Expert Panel

We are delighted to share an update on our Expert Judges, who will support our Core Judging Panel in their deliberations next week:

Maeve Buckley: Director of Leading Sport (Sports Strategic Consultancy). Maeve has had an impact on European sport over a long period, and has worked with iconic teams, organisations and major events such as Ryder Cup, FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, Liverpool FC, Man City, Arsenal, FIFA and UEFA. 

Morgan Buckley: Director of Sport and Physical Activity; Chairman of Corks Sports Partnership; former GM Development World Rugby

Margaret Burgraff: Silicon Valley, Executive

Blaine Doyle: CEO GlowDx; Latin American Healthcare; Molecular Diagnostics 

Donal Dowd: Director Cappanalea - The National Centre for Outdoor Education and Training, Ireland

Michael Dowling, CEO of Northwell Health in the US

Laura Harmon Equality Campaigner, Organiser and Strategist

Professor Mary Horgan: A world-renowned expert in infectious disease, Professor Horgan is the President of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland — the first female in this role since its establishment in 1654. She is a consultant in infectious diseases at Cork University Hospital.

Dr Sinead Kane: Expert Judge, former graduate of UCC (BCL and LLM). Expertise Disability and Sport, Keynote Speaker, Double PhD doctorate, Double Guinness World Record holder, Freelance Researcher, Visually Impaired Athlete, & Qualified Lawyer.

Liam McGroarty: Business Development Manager UEFA; Former FAI Grassroots Manager/Head of Football Development 

Seán McIntyre is an IT professional with almost 10 years in the IT industry, working with enterprise customers across many industries. Proven project leadership on projects across a range of industries from Financial Services to Pharmaceutical. 

Kristine Meenaghan, Coordinator, Cork Sports Partnership, Ireland

Susan O’Brien, Founder and CEO of Smigin, a language learning company with a unique focus on conversation skills. 

Joanne O'Riordan: Irish activist and sports journalist who contributes to The Irish Times and is one of seven currently living people born with the condition Tetra-amelia syndrome, and is from Millstreet, County Cork

Daithí Power is a Commercialisation Specialist at Enterprise Ireland 

Ian Power: Ian is CEO of Community Creations, the not-for-profit company behind the award-winning SpunOut.ie and Crisis Text Line Ireland. SpunOut.ie is Ireland's youth wellbeing information website by young people, for young people with over 1.6 million young people using SpunOut.ie resources in 2019.

Dr Rachel Sandford: Senior lecturer in Young People and Sport. Researcher in the areas of Youth identity and physical culture; youth voice; creative and innovative methodologies; youth development in/through sport, PA and PE; sport/PA/PE and inclusion of marginalised youth (e.g. care experienced youth, disabled youth, transgender youth) Loughborough University; Convener of the European Educational Research Association Network 18 – Research on Sport Pedagogy.

Marcus Spillane: Co-founder and Board Director, Capstone Intelligent Solutions, New York

Eli A. Wolff, Director, Power of Sport Lab, a platform to fuel and magnify creativity, diversity, connection and leadership through sport. Eli is also an instructor with the Sport Management program at the University of Connecticut and is co-founder and advisor to the Sport and Society initiative at Brown University. His work has been at the intersection of research, education and advocacy in and through sport, with a focus on sport and social justice, diversity, disability and inclusion. Eli has co-founded Disability in Sport International, Athletes for Human Rights, the Olympism Project, and Mentoring for Change.