Our People

Fintan started playing Handball in school at the age of 15 and alongside classmate Ray Langley was one of the first members of the Irish Olympic Handball Association founded in 1975 by Lindsay Pennycook.
He became a player and later a coach in the first Irish Handball club at Tallaght in Dublin.
He played in the Irish Men’s Team in the 1980’s primarily competing in the annual 4-Nations Tournament between Ireland, Scotland, England and Wales.

Fintan was deeply involved in the development of the sport throughout his playing and coaching career, with Tallaght HC but also latterly with Pelekas HC and on the Board of the IOHA.

Fintan was elected to the Nations Board of the European Handball Federation at EHF Congress in 2021 as the representative of the Lower Ranked Nations.

Michael Moloney was first elected to the Board of the IOHA in 2008 and became Secretary in 2009. He was re-elected for a second term in 2016. Michael was a founding member of Lughnasa Handball Club and a former captain of the U-21 and Senior Men’s National team, he has also coached U-16 and U-17 Boys National Team Squads.

Michael is also the IOHA Anti-Doping Officer since Jun 2013.

Andrea became the IOHA’s Technical Director in 2015 and was appointed to the Board in 2017. Andrea has nearly 20 years experience of handball in Ireland having moved here to study in UCD in the 90’s from his native Italy. In 2017 he qualified as an EHF Master Coach having achieved all the other various Coaching Awards. He is also the head coach of Astra Handball Club.

Peter was appointed to the Board of the IOHA in February 2014. Peter had previously served on the Board of the IOHA in the 90’s and is a former IOHA President. Peter qualified as an EHF Delegate in 2012 and has officiated at the 2013 EHF U-19 European Championships.

Daniela O’Sullivan is the newly appointed Board Member of the Irish Olympic Handball Association (IOHA) appointed in 2023. Daniela’s passion for handball started at a young age in school, she then went on to play Olympic Handball for 5 years in her home country of Brazil. She moved to Ireland in 2011, and has been playing handball in Ireland for the past 5 years.

Daniela was appointed to the Board of Directors due to her extensive experience and expertise in marketing. Bringing 15+ years of knowledge and skills in areas such as advertising, branding, and promotions, she will support IOHA in successfully creating and delivering a strategic marketing plan.

Throughout her life and career, Pamela Bastable has always had a deep love and passion for sport. She has witnessed first-hand the transformative influence of sports in fostering personal growth, teamwork, and community development. Through her voluntary roles on committees for hockey clubs in Dublin and Dubai, Pamela has gained a firm belief in the ability of sports to inspire, unite and effect positive change. She is dedicated to advocating for diversity and inclusivity within the sporting community.

Pamela brings her extensive experience working with boards of directors. Her roles as Company Secretary & Director of Governance at Hockey Ireland, and as Company Secretary at Louvre Middle East JLT, Dubai, provide her with the expertise needed to ensure that the OHI maintains the highest standards. Additionally, Pamela’s Diploma in Sports Law enables her to ensure sporting organisations remain fully compliant with all relevant laws and regulations. Her work involves engaging with stakeholders, including volunteers, sports organisations, governing bodies and club members.

Joao Ferreira is the Operations Director of Olympic Handball Ireland.

He first gained an interest in Olympic handball when he was 4/5 years old. The interest quickly developed into a passion and since then – 30 years later - he has been dedicated to this fantastic sport, whether as a player, referee, coach, or educator.

His journey began when he initially started playing handball in his hometown club for fun, following
the footsteps of his father, aunts and before them his grandfather. As such, Olympic Handball was a meaningful and easy choice for him and that developed the foundations for his chosen career path in the area of sports in 2003/2004. This path was obvious for him, as he considers himself to have a natural ability to coach, lead and motivate people to understand and trust in the methods, principals, and benefits of team sports by sharing his love by the sport with others.

After obtaining a degree in Sports Science and a master’s degree in Physical Education from Faculty of Sports from Porto University (Portugal), he decided to come to Ireland in 2013 and since then he has been involved in the sports field. He has worked as a coach, manager, development officer in different sport modalities. He has also played and refereed Handball in Ireland for a short period of time, having then become involved with Olympic Handball Ireland on a volunteer basis and after as an employee.

He is optimistic that he can help to shape the future of Olympic Handball Ireland.

Caroline Nerbas is an Olympic Handball athlete for almost 20 years and her passion for sports made her choose Physical Education as a career.

Graduated in 2016 in Brazil and holding a post-graduation in Sports Management, Caroline has experience not only with sports but also in administrative roles.

Her latest accomplishment is a degree in International Business from Dorset College Dublin, finished in 2021.

From teaching Olympic Handball in after school programmes, to assist on public projects in the development of Olympic Handball activities. Her organisational skills were always appreciated for those who worked with her.

Her engagement with the Irish Olympic Handball Association has the purpose to develop the sport in Ireland, giving special attention to Women in Sport project.

Eugene McKenna is the Development Officer for the Irish Olympic Handball Association Northern Ireland.

He first gained an interest in Olympic handball through his previous job at the Belfast Met where he oversaw setting up and maintaining the clubs and societies within the college’s student union. A staff member enquired about setting a team up. From there his interest quickly developed and now he is our Northern Ireland Development Officer. 

His journey began with him trying to start one team, but when the IOHA presented him with the chance to develop the sport further in NI it was an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Handball in Ireland excites Eugene because he sees it as a sport for everyone and he wants to use his extensive knowledge of the NI sports and coaching structure to build on the fantastic work already being done.

Eugene obtained a degree in Sports Coaching from the University of Ulster Jordanstown, since leaving education he has been involved with multiple different sports e.g., Rugby, Gaelic football, GAA Handball, Football and Boccia. He has worked as a coach, manager, strength & conditioning coach, development officer in these different sports. 

 

Volunteering is important to Eugene as he will offer his wealth of experience whenever he can. He is a volunteer coach for his local rugby club, is also a part of the clubs committee and helps makes the decisions that will shape the club for the future.

His purpose is to develop Handball in Ireland, focusing primarily on Northern Ireland.