PESS Graduates Powering the Coach Education Evolution – Phil Kearney

Two PESS graduates featured in an Irish Examiner article over the weekend titled: The coach education evolution.

The article began with PESS BSc Physical Education and PhD graduate Paul Kinnerk, whose thesis ‘Coaching Pedagogy in Intercounty Gaelic Football’ illustrated and encouraged another way for sports coaching in Gaelic Games focused on teaching players through the game itself. Paul’s latest research, evidencing the efficacy of this game-based approach in a Gaelic Football academy context, was published earlier this year and is free to read here: Kinnerk et al. (2025).

Luke Barrett, MSc Applied Sports Coaching graduate recently appointed as coach of the Derry football team, spoke of his game-based approach to coaching. His thesis from the MSc course, focused on developing skill within the context of a game-based approach, was published earlier this year – with Paul Kinnerk as a co-author – and can be read for free here: Barrett et al. (2025).

This line of research into the evolution of sports coaching in Gaelic Games continues with the latest PhD and MSc Applied Sports Coaching candidates at PESS. Niall O’Mahony, MTU lecturer and PESS PhD student is building directly on Paul Kinnerk’s research. The first study from his PhD, investigating the nuances of high-performance team sport coaches’ pedagogical practice across a season, was published this year and can be read for free here: O’Mahony et al. (2025). Meanwhile the latest MSc Applied Sports Coaching cohort beginning their research projects include investigations of applying a spiral curriculum across a hurling season, strategies to adapt coaching to meet the needs of both early and late maturing players, and the process that expert coaches use to make decisions enduring matches.

Nor is research on sports coaching within PESS restricted to Gaelic Games. At the end of November, three graduates of the MSc Applied Sports Coaching programme, two current PESS PhD students and one Professional Doctoral candidate presented their work.

Of the MSc Applied Sports Coaching graduates:

• Stephen Maxwell (Cricket Ireland) presented his dissertation research titled: Addressing their own self-care needs: Do coaches fill their own cups?
• Denise Murphy (Triathlon Ireland) presented her dissertation research titled: How can the Triathlon Ireland Coaching Pathway be enhanced through an ecological lens to better recruit, develop and retain female coaches?
• David Royle (Technological University Dublin) presented his early PhD work titled: Developing a strategy for the integration of technology facilitated coach reflective practice at university.

In terms of the PhD and Professional Doctoral students:

• Alan Dineen presented on: Coaching Para Sport in Ireland: Bridging the Gaps, Building the Future.
• Niall O’Mahony presented on: Exploring the impact of a collaborative coach education programme on coaches’ questioning practice.
• Niamh Spratt-O’Shea presented on: Coach vs. girls power: Comparing girls’ motivations for sports participation with coaches’ perceptions.

All abstracts from all these presentations were published in a special issue of the International Sport Coaching Journal and can be read for free here.

The coach education evolution is indeed thriving in PESS.

UL’s MSc in Applied Sports Coaching is an innovative two-year, part-time programme designed for coaches who want to elevate their expertise and apply cutting-edge coaching methodologies. Find out more here.