Brid Golden is President of Athletics Ireland. She previously held the role of Deputy President and also served as Chairperson of several committees including High Performance, Coaching and Development and Governance for periods of 4 years each. Brid is a former Irish recorder holder for heptathlon and pentathlon and represented Ireland at juvenile, junior and senior level. She is a sprints and jumps coach with her club, Ferrybank AC, and has coached several international athletes over the last 25 years as well as working extensively at grassroots level.

I am a member of Dunleer A.C and was a member of Redeemer A.C and Mountpleasant AC as a juvenile. I am a Board Member since 2016 initially as a co-optee and as Chair of High Performance Committee since 2021. Athletics was a major part of my life as a juvenile and like so many others I drifted from the sport at University and got the love again when my kids became active in the sport. After a short lived comeback, I started coaching at club level and became active at Louth and Leinster Athletics and held the position of Leinster Development Officer for a number of years.  

I fell into stadium commentary a number of years ago and haven’t fallen out of it and was honoured to be the on-course commentator at the European cross country championships in Fingal-Dublin in 2021.  

Outside of athletics, I work for HSBC Bank, based in Dublin. 

Seamus  is a member of Lusk Athletics Club.  He has been secretary of Dublin Athletics for over 15 years.  He is Chair of the Coaching and Development Committee for a second term, having previously worked on the the committee with Brid Golden.

Seamus has been involved in Athletics since 2009 and actively coaches in his spare time.

Seamus holds Masters in Organisational Psychology and Business Administration and comes from an Engineering background. He has over 30 year experience working for a number of highly regulated businesses. 

I have been involved in Athletics for over 40 years as an athlete and historically as an officer of my Club, Cork County Board and Munster.   I was elected as the inaugural of Chair of Finance & Risk following the formation of Athletics Ireland in 1999. I was re-elected to this role again in 2021 and I am now completing my second two-year term.  As part of the Board re-structuring approved by the EGM in September 2024, I Chaired the Competition working group which proposed the creation of the new Board position of Competition Commission Chair.

I was privileged to be the Olympic Team Manger in Athens in 2004, and I have also managed Irish teams at World and European Championships in both Track & Field and Cross Country.

Member of the International Technical Officials Panel European Athletics 2014-2017.

World Athletics Referee Bronze Level 2023 – Present

I am currently a member of the Technical Committee.

I officiate as a Technical Delegate and Referee at Senior & Juvenile championships events.

I have also officiated at the European Athletics events hosted by AAI in 2009, 2013 and 2021.

Vision:  Having Chaired the working group and recognising the strategic importance of the domestic competition programme, I believe I have the insight and necessary skills to deliver this new role working closely with the other committee representative groups to ensure that there are opportunities to enhance the competition programme to be more inclusive, gender balanced and best in class.

I am a former international athlete competing primarily at 400m and 800m.  I formerly held national senior records at High-Performance events and won 6 national senior outdoor titles at 400m.    The pinnacle of my career was reaching the Olympic 800m final in Los Angeles in 1984.

I am a former Board member of Athletics Ireland having been co-opted from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2016 to 2020/21.  In addition, I was co-opted on to the High-Performance Committee from 2014 to 2016.

I have a keen interest in ensuring continued improvement in our high-performance system, building on the excellent work that has been undertaken in recent years.  My objective is to help the High-Performance Director deliver on the High Performance 2025-2028 strategy and to ensure our athletes and coaches are supported and enabled to deliver the best performances in international championships.

Gillian is a co- opted member of the Board and a member of the Finance and Audit Committee. Gillian has also served on the Finance and Risk and Governance Committees previously.

Gillian is an experienced leader with over 20 years professional experience in Financial Services. Gillian is a senior executive in the life insurance industry and has previously held roles in regulation and audit. Gillian is a Fellow of Chartered Accountants Ireland and holds diplomas in Corporate Governance and Forensic Accounting in addition to her degree and masters qualifications.

Gillian is a social runner and a member of Portmarnock Athletics Club.

Shireen McDonagh is currently Head of Brand at Legacy Communications, where she sits on the senior leadership team and has previously held leadership roles across sponsorship and communications in the business.

With over 15 years’ experience, agency & client side, across the full marketing mix, she has worked with numerous major national and international brands and a range of rightsholders across sporting and cultural organisations.

Previously Head of Brand Marketing at Life Style Sports, Shireen’s passion for athletics began early, inspired by her parents’ involvement in coaching. She competed nationally and internationally throughout her teens and returned to coaching a decade ago, specialising in hurdles, at Dundrum South Dublin AC (DSD), where she has coached athletes to international level.

She has served on Athletics Ireland’s Coaching and Development Committee and is currently Secretary and a director of The Marketing Society of Ireland.

Prior to retiring in 2021, John was Chairman of Shopify International Ltd, and previously worked in the US and Ireland for Apple Inc, and Virgin Atlantic Airways in a variety of Customer Service and Sales & Marketing roles.

John is a founding board member of The Sanctuary Runners and his current portfolio encompasses board and advisory roles with a number of start-ups. He has also just finished a four year stint as a member of the IRFU Commercial & Marketing Committee.

John was primarily a rugby player but also an enthusiastic summer athlete with Leevale A.C. earning a few national underage titles.

I am currently the chair of Athletics NI and have been coaching the past 25 years. I’ve worked with sprint champions from Ireland, Northern Ireland and Ulster, Iceland and Scotland.

Prior to becoming a coach, I was 6 times Irish senior sprint champion, having competed in both the European championships and World student games, for Ireland.

Currently Sports Marketing & Sponsorship Account Director with Wilson Hartnell 

Previously Athletics Ireland Marketing and Sponsorship Manager Aug 2015 – Jun 2018 

Marketing lead for hugely successful Fingal-Dublin 2021 SPAR European Cross Country Championships. 

Experienced marketing and sponsorship specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the sports, public relations and communications industry. Skilled in marketing, sponsorship, event management, strategic planning, sales management, and market research.