Anne Ebbs (née Sinnott; 1940 – 24 February 2024) was an Irish

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

table tennis medallist. Outside of her table tennis career, Ebbs founded the Paralympic Council of Ireland in 1987 and was the organization's secretary general until 2008. Ebbs was awarded the

Paralympic Order The Paralympic symbols are the icons, flags, and symbols used by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to promote the Paralympic Games. Motto The current Paralympic motto is "Spirit in Motion". It was introduced at the 2004 Summer Paralymp ...

in 2010.

Early life and education

When Ebbs was one year old, she was diagnosed with

poliomyelitis Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...

. She began her education in

Donore, County Meath Donore (, meaning "fort of pride"), historically Dunower, is a small village in County Meath, Ireland. It lies near Drogheda on the border between County Meath and County Louth, in the Boyne Valley on the road between Drogheda and the Brú na B� ...

and completed a course at a

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

rehabilitation hospital in 1962.

Career

After completing her education, Ebbs started her career as a telephone clerk in 1963 and joined the

Irish Wheelchair Association The Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) is a charity in Ireland that works with people with physical disabilities. Founded in 1960. by 2016 it reportedly had approximately 2,000 registered volunteers across its 32 volunteer branches. The IWA's obje ...

in the 1960s as a Sports Committee member. In the 1970s, Ebbs worked as a fundraising administrator and a driving school for the IWA. In 1986, she became an administrator in sports and later became the IWA's Sports Director. The following year, Ebbs created the Paralympic Council of Ireland in 1987. For the Paralympic Council of Ireland, she was the secretary general from 1987 to 2008. Ebbs was also selected onto the board of the Irish Institute of Sport in 2007 and was elected to Paralympics Ireland's board of directors as a lifelong honorable member in 2013. Alternatively, Ebbs was Ireland's

head of mission In diplomatic usage, head of mission (HOM) or chief of mission (COM) from the French "chef de mission diplomatique" (CMD) is the head of a diplomatic representation, such as an ambassador, high commissioner, nuncio, chargé d'affaires, perma ...

at the

1988 Summer Paralympics The 1988 Summer Paralympics () were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the 1988 Summer Olympics, Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" was used officia ...

and assistant head of mission at the

1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games where Internatio ...

. Outside of her work in sports development, Ebbs participated in multiple Paralympic Games for Ireland from 1972 to 1984. During her Paralympic career, she won a silver medal for table tennis in 1972 and 1984 and bronze in 1980. Apart from the Paralympics, Ebbs was named a member of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

assembling team in 2006.

Personal life and death

Ebbs was married to table tennis player

Tony Ebbs Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony the Tiger, cartoon mascot for Frosted Flakes cereal * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * ...

in 1982 and remained married until his death in 1984. Anne Ebbs died in February 2024.

Awards and honours

In 2008, Ebbs was honoured with the

and received the Irish Paralympic Order in 2012. The same year, Ebbs was a torchbearer for the 2012 Summer Olympics. Ebbs has also been awarded the Trailblazers Award by Women's Executive Network in 2013 and honoured by Paralympics Ireland at the More Than Sports event in 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebbs, Anne 1940 births 2024 deaths Paralympic medalists in table tennis Paralympic silver medalists for Ireland Paralympic bronze medalists for Ireland Table tennis players at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Table tennis players at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Table tennis players at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Recipients of the Paralympic Order Female table tennis players Medalists at the 1972 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1980 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics