The Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI) have confirmed that two existing board members will contest the election to replace Sarah Keane as president at their extraordinary general meeting in Dublin on December 5th.
Keane is stepping down from her position having been on the board since 2014. She will have completed two successful terms as president, having first assumed the role in 2017 at a time when the federation underwent a major governance review following the 2016 Rio Olympics.
It was agreed under the restructuring of the federation that all those elected could serve a maximum of two four-year terms. Keane will continue in her role of chief executive of Swim Ireland.
Board members Moira Aston and Lochlann Walsh have put their names forward to replace Keane. Aston is chief executive of Canoeing Ireland and has extensive sports administration experience, having also worked with Athletics Ireland for 12 years in senior roles, while Walsh has a 20-year track record in sports administration, from grass roots to the chair of the National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs).
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Sarah O’Shea is unchallenged in her bid to become vice-president, with six non-officer positions also to be contested on the night for the four-year period 2025-2029.
OFI chief executive Peter Sherrard will combine his current role with a new general secretary position, from the date of elections, for the purposes of international representation.
In all, 14 candidates have been nominated for the positions of non-officer members, including three existing board members and two former Olympians in John Menton (athletics) and Sonya McGinn (badminton).
Also challenging for a non-officer position is Roddy Guiney, whose father Dave competed in the 1948 Olympics in London, along with Aston, Eric Brady, Michelle Carpenter, Georgina Drumm, John Feehan, Aaron Guli, Eadaoin Keane, Aidan McLaughlin, James Quilligan, Siobhán Scarlett and Cecile van Steenberge.
In addition to these elected positions, the OFI board contains two independent directors (Nigel Cowman and Sean Hawkshaw). A further two independent directors may be co-opted in the next Olympic cycle.
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