Matthew Dossett, Deputy Head of Sport and Recreation at Trinity College Dublin has been elected as President of Student Sport Ireland. Matthew has been a very active member of the Student Sport Ireland network since 2016, serving as a member of the SSI High Performance Committee before being appointed Finance and Governance Committee Chairperson. Matt then went on to join the SSI Board in February 2019. This is the first time a representative from Trinity College Dublin has been elected to the role of President of Student Sport Ireland.

Commenting on his appointment, Matthew said, “I would like to thank the board for their support, I am really looking forward to working with all our members and stakeholders in implementing our new strategy and helping us steer through the challenges and opportunities ahead. I am strong believer in the importance and unique impact of student sport, it creates life-long habits and connections, and is a fundamental bridge within an important phase of our lives that a huge number of young people across the membership experience each year.”

He continued, “I would like to especially thank Carmel Lynch (IT Carlow) , former President and Paul Davis (NUI Maynooth) and all other colleagues who have stepped off committees in the past few years and whose commitment to SSI have been significant.”

Michelle Tanner, Head of Sport and Recreation, Trinity College Dublin commented: “Trinity Sport are immensely proud of our colleague Matthew on his election to the President role of Student Sport Ireland. Trinity has a long standing active role in SSI with involvement going back to formation of the organisation in the late 80’s, then known as the ‘Council of University Sports Administrators in Ireland’ through our former colleague the late great Prof. Trevor West. Matthew is a tremendously supportive and trusted colleague to the members of SSI and with all his experience, knowledge, and passion I have no doubt he will be a great leader for Student Sport Ireland now and into the future. I wish him the very best.”

Ciaran O hIarnain, Development Manager at Student Sport Ireland commented, “I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Matthew on his appointment of President of Student Sport Ireland and to wish Matt and the new Student Sport Ireland Board the very best of success in their work, I very much look forward to working with Matt and the Board in the implementation of the new strategic plan and the continued development of the organisation.”

At the Student Sport Ireland board meeting Catherine Mahony, a PhD student at UCD, was appointed as the Student Sport Ireland Vice President while Karl Oakes (Queen’s University Belfast) was appointed as interim Director with Responsibility for Financial Oversight. The team at Trinity Sport would like to extend a massive congratulations to Matthew on his election to the role of President of Student Sport Ireland. Student Sport Ireland is the national organisation responsible for the promotion and development of third level sport on the island of Ireland. To find out more about Student Sport Ireland please visit: www.studentsport.ie