Irish sport needs an academy, claims Deenihan

ALL-IRELAND winning captain Jimmy Deenihan has called for the creation of an Irish Institute of Sport based on the world renowned Australian model.

Deenihan, Fine Gael’s spokesperson on Sport, believes that a similar “professional and scientific approach” must be taken in identifying and developing new sporting talent if Ireland is to fulfil its Olympic potential.

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) was created in 1976 after the nation failed to win a gold medal at the Summer Games in Montreal. In the years since, the Canberra-based AIS created 35 programmes in 26 sports, many of which did not boast a strong tradition in the country.