Nolan, who was an Irish international runner from 1996 until his retirement from competition in 2009, specialised in middle distance running.

The best performance of Nolan's career was winning a silver medal in the 1500 metres at the 2000 European Indoor Championships in Ghent.  

Nolan is the co-founder of Fast Kids, which is designed to help more youngsters in Ireland become active.

In his new post, Nolan will now be responsible for implementing the High Performance Programme for Paralympic Athletics over the coming years as part of the lead up to the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

The 33-year-old University College Dublin (UCD) graduate said: "I am delighted to take up this position with the Paralympic Council of Ireland and look forward to helping Irish athletes achieve their potential in London 2012."

Nolan’s appointment coincided with the first Ireland Team 2012 Camp of the London Paralympic cycle as over 100 athletes and staff gathered in Limerick in preparation for the Games. 

The training camps, which are being held at the University of Limerick as well as in Castletroy, include a series of training sessions, information sessions and a motivational presentation from the head of the Irish Institute of Sport, Gary Keegan, in which he will outline the steps to the success of the Irish boxing team from Beijing 2008.

Under Keegan, Ireland won three medals - a silver and two bronze - their best-ever performance.

Over the course of the 2012 training camp, the PCI will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first Paralympic Games which took place in Rome in 1960.

The only surviving member of that Irish team, Oliver Murphy, will address the current panel of athletes during the camp.
 
The camp will cater for nine sporting disciplines and for the first time in PCI history, athletes representing the sports of rowing and hand cycling will be in attendance. 

Speaking at the camp, Paralympic Performance Director, Nancy Chillingworth said: "We are delighted to be back in Limerick as we start the final two years preparation for Ireland’s participation in the London 2012 Paralympic Games.

"With the support of Renault Ireland and the Irish Sports Council, a further five camps will be held in Limerick between now and the Games."

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