O’Loughlin elected as Federation of Irish Sport Board Director

Basketball Ireland’s Chief Operations Officer Louise O’Loughlin has been elected as Board Director with the Federation of Irish Sport. 

Speaking about this week’s appointment, O’Loughlin said: “I am delighted to be nominated to the Board of the Federation of Irish Sport. This is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to the leadership and future development of sport in Ireland, while proudly representing Basketball Ireland. I look forward to working collaboratively with colleagues across the sector to support the continued growth, impact and inclusivity of Irish sport at all levels throughout the country.”

O’Loughlin, who is also Basketball Ireland’s Women in Sport Lead, implemented Basketball Ireland’s SOCIA-Ball programme. It won ‘Best Initiative to Promote Women in Sport & Physical Activity’ at the 2025 Irish Sport Industry Awards. SOCIA-Ball now boasts 99 clubs across 28 counties, with over 1150 active participants. 

O’Loughlin joined Basketball Ireland in 2010 and was appointed as COO in 2015. In her previous role Senior Competitions Officer she delivered a number of high profile FIBA events, including 2016 FIBA Europe Congress, the 2017 FIBA U18 Women’s Youth EuroBasket, 2018 FIBA Women’s European Championship for Small Countries and 2021 FIBA European Championship for Small Countries. She has also led operations for Basketball Ireland’s prestigious domestic competitions, such as National Cup Finals and Super League finals.

Basketball Ireland CEO, John Feehan, added: “It is wonderful to see Louise join the Federation of Irish Sport Board. She has been an integral member of staff at Basketball Ireland and has delivered a number of high profile events and of course launched our hugely successful SOCIA-Ball programme. She will certainly be a keen advocate for indoor sport and is an excellent addition to the Federation’s Board.”

O’Loughlin completed FIBA’s WiLEAD leadership programme in 2021, being one of the first participants to do so. She has served on the Board of Special Olympics Ireland and was chair of the Leinster Region. O’Loughlin currently sits on the Fingal Sports Network Committee which oversees the work of Fingal Sports Office.