Athletics Ireland recognise huge contribution of John Treacy to Irish sport

Athletics Ireland recently recognised the huge contribution of John Treacy to Irish sport with the presentation of a framed international vest signed by Ronnie Delany, Eamonn Coghlan, and Catherina McKiernan.

Treacy recently retired as CEO of Sport Ireland, having been in the position since its establishment in 2015, also serving as CEO of the Irish Sports Council from 1999.

Throughout his tenure, Treacy has overseen many initiatives that improved the sporting landscape in Ireland, including the introduction of the Irish anti-doping programme, increased financial support for the sector, the implementation of high-performance systems and the roll out of the local sports partnership initiative to promote sport and physical activity in local communities.

President of Athletics Ireland, John Cronin, said: “The sport sector in Ireland is in a very strong position thanks to the leadership of John as CEO of Sport Ireland. His contribution to sport in Ireland both as an athlete and as a chief executive is immeasurable, and on behalf of the Board of Athletics Ireland, I want to thank John for all he has done and wish him well in his retirement.”

Treacy, the 1984 Olympic silver medal winner in the marathon and two-time World Cross-Country champion also oversaw the introduction of the Irish Institute of Sport (now Sport Ireland Institute), a world-class facility offering support services to high-performance athletes and coaches, along with the National Trails Office.

A hero of Irish Athletics, Treacy was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2009, especially appropriate in that that it marked the 25th anniversary of that historic Marathon silver medal in 1984, and the 30th anniversary of him retaining his World Cross Country title in 1979.

The Waterford man won the first of his two successive World Cross Country Championships in the mud and snow at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow in 1978. In 1979, on that never to be forgotten day in Irish sport – Treacy retained his World Cross Country title in front of 25,000 spectators at Limerick Racecourse, scenes and memories of which came flooding back at the recent 2021 European Cross Country Championships hosted at the Sport Ireland Campus in Fingal, Dublin.

Athletics Ireland looks forward to the first possible in-person opportunity to recognise John’s retirement now that Covid19 restrictions are being wound down.