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Archive for month: January, 2023
For Funeral times see https://www.funeraltimes.com/ronald-william-ronniesmyth-bem375159028
RONNIE SMYTH BEM
It is with the deepest sorrow that we inform you of the passing of ANNADALE President, Hockey Ireland Honorary Member and dear friend Ronnie.
Ronnie’s zest for hockey was limitless. He pursued his passion and love for his Club with the intensity of a perfectionist, always striving to improve the character, sportsmanship, performance and enjoyment of the players.
Ronnie cared deeply about all those around him whilst asking little in return. He had a unique mix of generosity with his time, supreme coaching and management skills, humour, and directness but always patient with an instinctive understanding of players of all abilities. A combination of talents from which his Club, Ulster and Ireland benefitted greatly.
Ronnie’s coaching talents were recognised with appointments as Ulster Senior Coach and coach of Ireland at U16, U18 and U21 levels. In addition to achieving the top Irish coaching levels Ronnie also gained the prestigious FIH badge which is the most senior coaching accolade in World Hockey.
Hockey Ireland recognised Ronnie’s immense contribution to the Sport by awarding Ronnie with Honorary Life Membership. This was followed by Her Majesty The Queen awarding a well-deserved British Empire Medal to Ronnie in 2022.
In paying tribute to Ronnie we cannot overlook the loves of his life in wife Liz, sons Andrew and David and daughter Alison to whom we extend our deepest sympathy.
Ronnie Smyth – an inspiration to us all.
In November, Sport Ireland opened the application process for €35 million of funding in response to the rising energy costs crisis. The purpose of the funding, secured as part of Budget 2023, was to support National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) and their affiliated Clubs with the rising energy costs associated with the provision of sport throughout the winter period.
Hockey Ireland subsequently engaged all our Clubs with the application process, and we are pleased to announce that thirty (30) successful Clubs have met the eligibility criteria. These eligible Clubs will be contacted in the coming days with details of how they can draw down the allocated funding.
We would like to thank Sport Ireland and the Government for this vital support mechanism on behalf of all our Clubs.
Any questions on the funding can be submitted to info@hockey.ie
Sport Ireland has announced an increased general spending package of €5.5m in Dormant Accounts Funding for a wide range of sport and physical activity areas, including Diversity, Inclusion & Equality Fund activities and Disability Sports measures.
The funding will impact communities across Ireland through the National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs) and their affiliated Clubs, as well as the extensive network of funded bodies and Local Sports Partnerships.
The investment builds on Sport Ireland’s work in this area to date and aims to expand and enhance the delivery of the Government’s ‘Sport for All’ initiatives along with Sport Ireland’s Diversity & Inclusion, Disability and Women in Sport Policies.
This funding will support Hockey Ireland with the following specific programmes in 2023:
- Young Hockey Leaders and Young Umpire Award
- Outreach for refugees and asylum seekers
- Research aiming to engage female teens (aged 12-15) with hockey in harder to reach areas without hockey facilities.
Twenty-one (21) Hockey Clubs have also been awarded funding via the Disability Sports Fund as outlined in the following document: Dormant Account Funding.
