‘Mental health and mental strength for me is key to everything’

‘Never give up’ is the motto tattooed on Sinead Donovan’s back. Little wonder. Sinead is a mum of two, triathlete, Ironman competitor (a brutal rough-terrain race over 227 kilometres) despite managing arthritis, and she recently passed a notable milestone in Irish finance. She is the new chairperson of Grant Thornton Ireland, where she was also the first female partner in 2005.

You do triathlons and Ironman competitions. Wow. Why?

I love it for three reasons. One, the mix of activities, which makes training interesting and less hard on the body.

Two, the pain of endurance events. I know that sounds somewhat masochistic, however I love the feeling of challenging myself to the limit and seeing how far I can push.

I have tattooed on my back ‘never give up’ which maybe gives an insight into my mindset

Three, the importance of mental strength for the event. Mental strength and mental health for me is key to everything and to complete an Ironman you need to have a mixture of stubbornness, positivity, and the ability to ignore self-doubt. I love the challenge.

I am beginning to feel my age now, sadly, and have been diagnosed with arthritis which I am trying to manage.

Why did you start endurance racing?

When I was moving up the ranks in the profession, I was working crazy long hours. I was very close to implosion when someone very influential in my career pointed out that I was like a fully stretched elastic band and I was going to snap.

She implored me to find the time to do something for myself – and suggested running. Initially I laughed and said I don’t have the time, but once I started to put in 30-minute runs; or run the kids to crèche rather than drive, it began to make sense.

Very quickly, not being able to find the time, became how I needed to find the time.

I compare my life to a triathlon – rather than swim, bike, run – I have family, work and training. Just like training for a triathlon, there will be times where I need to focus more on one or two of the disciplines.

However, to know that the three are always there means that I try and not lose completely my skills in any of them.

How did you manage during lockdown as a parent?

There have been very stressful moments and thank you to my colleagues, clients and teams who have witnessed on Zoom calls – family fall-outs, dogs going crazy, and even the odd bit of bad language when you thought you were on mute – over the last year.

I am incredibly fortunate as my kids are 10 and 12 – not old enough to miss out on academia or key life moments and not young enough to be totally reliant on me.

I have been back in the office for a few days recently and I will not lie, it was lovely to be able to work without dogs barking, doorbells going or kids going mental in the background – but seriously what a fab complaint to have.

We can save tens of thousands by switching mortgages yet few of us do. Same with shopping around for household bills. Are we less careful with money here?

For many it is about having the luxury to rank time ahead of money. Obviously this is the preserve of the fortunate – and should be acknowledged as such – but many rank time savings higher than money savings.

What are the worst ways we waste money?

The excess money we spend on food and drink. I’m sure as people navigated their banana breads and sour doughs during lockdown they were amazed at the mark-up on processed foods and add to that the mark-up on takeaways.

What did your parents teach you about money?

My dad was a chartered accountant and my mum a Scottish Presbyterian, so between them they knew a lot about eking out the last bit from money. Giving me ownership of my ‘finances’ from an early age meant I soon understood the value of things – the choices you made and the resulting impacts if you got it wrong.

Best investment that you ever made?

I have derived intangible joy, companionship and a training partner on my runs – my dog, Iona.