25th May 2025

Membership is up 7.2% from last year. Competition entries are up 33% due to Dublin Satellite as well as increased membership. These are excellent results.

The Board agreed to a high-level proposal for Project Funding for Members. A detailed document on how the scheme will be administered will be brought to a future meeting for approval.

The Board agreed to support safe student fencing to a maximum of 5,000 Euro. The management group will apply a fair mechanism based on the existing supports provided to the student clubs in order to meet the limited budget. Novice student competitions will apply existing safety standards moving forward. 

The Board approved in principle an equipment support mechanism for new clubs where Fencing Ireland prepurchase equipment to allow a club to form on the basis the equipment is paid for within a year. If you are setting up a new club and would like support from Fencing Ireland please get in touch.

The Board agreed the proposal to stop purchasing roll up pistes and only purchase sectional pistes in the future. Sponsorship will be sought to speed up the transition. If you are interested in becoming a Sponsor please get in touch! 

The Erasmus+ project has been approved for 100% funding. This is an excellent result and a huge achievement for the project team. Congratulations to Stephania and Mariette Mason. The project will now move into execution phase with the support of the Management Group as needed.  

21st April 2025 - EGM

The Treasurer clarified one item in the accounts (EFC Funding) before guiding the members through the 2023 financial statements. 

The 2023 Financial Statements were Proposed for acceptance by PD and Seconded by AC. Following a unanimous show of hands by the membership the statement were approved.

The Chairperson then briefly walked the membership through the new strategy. It was agreed to present the strategy to the wider membership as well through Social Media. 

4th April 2025 - In Person

The Board agreed to provide Board Notes to membership using the Fencing Ireland Website - this is an initiative to increase transparency.

The progress made by a recent Sabre Refereeing course was noted. Other weapons need attention next.

It was agreed to Advertise for a Head of Public Relations (unpaid) who can then identify how best to engage with the community e.g. newsletters, WhatsApp, discord etc. Interested? Please get in touch!

The Anti–Doping Officer will be rolling out training for all international fencers. 

The board approved the selection of three fencers for the Cadet and Junior World Cup and two fencers for the U23 European Championship. 

A Core Grant of 90K has been approved by Sport Ireland. This is 15k higher than last year.

The EGM will be held online at 7pm on Monday 21st April. There will be two items – the presentation of the 2023 Accounts and the 2025-2029 Strategy. 

The Revised Black Card Disciplinarity Policy was approved subject to some minor changes. The new policy includes additional advice for DTs in the event of a Black Card. 

The Board carried out a review of the organisation's status based on the Sport Ireland Compliance Record (Type B) Template. 

A Detailed Risk Analysis exercise was carried out. Potential mitigating action are to be considered by the Management Group. 

17th February 2025 

The Board reviewed the Management Task List which has been developed to prioritise and track tasks and projects stemming from the 2025 – 2029 Strategy. A task for Management to review which EFC / FIE competitions we should host on an ongoing basis was added to this list. 

Also on the list is a review of the Member Code of Conduct. The intention is to bring a revised code to the membership in due course. The subcommittees will be asked for their input into this review process. 

Annemarie Sullivan is stepping down from the Women in Sport Subcommittee. The Board thanked AS for all her work. MO’C will take over as Chair and BC will replace MO’C as the Board Liaison for the Refereeing Committee. 

The 2023 Financials have been signed off and work has commenced on the 2024 accounts which will be completed prior to the AGM. 

The Erasmus+ proposal has been submitted. A decision is expected back in May. 

A community building social event June 21st 2025 will be organised to tie in with the Veterans Open. Parents of youth members will be invited to this event also to ensure they feel part of the community. 

9th January 2025 

Dearbhla Foley presented a summary of activities in 2024. Key successes include hosting the ME&WE Satellite and the EFC Foil Coaching Course. Membership numbers are growing.  

The FIE Congress went as expected. We had excellent attendance by veterans in the Guilford EVF competition. Funding was identified from Sport Ireland to cover the EFC Foil Coaching course. A decision on the core grant funding for 2025 is due shortly. 

The number of coaches and the coach training courses held has increased but our biggest challenge to growing fencing in Ireland is the number of clubs. The availability and cost of venues is an associated issue. 

UK presented the Audited accounts for 2023. 

Following the consultation with the subcommittees, the Strategy has been signed off by the board and will now be prepared for wider circulation. 

The new Transgender and Non Binary Inclusion Policy was unanimously approved by the Board.