Chief executive of Special Olympics Ireland Mary Davis has been appointed Managing Director of of Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia.
Mary Davis
Ms Davis will have responsibility for the development of the 58 Special Olympics programmes across Europe and Eurasia, stretching from Iceland to Kazakhastan.
She has been associated with Special Olympics Ireland since its inception in 1978 and was appointed Special Olympics Ireland’s first Chief Executive in 1989.
The organisation includes 11,000 athletes, 409 clubs and 18,000 volunteers.
Ms Davis’s tenure saw the staging of the 1985 European Games in Dublin and the 2003 World Summer Games in Ireland
A replacement for Ms Davis at Special Olympics Ireland will be announced in the coming months, the organisation said in a statement.
Chairman of Special Olympics Ireland Fergus Finlay said: “Everyone in Special Olympics Ireland is delighted that Mary has been offered this job, although she will be greatly missed in the day to day Special Olympics programme in Ireland.
“That an Irish person was asked to replicate the success of Special Olympics Ireland in countries where the programme is still developing is an absolute honour.