Mayo swimmer receives Olympic funding boost

The Olympic Federation of Ireland, in conjunction with official sponsor FBD Insurance, have announced the recipients of the ‘Make A Difference’ programme, a €50,000 fund which will assist Ireland’s Olympic hopefuls in their preparation for the Olympic Games.

Among the recipients announced today was Mayo native and Irish international swimmer Nicholas Quinn.

Nicholas Quinn is an Irish Olympic swimmer, who competed in the 2016 Rio Games.

He briefly stepped away from the sport for personal reasons following the loss of his father.

Quinn has a realistic chance of qualifying for Tokyo as an individual swimmer, and this fund will assist greatly with chasing qualification time, through an increased ability to compete and train against international athletes.

The full list of recipients is Paul Pollock (Athletics), Phil Healy (Athletics), Brendan Doyle (Bobsleigh), Nhat Nguyen (Badminton) , George Bates (Boxing), Aidan Walsh (Boxing), Ceire Smith (Boxing), Carly McNaul (Boxing), Noel Hendrick (Canoeing), Equestrian Team (3 Disciplines), Megan Ryan (Gymnastics), Sive Brassil (Pentathlon), Margaret Cremen (Rowing), Aoife Casey (Rowing), Lydia Heaphy (Rowing), Cormac Comerford (Snow Sports), Nicholas Quinn (Swimming), Brendan Hyland (Swimming), David Phelan (Taekwondo), Leroy Dilandu (Taekwondo).

In December, long list athletes in collaboration with their National Federation were invited to apply for a share of the FBD Make a Difference fund.

The fund is specifically aimed at prospective members of Team Ireland who are likely to compete in the Olympic Games and who are not recipients of the Sport Ireland Podium or World Class funding.

FBD Insurance is the primary sponsor of Team Ireland, supporting Team Ireland athletes on their Olympic journey.

This funding aims to impact the athletes’ daily performance environment, providing additional supports such as travel to training and competition, coaching costs, or sports science and medical support.

Speaking at the announcement, Head of Marketing at FBD Insurance Aileen Donoghue said: “As proud sponsors of Team Ireland, we are delighted to offer this support to Ireland’s athletes as they look to excel on the international stage.

"The commitment, determination and skill of Team Ireland athletes inspire us each and every day and we are honoured that we can give back to them through the FBD Make a Difference Programme.

"We hope that this additional funding will help all these athletes achieve their goals in this coming year.”