Malone, winner of the gold in the men’s 100 metres backstroke in Sydney, succeeds Nancy Chillingworth, who opted to leave the role last year.

He will be tasked with ensuring the strategic development of Paralympics Ireland and he will lead the organisation’s sports department, and he will also be in charge of putting systems in place to ensure the sustainability of Paralympics Ireland.

The 37-year-old was previously performance manager and head of Paralympic swimming with the organisation and he is widely-considered as one of Ireland’s top Paralympians as he boasts an impressive record.

Before his superb performance in the Australian city, where he set a world record that lasted for 10 years, Malone managed to secure silver in the 100m backstroke at the Paralympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. 

Malone managed to repeat that feat at Athens 2004 before he announced his retirement from the sport after Beijing 2008, and he then took on the performance manager role within the organisation.

Alongside Paralympics Ireland’s Chef de Mission Denis Toomey and acting performance assistant Hayley Burke, Malone is set to attend the organisation’s pre-Rio 2016 training base in Uberlandia, Brazil, which runs from tomorrow until Sunday (April 12).

Paralympics Ireland are due to hold a familiarisation camp for a select few of their athletes from various different sports, which will take place in the same Brazilian city and will give the organisation a chance to test their sports science and medicine facilities.

They will also get a look at their pre-Games training site, where their preparations for Rio de Janeiro are due to be finalised, and they will then fly to the Brazilian city for a visit hosted by the Games Organising Committee.