And a whirlwind day for their agent. Sinéad Galvin knew Tuesday was going to bring a lot of emotions.
Ellen Keane’s farewell swim would be the start of it. The Paralympic swimming great was Galvin’s second signing after Thomas Barr when she set up Galvin Sports Management [GSM] in 2016. Not only have they worked together professionally for eight years, they’re close friends.
Galvin was in Paris last Friday to watch Keane finish fourth in her Tokyo-winning breaststroke race. She also represents Róisin Ní Riain and Orla Comerford, and witnessed Ní Riain win her first Paralympic medal at La Défense Arena.
On Tuesday, she was back in Dublin. Family commitments over the weekend brought her home, so Galvin watched three of her athletes from afar.
“I really felt emotional on the day,” she tells The 42. “It was just an absolute rollercoaster.”
Her first cry came during Keane’s post-race interview. More tears followed as she watched RTÉ’s brilliant montage and reflected on an incredible career and journey.
Later, Galvin and her family gathered around the television for a memorable medal rush. In just over five minutes, Ní Riain and Comerford doubled Ireland’s medal tally with two brilliant bronzes.
Along with her husband, athletics coach Jeremy Lyons, and their sons, Galvin cheered her athletes home from her sitting room. Róisín’s touch, Orla’s start; a sensational few minutes.
“We were absolutely roaring. We were very loud here in North Dublin on Tuesday night!
“I was saying to Róisín afterwards, I felt like I was still adrenalised later on, I was just pumped. Literally, five minutes later, Orla comes booting it out, arms, legs pumping, and because I was a sprinter, I was like, ‘Yes, let’s go girl!’
“I’d say I might have done a PB over 10 metres if somebody had to put a block in front of me! I was just so excited.
“Being in Paris is incredible, but what I loved about being home is you get the post-race interviews and kind of see how they are in a very immediate sense. You don’t get to see them so until much later when you’re at an actual event itself.”
The “bronze sisters” are Galvin’s two newest signings: Ní Riain joined GSM just over a year ago, and Comerford in recent months, though the pair were well acquainted from athletics circles.
Róisín Ní Riain with her bronze medal. Giorgio Scala / INPHO
Giorgio Scala / INPHO / INPHO
Ciara Mageean, Phil Healy and Sophie Becker — who husband Jeremy coaches — are among others from that sphere on her books, along with Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan.
Galvin was in Paris earlier this summer for McClenaghan’s glittering gymnastics gold and the Women’s 4x400m relay at Stade de France — “an Italia 90 moment for athletics”.
Like the Olympic publicity wave, another will follow the Paralympics and Galvin will now “manage the madness” and make life as easy as possible for Keane, Ní Riain and Comerford as they navigate the choppy waters of sponsorship and media.
Spreadsheets, docs and shared calendars aplenty. Calls, coffees and chats. There will be no days off, but this is a particularly enjoyable and rewarding time for Galvin.
“I’m incredibly lucky to work with the individuals that I work with, and to be a little part of their team on the journey,” the Dubliner says.
“Now my job is to help them manage things like media requests and potential commercial opportunities that are coming their way. All of them are fantastic individuals that I’ve no doubt companies and brands will want to align themselves with. They are all so different, and that’s what I love as well.”
“I always firmly believe that, particularly Olympic and Paralympic sports, there’s certain windows where the spotlight is shone on them and they have to use that chance and opportunity for people to get to know them more, because that’s where opportunities come from the commercial sense — but that can’t be endless either.
“My job is to look at the long-term, look at people who are a good fit for them and similarly for the brands. It’s about managing the madness for them.”
That should be no problem after Tuesday’s rollercoaster.
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Three athletes, two medals, one retirement, same agent - 'It was an absolute rollercoaster'
THREE ATHLETES, TWO medals, one retirement.
And a whirlwind day for their agent. Sinéad Galvin knew Tuesday was going to bring a lot of emotions.
Ellen Keane’s farewell swim would be the start of it. The Paralympic swimming great was Galvin’s second signing after Thomas Barr when she set up Galvin Sports Management [GSM] in 2016. Not only have they worked together professionally for eight years, they’re close friends.
Galvin was in Paris last Friday to watch Keane finish fourth in her Tokyo-winning breaststroke race. She also represents Róisin Ní Riain and Orla Comerford, and witnessed Ní Riain win her first Paralympic medal at La Défense Arena.
On Tuesday, she was back in Dublin. Family commitments over the weekend brought her home, so Galvin watched three of her athletes from afar.
“I really felt emotional on the day,” she tells The 42. “It was just an absolute rollercoaster.”
Her first cry came during Keane’s post-race interview. More tears followed as she watched RTÉ’s brilliant montage and reflected on an incredible career and journey.
Later, Galvin and her family gathered around the television for a memorable medal rush. In just over five minutes, Ní Riain and Comerford doubled Ireland’s medal tally with two brilliant bronzes.
Along with her husband, athletics coach Jeremy Lyons, and their sons, Galvin cheered her athletes home from her sitting room. Róisín’s touch, Orla’s start; a sensational few minutes.
“I was saying to Róisín afterwards, I felt like I was still adrenalised later on, I was just pumped. Literally, five minutes later, Orla comes booting it out, arms, legs pumping, and because I was a sprinter, I was like, ‘Yes, let’s go girl!’
“Being in Paris is incredible, but what I loved about being home is you get the post-race interviews and kind of see how they are in a very immediate sense. You don’t get to see them so until much later when you’re at an actual event itself.”
The “bronze sisters” are Galvin’s two newest signings: Ní Riain joined GSM just over a year ago, and Comerford in recent months, though the pair were well acquainted from athletics circles.
Ciara Mageean, Phil Healy and Sophie Becker — who husband Jeremy coaches — are among others from that sphere on her books, along with Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan.
Galvin was in Paris earlier this summer for McClenaghan’s glittering gymnastics gold and the Women’s 4x400m relay at Stade de France — “an Italia 90 moment for athletics”.
Like the Olympic publicity wave, another will follow the Paralympics and Galvin will now “manage the madness” and make life as easy as possible for Keane, Ní Riain and Comerford as they navigate the choppy waters of sponsorship and media.
Spreadsheets, docs and shared calendars aplenty. Calls, coffees and chats. There will be no days off, but this is a particularly enjoyable and rewarding time for Galvin.
“I’m incredibly lucky to work with the individuals that I work with, and to be a little part of their team on the journey,” the Dubliner says.
“I always firmly believe that, particularly Olympic and Paralympic sports, there’s certain windows where the spotlight is shone on them and they have to use that chance and opportunity for people to get to know them more, because that’s where opportunities come from the commercial sense — but that can’t be endless either.
“My job is to look at the long-term, look at people who are a good fit for them and similarly for the brands. It’s about managing the madness for them.”
That should be no problem after Tuesday’s rollercoaster.
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2024 Paralympics Ellen Keane orla comerford Paris 2024 roisin ni riain Sinead Galvin Team GSM