Miles of Smiles – Ireland joins The Daily Mile movement

Athletics Ireland is delighted to announce the ‚Pilot‘ launch of The Daily Mile which takes place in St Brigid’s National School in Castleknock, Dublin at 10am on Wednesday, April 18th. 


Brendan Griffin TD, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport and Elaine Wyllie, founder of The Daily Mile, will launch this exciting and very welcome Primary Schools initiative that is sure to have a far-reaching and lasting impact on Ireland’s younger generation.

Since launching in Scotland in 2012, The Daily Mile has grown exponentially, with over 3,200 schools currently participating, and over half a million children taking part regularly across the UK. The benefits of this fun and free physical activity are numerous, improving children’s physical and mental health and wellbeing, their focus in class, and their fitness levels.

Athletics Ireland will now act as hub for the promotion and development of The Daily Mile in Ireland in collaboration with Local Authorities and Sports Partnerships, who will pilot The Daily Mile during May and June in three regions; Dublin City, Fingal, Kerry and Galway.

Following on from this ‘Pilot’, The Daily Mile will be promoted to Primary Schools across the country when the school year resumes in September.

“We are delighted to be leading this wonderful new Primary Schools initiative that can make a great impact on the fitness, health and general wellbeing of school children all over Ireland,“ Athletics Ireland President, Georgina Drumm said. “Athletics Ireland is fully committed to encouraging all Primary Schools to embrace The Daily Mile. “We have already seen in Primary Schools like St Brigid’s in Castleknock that the impact of The Daily Mile can be transformational – improving not only children’s fitness but also their concentration levels, mood, behaviour and general wellbeing.“

Athletics Ireland CEO John Foley also welcomes The Daily Mile and believes that it can forge a long-lasting legacy for teachers, children and parents – as well as Athletics Ireland. “I want to thank Irish Runner editor Frank Greally for first bringing The Daily Mile initiative to my attention and it pleases me greatly to see that Athletics Ireland now will be the driver of what is a profoundly simple yet effective concept through which primary-aged children run or walk for 15 minutes each day,” Foley said. ”I am also happy that Frank Greally will now act as an Ambassador for The Daily Mile – bringing his enthusiasm and passion to bear on making it a great success in every county in Ireland.”

Elaine Wyllie, founder of The Daily Mile in Scotland in 2012 is excited to see that Athletics Ireland will be spearheading the promotion of The Daily Mile in Ireland and speaking at the launch of the ‘Pilot’ in St Brigid’s National School in Castleknock, she said:

“We are absolutely delighted that Athletics Ireland and their partners have launched The Daily Mile in Ireland. There has been an amazing response from schools and I am looking forward to seeing it embraced across the country. I must also thank Athletics Ireland and the Minister of State for Tourism and Sport, Brendan Griffin, for their passion and commitment to The Daily Mile. Their hard-work will allow The Daily Mile to blossom in Ireland and even more children be given the opportunity to improve their health and wellbeing”

Brendan Griffin TD, Minister of State for Tourism and Sport is also fulsome in his enthusiasm for The Daily Mile: “I think this is a really great idea and I wish it every success. This initiative is all about improving the fitness of the children and it sets out to do this in a way that no child feels excluded. There is no focus on winning or competition between the children, there is no cost involved in terms of equipment or sports kit but the benefits of the children being out in the fresh air and simply having fun cannot be understated. The Daily Mile has been successful overseas and I hope that it meets with similar success here in Ireland”

John Treacy, CEO of Sport Ireland and Olympic marathon silver medallist, said: “Sport Ireland is delighted to support The Daily Mile through the Local Sports Partnership network. This is an excellent example of collaboration between a National Governing Body for Sport and the Local Sports Partnerships at a local level and will get many children out and active, which is vitally important for their physical and mental health. Sport Ireland commends Athletics Ireland on this initiative and looks forward to the roll-out of the programme nationwide.

18 April 2018; Minister of State for Tourism and Sport T.D, Brendan Griffin with, from left John Mayock, Elaine Wyllie, founder of The Daily Mile, and Georgina Drumm, President of Athletics Ireland, during The Daily Mile launch at St. Brigid’s National School in Castleknock, Dublin. Photo by Matt Browne/Sportsfile

 

Media contacts

The Daily Mile: Joseph Wade (+44) 207 384 6980 – (+44) 7758 074 576

The Daily Mile in Ireland: Frank Greally – editor@irishrunner.ie – 087 25 69 690