Not for the first time the roll call of Irish athletes receiving direct grant aid under the international carding scheme is marked by those names on the list as much as those names left off it, or else by the names of those who have had their money significantly cut.
With total funding for 2014 amounting to €1.576 million – down from €1.696 million in 2013 – there were bound to be some losers: however, the number of those receiving the top “podium grant” of €40,000 is unchanged, with 18 athletes named, from seven different sports, although with some notable rotation.
They’re also evenly split between nine Olympic athletes and nine Paralympic athletes, including five boxers (Katie Taylor, Joe Ward, Michael Conlan, Paddy Barnes and Jason Quigley), four Paralympic swimmers (Ellen Keane, Darragh McDonald, Laurence McGivern and James Scully), and three Paralympic athletes (Jason Smyth, Michael McKillop and Orla Barry) – all of whom get €40,000.
It also means race walker Rob Heffernan is the only track and field athlete to be awarded €40,000, while Annalise Murphy is the only sailor, with London Olympian Peter O’Leary, who was awarded €40,000 last year, dropped completely from the list, partly because his sailing class is currently under review.
Gone too is Paralympic swimmer Bethany Firth, who also got €40,000 last year, but has since declared her allegiance to Britain. John Joe Nevin was also automatically excluded from another round of €40,000 given his decision to turn professional, and while he is replaced by Jason Quigley, it’s still unclear whether or not Quigley will remain in the amateur ranks.
The number of track and field athletes on the list, for many years the best awarded of the lot, has been trimmed yet again – with total funding of just €168,000, down from €220,000 in 2013. This is just over half what Irish boxers got (€308,000), and now less than what Paralympic athletes get (€180,000), and also cycling (€208,000).
No wonder some track and field athletes are upset: Ciarán Ó Lionáird said there are “no words, really” to explain about how he feels about his grant being cut from a “world class” €20,000 in 2013 to “international class” of €12,000 for 2014 – a 40 per cent cut, despite winning European Indoor bronze last March.
Fionnuala Britton is the only one to remain on €20,000, Derval O’Rourke is once again limited to €12,000, while Deirdre Ryan (high jump), Tori Pena (pole vault) and distance runners Linda Byrne, Mark Kenneally, Ava Hitchinson, who all made the London Olympics, are dropped completely.
However, these changes are largely explained by the fact Athletics Ireland – along with swimming and cycling – is now effectively managing its own carding scheme, designed to ensure greater integration with the high performance plans, and ultimately greater athlete accountability.
On that basis Athletics Ireland will also be making available €258,000 for athlete support services, €213,000 for international competition, and €180,000 for development and emerging athletes.
Elsewhere, swimmer Grainne Murphy, who has also got €40,000 in the past, is no longer on the list at all, while Barry Murphy, who won a bronze medal at the European Short Course championships last December, remains on just €12,000.
There was better news for triathlete Aileen Reid, who is promoted to “podium class” of €40,000 – up from €20,000 last year – thanks in part to her silver medal in the World Triathlon Series Grand Final in London last summer (although Gavin Noble and Conor Murphy don’t make triathlons list).
Cyclist Martyn Irvine also moves up to €40,000, having won gold in the UCI Track Cycling World Championships scratch race last February.
In total, 85 athletes from 15 sports will receive direct grant aid for 2014 – with that list always open to additions pending further success on the international stage.
WHO EXACTLY GOT WHAT – 2014 ATHLETE GRANTS
BOXING
Katie Taylor €40,000
Joe Ward €40,000
Michael Conlan €40,000
Paddy Barnes €40,000
Jason Quigley €40,000
David Oliver Joyce €12,000
George Bates €12,000
Dean Gardiner €12,000
Seán McComb €12,000
Darren O'Neill €12,000
Kurt Walker €12,000
Gary Cully €12,000
Hughie Myers €12,000
Christina Desmond €12,000
Total €308,000
CYCLING
Martyn Irvine €40,000
Colin Lynch €40,000
Mark Rohan €40,000
Katie-George Dunlevy €20,000
Caroline Ryan 420,000
James Brown €12,000
Ryan Mullen €12,000
Eoin Mullen €12,000
Enda Smyth €12,000
Total €208,000
PARALYMPIC ATHLETICS
Michael McKillop €40,000
Jason Smyth €40,000
Orla Barry €40,000
Catherine O'Neill €12,000
Heather Jameson €12,000
Deirdre Mongan €12,000
Nadine Lattimore €12,000
John McCarthy €12,000
Total €180,000
ATHLETICS
Robert Heffernan €40,000
Fionnuala Britton €20,000
Ciaran O Lionaird €12,000
Derval O'Rourke €12,000
Jessie Barr €12,000
Brian Gregan €12,000
Laura Reynolds €12,000
Brendan Boyce €12,000
Mark English €12,000
Paul Robinson €12,000
Rose-Anne Galligan €12,000
Total €168,000
PARALYMPIC SWIMMING
Ellen Keane €40,000
Darragh McDonald €40,000
Laurence McGivern €40,000
James Scully €40,000
Total €160,000
SAILING
Annalise Murphy €40,000
Ryan Seaton €20,000
Matthew McGovern €20,000
James Espey €12,000
John Twomey €12,000
Ian Costelloe €12,000
Total €116,000
CANOEING
Andrzej Jezierski €20,000
Barry Watkins €20,000
Ciaran Heurteau €12,000
Michael Fitzsimon €12,000
Patrick O'Leary €12,000
Hannah Craig €6,000
Total €82,000
SWIMMING
Fiona Doyle €20,000
Brendan Hyland €12,000
Chris Bryan €12,000
Andrew Meegan €12,000
Barry Murphy €12,000
Sycerika McMahon €12,000
Total €80,000
ROWING
Sanita Puspure €20,000
Claire Lambe €12,000
Paul O'Donovan €12,000
Leonora Kennedy €12,000
Monika Dukarska €12,000
Total €68,000
TRIATHLON
Aileen Reid €40,000
Bryan Keane €12,000
Ben Shaw €12,000
Total €64,000
BADMINTON
Chloe Magee €12,000
Sam Magee €12,000
Scott Evans €12,000
Total €36,000
JUDO
Lisa Kearney €12,000
Caoimhin Thompson €12,000
Eoin Fleming €12,000
Total €36,000
PENTATHLON
Natalya Coyle €20,000
Arthur Lanigan O'Keeffe €12,000
Total €32,000
CLAY PIGEON SHOOTING
Derek Burnett €20,000
Total €20,000
PARALYMPIC TABLE TENNIS
Rena McCarron Rooney €9,000
Philip Quinlan €9,000
Total €18,000
Overall total: €1,576,000
