“We’ve made major changes to our governance model this year and have now aligned the skills and competencies of the new Board members with a staff restructure earlier in the year."

Following the revision of the Memorandum & Articles of Association and the re-structure of the Board, Paralympics Ireland has finalised the composition of its new Board with the appointment of four new non-executive directors. The move welcomes board members independent from the member organisations for the first time.

The newly appointed members include:

Gordan D’arcy, Irish International rugby player

Brendan Jennings, Managing Director at Deloitte

Jennifer Chamberlaine, Marketing and Communications Manager at BearingPoint

Susan O’Connell, Partner at O’Connell Brennan

The new appointments will sit alongside the six other Board members previously appointed, comprising of President, Jimmy Gradwell, Vice-Presidents, Liam Moggan and John Fulham, Mark Risely, Anne Ebbs and Eimear Breathnach.

Speaking on the appointments, President Gradwell said: "On behalf of the Board, I'd like to welcome Gordon, Brendan, Jennifer and Susan to Paralympics Ireland and I wish them the very best in their four year terms.” He continued: “We’ve made major changes to our governance model this year and have now aligned the skills and competencies of the new Board members with a staff restructure earlier in the year. The changes have already added greater effectiveness and steel to our business.”