Sarah Keane has been appointed as Cricket Ireland's new Chief Executive Officer having stepped down from the same role at Swim Ireland after 21 years.
She will take up the new role in March 2026.
Keane has accumulated over two decades of experience as a highly respected CEO in Irish sport, most notably at the helm of Swim Ireland for 21 years and as Olympic Federation of Ireland president, revitalising the organisation and delivering Ireland's best Summer Games at Paris 2024.
Following a recruitment process, the Board of Cricket Ireland unanimously ratified Keane's appointment, recognising her track record of transformative leadership and strategic vision across Irish and international sport.
She becomes the first female CEO of an International Cricket Council (ICC) full member nation.
Beyond her sporting achievements, Keane is a qualified solicitor with credentials in corporate management and governance. She serves as a non-executive Director of the Central Bank of Ireland, having recently been re-appointed for a second five-year term.
An accomplished athlete herself, Sarah is a former national level swimmer and international water polo player, bringing a deep understanding of high-performance sport from both administrative and participant perspectives.
𝔸 𝕟𝕖𝕨 𝕖𝕣𝕒 𝕓𝕖𝕘𝕚𝕟𝕤...
— Cricket Ireland (@cricketireland) October 23, 2025
A warm welcome to our incoming CEO, Sarah Keane.
You can read more about Sarah here: https://t.co/Y6AoSO5OJE#WelcomeSarah #BackingGreen ☘️🏏 pic.twitter.com/lIeRtGr9aq
Looking ahead to the next chapter in her sports administrative career, Keane said: "I am incredibly excited and deeply honoured to become the new CEO of Cricket Ireland and the first female CEO of an ICC full member nation.
"Cricket is a truly global sport, and Ireland now stands on the threshold of tremendous opportunity - from the Olympic opportunity with the inclusion of cricket in the 2028 Olympics, the accelerated development of the women's game, and the potential of bringing different communities together, to Ireland hosting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2030.
"I'm particularly keen to explore further avenues for commercial growth to ensure sustainable investment, and I look forward to supporting the ambitious plans for the development of the National Cricket Centre on the National Sports Campus and the upgrades to vital cricket infrastructure at Malahide, Stormont and others.
"I am committed to working collaboratively and tirelessly with the Board, staff, players, and the entire cricketing community to deliver on those opportunities for Irish Cricket and all involved."
