IRFU reach 40% gender balance on Union Committee

Three new co-opted delegates have been elected - Meave Carton, Fiona Sweeney and Joanne Geary to reach the gender balance mark.

GENDER BALANCE: The Irish Rugby Football Union (IFRU) announced after the final Union Committee meeting of the years that a gender balance of 40% has been reached with the addition of three co-opted delegates. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

The Irish Rugby Football Union (IFRU) announced after the final Union Committee meeting of the years that a gender balance of 40% has been reached with the addition of three co-opted delegates.

The IRFU Committee, which is a representative body, is now comprised of twenty nine people with each of the provinces providing five delegates.

The remaining positions are President, two Vice Presidents, Chairperson, Honorary Treasurer, Internal Affairs Committee Chairperson and the three new co-opted delegates Meave Carton, Fiona Sweeney and Joanne Geary.

Meave Carton, the former chair of the National Treasury Management Agency, worked for the majority of her career with CRH in a variety of roles including Group Finance Director and Group Transformation Director.

Fiona Sweeney is a business and marketing consultant and has an extensive background from previous senior roles within the Kerry Group, Musgrave, Coca-Cola and Diageo. 

Joanne Geary is the Managing Director of MyHome.ie and previously worked with Sherry FitzGerald and Savills.

“We undertook a robust recruitment process which was a great opportunity to look for some complementary skills to add to those existing on the committee and we are really pleased with the three candidates we have today brought on board" said IRFU Chief Executive Kevin Potts about the process.

"These additions give us a gender balance of 40%, a commitment we made to the Government and Sport Ireland, and I am pleased we could deliver on that in the agreed timeframe. We look forward now to a fruitful working relationship with all parties driving Irish rugby forward in a positive and inclusive manner.”

IRFU Committee 2023/24 

President: Greg Barrett 

Vice Presidents: Declan Madden (Senior Vice President) and John O’Driscoll (Junior Vice President) 

Honorary Treasurer: Patrick Kennedy 

Chairperson of the Management Committee: Niall Rynne 

Chairperson of International Affairs Committee and World Rugby Executive Board: Su Carty 

Connacht Branch Representatives: Gerry Casey, Yvonne Comer, Kevin Dineen, Josephine Feehily, Liam Rattigan 

Leinster Branch Representatives: Grainne Carroll, Robert Deacon, Joe McDermott, Tony O’Beirne, Rachael O’Brien 

Munster Branch Representatives: Regina Moran, Gerry O’Shea, David Ryan, Fiona Steed, Michael Collopy

Ulster Branch Representatives: Stephen Black, John McKibbin, Diane Nixon, Mark Orr, Laura Thompson 

Co-opted delegates: Maeve Carton, Fiona Sweeney, and Joanne Geary