Press release
Shared Island Dialogue on Sport to explore areas for enhanced cooperation and connection on the island
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
Current and former sports stars, sports organisations, clubs, community groups and health and wellbeing professionals will come together to examine the role that sport plays in building and improving community relations, and will explore how to enhance cooperation through sport across the island at the Shared Island Dialogue on Sport this Thursday (24 February 2022).
‘Breaking down barriers and tackling shared challenges: sport cooperation on the island’, is the ninth event in the Shared Island Dialogue series, which aims to foster constructive and inclusive civic dialogue with all communities and traditions on a shared future on the island, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement.
Former World Featherweight Champion and International Hall of Famer Barry McGuigan MBE will deliver a guest address outlining his experience of growing up on the border, the support he received from communities North and South through his career, and his reflections on a shared island.
Speaking ahead of the event, Minister for Sport Jack Chambers said:
“Sport is an important source of civic pride, but is so much more than that. It improves our health, helps us meet new and diverse people and is the foundation for communities right across this island. We have a long and vibrant tradition of collaboration in sport across the island. Many of our sporting bodies are organised at an all-island level; our international teams in sports as diverse as rugby, cricket and hockey draw on the talent of people from all parts of this island for their success; and, our Olympic heroes come from all backgrounds, cultures and traditions, representing the full diversity of communities and traditions on the island of Ireland.”
The Minister added:
“Towards the end of last year, I launched a Sports Action Plan, which runs until the end of next year. One of its actions commits to continue to engage positively on a North-South basis, to facilitate the delivery of sport and physical activity to all on the island, and to enable the sharing of best practice and access to facilities. This Dialogue provides an important opportunity to look at how we can put that into practice.”
The event will host panel discussions, focusing on ‘Building community relations through sport’ and ‘Tackling the fall in youth participation in sport’ and will examine the role that sport has to play in improving integration and inclusion, as well as discussing what can be done to keep young people physically active and engaged in sport.
- this Dialogue is the ninth event in the Shared Island Dialogue series that was launched by the Taoiseach in October 2020 to foster constructive and inclusive civic dialogue with all communities and traditions on a shared future on the island, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement
- content from the event will be posted on social media throughout the day by @merrionstreet and you can follow the discussion online using #SharedIsland
- the Shared Island Dialogue series has been focusing on important issues for the future of the island, including climate change and environment, equality, education and economic recovery. The previous Dialogue in January, “Tourism on the shared island: Building on past success to create a sustainable future”, can be viewed on the Shared Island Dialogues page
- the Dialogue series is contributing to the government’s approach to the Shared Island initiative, complementing commissioned research being published through this year, and the implementation of commitments on a Shared Island that are set out in the Programme for Government
- strengthening social, economic and political links on the island and the promotion of all-island approaches to the strategic challenges facing Ireland, North and South are key objectives
- the Shared Island Dialogues are being organised by the Shared Island unit in the Department of the Taoiseach in partnership with government departments. Today’s dialogue was delivered in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, and the Department of Foreign Affairs
Further information on the Shared Island initiative can be found on www.gov.ie/sharedisland and the previous Plenary sessions of the Shared Island Dialogues are available to watch on www.gov.ie/sharedisland/dialogues
Further information on the full event programme is included below:
