.

Coordinator of the Sports Partnership, Eamonn Henry, continues to provide the secretarial function for the management committee and executive committee.