History of Sports Chaplaincy Ireland

To meet the team of Sports Chaplaincy Ireland, click here.

John Boyers (Founder of SCORE), a former chaplain of Man United, played a pivotal role in initiating Sports Chaplaincy in Ireland, without doubt. He sought out wise and godly men in Northern  Ireland, who were keen to play their part and lead the way.

Among them was Andrew Thompson, who became a shining example for others who would follow and who would serve for almost 20 years as chaplain at Ulster Rugby. He  still serves as a club chaplain today at Ballymacash Rangers FC

Bill Lavery was the chaplain at Linfield FC from 2002 to 2022. John described Bill as " very important to me as we began to develop sports chaplaincy in N. Ireland. His enthusiasm and his encouragement for the mission was second to none"

Stephen Baxter, former Irish League player and long-serving manager, was appointed SCORE'S representative in NI in the early 2000's and played an instrumental role in reaching out to sports clubs to float the idea of the club appointing a chaplain.

Significant throughout these early days was Ossie McAuley, a pioneer of sports ministry, who could see the genuine benefit of Sports Chaplaincy and who encouraged others to take up chaplaincy roles whilst championing the work in Great Britain

In 2015, Warren Evans became CEO for SCUK and Ireland and led the development of Sports Chaplaincy across the United Kingdom and Ireland. At the same time, Warren invited Kieth Mitchell (Mitch) from Crown Jesus Ministries to pick up the baton from Aussie. Mitch asked his brother Philip Mitchell to come alongside him, who then went on to help coordinate the work for Sports Chaplaincy in Ireland for a decade, seeing the work in Ireland grow significantly.

In 2020, Tracey Robinson became the first female sports chaplain in Ireland, taking on the role as chaplain to the Northern Ireland senior women's international football team. Since then, Tracey has served with courage and grace, helping to develop sports chaplaincy across Ireland in female sports settings. In August 2025, Tracey took over the reins from Philip to become the first female National Director for Sports Chaplaincy UK & Ireland.

In 2021, Liam McGrath similarly responded to the open door at Drogheda United to take on the role of club chaplain. The first sports chaplain in the Republic of Ireland.  With Gods guidance ,Liams diligence, courage and faithfulness led to the growth of Sports Chaplaincy across League of Ireland Football and sport as a whole across the Republic of Ireland .

In 2022, Ken Revie, former chaplain to the European Golf Tour, took on the role of Chaplain to the PGA Golf Club Professionals in Northern Ireland. Since then, Ken has played a pivotal role in the growth of chaplaincy in golf clubs and in using golf events to draw alongside and reach  the wider sports community

In 2023, Russell Bowers joined the sports chaplaincy staff team to provide encouragement and support to existing chaplains in Northern Ireland and help develop the regional model. 

In 2024, Alan Duddy (Cricket), a former Irish schools cricket international, joined the sports chaplaincy staff team to develop Cricket Chaplaincy across the NWCU, NCU, Cricket Leinster and Munster Cricket 

Ambassadors and Endorsees for Sports Chaplaincy in Ireland became more prevalent in the decade as they recognised the significance and importance of the work. Key amongst them were David Humphries (Rugby), Eric Miller (Rugby), Katy Taylor (Boxing), Tim Clancy (Football), Conrad Kirkwood (Football), Carragh Hamilton (Football), David Healy (Football), Stephen McGuinness (Football), Gail Redmond (Football),  John Bell (Hockey), Bethany Harper (Hockey) and Kyle McCallen (Cricket) 

As of December 2025, there are over 300 chaplains serving sportsmen, sportswomen, boys and girls across 400 unique sports settings, 13 different sports and in 23 of the 32 counties on the island of Ireland.