About Joanne
Joanne is a native of Cork who now lives and works from Galway. She holds a 2:1 Bachelor of Commerce Degree from University College Cork and a First Class Diploma in Event Management and PR from The Fitzwillliam Institute of Dublin.
Joanne has been based in Galway since 2004, the former professional fundraiser turned professional speaker spent 11 years working in the charity sector with Enable Ireland and the Irish Cancer Society before taking the plunge in 2016 to follow her passion for sport and work full time in the industry. Coupling her interest in marketing with her love of sport she worked with RunIreland.com from 2016 – 2020 across their portfolio of events and activities whilst simultaneously building the Tri Talking Sport brand and developing her reputation as one of the most sought after race announcers and sports marketers in Ireland and beyond.
In May of 2022 in Utah Joanne became the first female ever to join the IRONMAN World Championship announcing team. In October of 2023 in Kona, Hawaii, she became the first ever female lead Announcer at an IRONMAN World Championship on the historic women’s only race day. Fondly referred to as the Irish voice on the IRONMAN finish line, she also works as an announcer and Event MC at a variety of events in Ireland and the UK across running, cycling, triathlon and gymnastics.
The Passion
A keen triathlete and cyclist she is member of Galway Triathlon Club and Galway Bay Cycling Club. Joanne has been heavily involved in the sport of triathlon in Galway since 2009, she held a variety of roles on the GTC Executive Committee from 2010 – 2015 including; Beginners Officer, PRO and Club Chairperson.
An amateur endurance athlete Joanne has raced at all distances and levels of triathlon since dipping her toes into the sport in 2009. She has completed the New York Marathon on two occasions and the 6k Warrior Swim in Sligo. She completed a full distance triathlon in 2013 and also raced at the AG World Championships in London in the same year. Injury sidelined Joanne’s sporting endeavours from 2014 – 2016 however towards the end of 2016 she set her sights on Racing Around Ireland on her bike with some friends from Galway Triathlon Club.
She is co-founder and captain of the Galway Baybes female cycling team who hold the Irish Record for the 2,250k Race Around Ireland (2017) and the Race Record for the Donegal Ultra 555k (2018). The Galway Baybes won the Outsider Magazine Audience Choice Award in 2018 for their Race Around Ireland performance.
Taking time out from racing in 2018 and 2019 she embraced the opportunity to get back to sport and structured training in 2020 and 2021, a silver lining in an otherwise difficult time during the pandemic. Joanne took to the sea in the Summer of 2020 and completed a winter of daily sea swimming in skins (no wetsuit) from November 2020 to March 2021 covering over 30km of sea swimming in Galway Bay as part of a Walrus Winter Swimming Challenge.
In addition to this Joanne, in partnership with triathlon coach Oliver Harkin and Team RWB set up a weekly Monday Social Spin on Zwift which has seen hundreds of keen cyclists and triathletes from across Ireland and beyond enjoy an hour of turbo training, chat and connection every Monday night since mid September 2020, the spin continues every week to this day.
Joanne returned to racing, taking to her bike to race at the Mondello24 Cycle as part of the Cycling Ireland Women’s Commission team in 2022 and with the bug for racing found again, she was a key cog in the success of the Cycling Connacht Women’s team on and off the track who took part in the 24 hour cycling event in Mondello last year. Joanne also returned to racing triathlon last year, completing the Sprint Race at Lough Cutra Castle Triathlon, before a busy season of talking sidelined her racing for the Summer.
In 2024, Joanne will race at IRONMAN 70.3 Mallorca in May, returning to a race and location that she last enjoyed in 2017, she continues to train for fun, friendship and fitness, embracing her mantra of ‘finding fun and adventure in every day’.
The Influence
A keen and passionate advocate for Women in Sport and Women in Business, Joanne is one of four Global Ambassadors for the IRONMAN Foundation’s Women for Tri Initiative and is past President of the Business and Professional Women’s Club, (BPW) Galway and former National Vice President of BPW Ireland.
Joanne has delivered keynote presentations on her role as a female in sport and business to a diverse range of people from corporate audiences to sports teams and schools. With a focus on effective communication, finding your voice and overcoming challenges the cornerstone of her experience she motivates and inspires people of all ages to follow their passion for sport, encouraging them to take the first step on a sporting journey and seize every opportunity to embrace an active lifestyle.
As host of the popular Tri Talking Sport podcast Joanne brings the stories of athletes, adventurers and endurance enthusiasts from across the globe to her audience in a relaxed and fun conversational show. In December of 2023, Triathlete Magazine named the Tri Talking Sport podcast as ‘The Best Triathlon Podcast For Fascinating Fireside Chats‘ also in December last year Joanne was included in the roll call of the Sport For Business 50 Most Influential Women in Irish Sport, her first time being included in the prestigious list of incredible women in the business of sport in Ireland.
