Setanta College

14/10/2026

What does success actually look like in youth sport?

Conor Shannon reflects on how coaches and programmes can think more broadly about what a successful youth development environment really looks like.

Download 'Little & Often: Making LTAD Work in the Club Environment' via www.setantacollege.com/webinars

13/10/2026

Our next session for the Setanta Coaching Conference 2026: Developing Players, Teams and Coaches will see Rob Mulcahy explore ‘Creating Sustainable Player Pathways’.

Rob will look at long-term athletic development and the journey young players take through the game, with a focus on engagement, wellbeing and how coaches and clubs can support development while helping more players stay involved over time.

As Head of Athletic Development with Setanta, Rob brings extensive experience across high-performance sport and is currently completing a PhD in Talent Identification and Development in Youth Academy Settings.

📅 Saturday, 14th November 2026
📍 GAA National Games Development Centre, Abbotstown, Dublin
🎟️ Tickets: setantacollege.com/events

12/10/2026

“Young players need more than sport-specific drills: they benefit from better movement quality, coordination, speed, strength and an understanding of how to train safely.

Studying with Setanta has helped me move beyond relying solely on practical experience, developing my knowledge of athletic development, programme design and age-appropriate coaching, and connecting that science with my teaching and coaching every day.”

Oisin Dunbar, primary school teacher and S&C coach with Ferns GAA and Enniscorthy RFC, discusses his journey from the classroom to coaching and his experience of studying with Setanta.


https://loom.ly/ZgnA63I

Oisin Dunbar is a qualified primary school teacher from Wexford who spent a decade teaching abroad, including four years as a specialist primary PE teacher in the Middle East. Since returning to Ireland, he has combined classroom teaching with a growing strength and conditioning career, working with...

09/10/2026

Develop your expertise in sports injury management and return to performance.

The MSc in Sports Injuries & Return to Performance Management at Setanta College explores the key considerations involved in supporting athletes through injury, rehabilitation and their return to sport.

From movement analysis and athlete monitoring to managing upper and lower body injuries, the programme combines scientific principles with practical applications in sports performance.

📚 Enrolment is now open.

Explore the programme and take the next step in your professional development.

🔗 www.setantacollege.com

08/10/2026

We’re delighted to announce the first session for the Setanta Coaching Conference 2026: Developing Players, Teams and Coaches.

Cathal Sheridan will deliver ‘Preparing Players & Teams to Perform Under Pressure’, exploring the mental skills, behaviours and preparation that can help players and teams perform when the demands are highest.

Cathal is Head of Sport & Performance Psychology with Munster Rugby and brings extensive experience across professional, Olympic and inter-county sport.

📅 Saturday, 14th November 2026
📍 GAA National Games Development Centre, Abbotstown, Dublin
🎟️ Tickets: setantacollege.com/events

07/10/2026

Across different sports, some teams have entered their off-season while others could be at the business end of championship or at the early stages of the season.

Different points in the calendar, but the same challenge remains: how do you keep developing players without compromising performance?

Paudie Roche discusses the role of high-intensity, low-volume work during the season, maintaining physical qualities while allowing players to stay fresh and carry that work into technical practice.

Watch the full webinar and read more via www.setantacollege.com

05/10/2026

"The flexibility of the MSc made juggling intercounty football, a professional coaching career and studying a whole lot more achievable and successful. It also meant that I could directly apply the theory I was learning on a weekly basis to real scenarios, be it on myself or in a coaching capacity.

No two people are the same, so painting everyone with the same brush ignores distinct individual motivators."

Megan Downes, S&C coach with the Clare Senior men's footballers, discusses building her coaching career and her experience of the MSc in Performance Coaching with Setanta.

https://www.setantacollege.com/megan-downes-setanta/

02/10/2026

🏉 Designing the AFL Training Week

How do high-performance teams structure training across pre-season and in-season periods?
In this webinar, Setanta Academic Director PJ Wilson is joined by Nick Poulos, High-Performance Consultant with the GWS Giants, to explore the planning and programming behind an AFL training week.

Drawing on practical experience from elite environments, they discuss how coaches can organise the week, balance physical and football demands, and adapt training across different stages of the season.

🎥 Download the webinar now and take a closer look at the thinking behind AFL performance programming.
www.setantacollege.com/webinars

01/10/2026

Conor Finn, Head of Performance with Mayo Senior Footballers, explains why football should remain the primary conditioning stimulus, with targeted running used to fill the gaps rather than replace the demands of the game.

Different pitch dimensions. Different player numbers. Different intensities. Then supplement what’s missing.

Watch the full webinar at www.setantacollege.com/webinars

30/09/2026

"Learning about sport nutrition was great for me, as I was playing intercounty football at the time and was able to use all that information for my own benefit. We were researching the energy demands of elite sportspeople and how they differ from sport to sport.

It was really insightful and showed me that in any sport, a one-size-fits-all approach doesn't apply anywhere."

Cian O'Dea, GAA Games Development Officer with New York GAA, discusses his coaching journey from Clare to Brooklyn and his experience of studying with Setanta.

https://loom.ly/vrbdhSo

Cian O'Dea was a Clare Senior Footballer for nine years and a New York Footballer for three, he now works as a GAA Games Development Officer in New York, having previously held similar roles with Clare GAA and Éire Óg Inis. He is a graduate of the MSc in Advanced Athletic Performance with Setanta