Minister McConalogue announces Ministerial appointees to the Board of Horse Sport Ireland (HSI)
- Published on: 27 September 2024
- Last updated on: 12 April 2025
Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D. today announced the re-appointment of the Chair and one Director to the Board of Horse Sport Ireland (HSI), together with two new Ministerial appointments.
Minister McConalogue said
"following consultation with the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Equality, Catherine Martin, TD and Minister of State Thomas Byrne TD, I am delighted to announce the reappointments of the Chair, Mr Michael Dowling and Board Member, Dr Kevin Smyth. I welcome the new appoints of Ms Karen Brosnan and Mr Paul Brolly to the Board of HSI.”
Following the resignation of all HSI board members in late 2022, Minister McConalogue appointed an interim Chair and three board members to remain in place until after the Paris Olympics. Minister McConalogue acknowledged the contribution of these Board members and thanked them, the Minister said
“these board members brought stability to the organisation and were instrumental in introducing important amendments to the HSI constitution in order to enhance both its role and contribution to the Horse Sport Industry”.
He expressed his gratitude to the departing Board members saying,
“I thank Professor Niamh Brennan and Ms Zoe Kavanagh for their professionalism and enthusiasm that helped the organisation overcome a period of uncertainty, while also playing a key leadership role in supporting the long-term stability of HSI”.
He concluded by saying that
“I believe the new Board has the required skills and experiences to lead the organisation and ensure it helps deliver on the potential that exists in the sport horse sector.”
The HSI Constitution provides for a Board of nine members. These new appointments bring the HSI Board membership to seven. Minister McConalogue hopes to finalise the appointment of a further Board member in the coming weeks, bringing the Board membership to eight. The final Board position, the representative for the High-Performance Sports Advisory Forum, remains vacant.
ENDS
Note for Editors
The Constitution of HSI provides that the Board includes nine Directors as follows:
• Four members including the Chair appointed by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in consultation with the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Equality
• One Northern Ireland representative, as nominated by the Northern Ireland Sports Forum, appointed by the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine in consultation with the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Equality.
• Four Industry representatives, one each from the stakeholders’ advisory forums (Breeding & Production Forum, Coaching & Education Forum, High-Performance Sports Advisory Forum and Recreation & Leisure Forum).
The HSI Constitution provides that the term of office of the Chair and other Directors shall be three years from date of appointment and that Directors are eligible to serve a maximum of two terms.
Further details of the new Board members are as follows:
• Ms Karen Brosnan - Karen is a management consultant working in the agri-food sector since 2000, specialising in strategy, governance and leadership. Karen is a former Chairperson of Nuffield Ireland and Gurteen College and is currently a Director of AgriAware and Board member of the Agri-Food Regulator.
• Mr PJ Brolly - PJ is a media professional with over 25 years’ experience working across TV, radio, marketing and communications. PJ has extensive experience as both a Director and Board Member, including as a Board Member of the Arts Council for Northern Ireland.