Patricia Heberle has a bright vision for Irish athletes

“A straight-talking Aussie with a big heart” – that’s how the Irish team’s Chef de Mission for the Tokyo Olympics was described yesterday by Peter Sherrard, CEO of the Olympic Federation of Ireland (OFI).

Patricia Heberle, a native of Albany in Western Australia, was unveiled at the national sports campus in Abbotstown as the person who will oversee the Irish team’s preparation and the former hockey player was adamant she will learn from both the successes and failures of past teams.