Castlerea woman’s election to World Rugby Board “a true honour”

Castlerea woman Su Carty has described her recent election to the Executive Board of World Rugby as a “true honour”.

Speaking to the Roscommon Herald after her appointment to the sport’s world governing body, Ms Carty said: “I’m really pleased and excited to be elected to this role. It’s a true honour, but more importantly, it’s a great opportunity.” The daughter of Jimmy and Frances Carty from Trien, Castlerea, she was one of four candidates in the running for the two vacant seats on the board run by independent organisation PwC Switzerland.

Ms Carty and Ada Milby (Asia Rugby) were appointed to the Board following an election which took place remotely in accordance with World Rugby’s Bye-Laws.

A proud member of Creggs Rugby Club, Ms Carty explained that there were a number of key pillars of critical importance to all the stakeholders at World Rugby, Six Nations, Union, and community levels.

“We’re coming into a key window in the Rugby World Cup cycle. We need to maximise opportunities for competition and growth while honouring the values at the heart of our game. Player welfare must remain an absolute priority. As is sharing the message of how rewarding it is to be part of this great game.

“My journey started in developing women’s rugby. We’ve reached the point where the women’s game is ingrained in our plans to grow the game globally. It is imperative that we achieve this at all levels across the game. And no doubt growing up in a family that looks to get involved in and contribute to the community was an important start to my journey in sport,” she said.

Her background is steeped in the sport. Already one of the IRFU representatives to World Rugby, she was appointed Women’s Development Manager with World Rugby in 2009 and served in the role for seven years.

She has a long association with Irish rugby, having played for twelve years with St. Mary’s College RFC and UL Bohemians. She has been a referee for six years and won the Alain Rolland Award for Referee Performance in 2017.

Ms Carty was the last President of the Ireland Women’s Rugby Football Union, which was dissolved in June 2008. She is also a member of the IRFU committee.

In 2018, she was voted Irish Woman of the Year for her work in advancing women’s rugby on a global scale. For the last five years, she has been providing a range of consulting and coaching programmes which drive winning performance in business.

Reacting to the news of her appointment, Creggs RFC club said it was thrilled to see a club member elected to the executive of World Rugby. “She will sit alongside World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont, Vice Chairman John Jeffrey , Chief Executive Alan Gilpin and seven other elected members.

“This is a huge achievement for the Castlerea native, who has been on the IRFU board for more than a decade. Congratulations Su, you have made a small rural Connacht Rugby Club very proud of you and your achievement. Wishing you every success in your new role on the Executive Board,” said the club.