'I haven't spoken to Pat Hickey yet' - new OCI president Sarah Keane
Former Swim Ireland chief executive Keane insists she has not been afraid to tackle the OCI old guard
She is stepping into big shoes, but new Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) president Sarah Keane says she is more than ready for the challenges ahead.
It is the second time the former Matheson solicitor and chief executive of Swim Ireland, who was overwhelmingly elected president just over a week ago, has taken over a sporting organisation in the midst of a crisis. In 2004 she became chief executive of Swim Ireland, an organisation in the horrors following child sexual abuse by coaches.
This weekend she tells Public Affairs Editor Fearghal O'Connor she has not spoken to Pat Hickey since taking up her new position.
"I will be looking to meet with Pat and talk with him. I don’t know what he seeks to do in terms of his involvement going forward, either internationally or domestically," she says. "That is something we have got to work out. As an IOC member he actually can sit at the board, so whether he intends to do that or not I am not sure.”
And Keane insists she had not been afraid to tackle the old guard in the OCI boardroom, long before Hickey found himself stranded in Brazil and that she had already helped make changes from within.
For the full engrossing interview with Keane, don't miss the Sunday Business Post this weekend.
