Advisory Board and Faculty behind Setanta
Over the past decade, Setanta Institute has grown to be a world leading provider of Sport and Fitness education and our passion is to produce graduates and professionals that can play a pivotal role in improving the lives of others through the benefits of physical activity.
Behind Setanta Institute is a team of international specialists who lecture on both our online and full time programs. Our professors, who are qualified to MSc or PhD level, are former high level sports people, active coaches or both.
We have also appointed a world renowned Advisory Board to inform and oversee our Educational Programs and Research Strategy. This board, chaired by Padraig Harrington, and comprised of Professors, Doctors and Practitioners in Performance Science and Strength and Conditioning from around the world, keep Setanta Institute at the cutting edge in the latest thinking, research and technology.
Advisory Board that oversees our Programmes and Research Strategy
He captured his first major championship in 2007 winning the Open Championship at Carnoustie. Undoubtedly, 2008 was his best year on the course. He retained The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and became the first European golfer to retain the Claret Jug in over 100 years. This was followed by claiming the PGA Championship three weeks later and as a consequence beinghonored as PGA Tour Player of the Year.
Padraig has represented Europe six times at the Ryder Cup, being on the winning side on four occasions. He was vice-captain to Paul McGinley in 2014 and will act as vice-captain to Darren Clarke later this year.
Padraig has worked with Dr Liam Hennessy, Setanta College Founder and Academic Director, for almost 20 years. The principles, which our programmes are based on, are the same principles Liam has been applying with Padraig for his fitness, longevity in sport and general wellbeing.
Because of Padraig’s knowledge of and interest in sports performance he has taken on the role of Chairman to the Setanta College Advisory Board.
Dr. Liam Hennessy is the Founder and Academic Director of Setanta College. He is a qualified Physical Education teacher, Exercise Physiologist and Strength & Conditioning Coach. He has spent over 20 years working full-time in sport.
Liam was previously the Director of Fitness with the Irish Rugby Football Union, a position he commenced in 2000. At the IRFU he headed a staff of 24 full time coaches. His role was to develop a world class system of player support within the areas of Strength and Conditioning, Injury Rehabilitation, Sport Nutrition and Medical Care.
Liam is also Fitness Coach to Padraig Harrington having worked with Padraig for over a decade now.
He gained his undergraduate degree in Physical Education and English from Thomond College in 1981 and from there he completed his Master’s at Loughborough University before going on to complete a further Master’s in Clinical Physiology.
Liam was also an international athlete, competing over 50 times for Ireland at the Pole vault. After competing he became national jumps coach. Liam also had the distinction of being Irish team manager at the first world junior Athletic Championships in Athens in 1985.
In 1999/2000 the founder of Orreco, Dr Brian Moore, began his doctoral research (investigating patterns of red blood cell production-under the supervision of Professor Craig Sharp) with a small cohort of some of the best endurance athletes in the world. This information was utilised in their preparations for the Sydney Olympiad and two of the medallists (1G, 1S). This work attracted the attention of the worlds’ premier sports science research facility, the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).
Dr Moore led an AIS funded research expedition to the home of Kenyan running, Eldoret, in the rift valley and to training and competition venues around the world (USA, South Africa, Athens and Australia).
Consultancy work continued with the UK Athletics World Class Performance Plan and athletes of the calibre of Paula Radcliffe and Kelly Holmes and led to an appointment as project leader of the UK Sport global haematological profiling initiative. This role extended to support the British Swimming, British Triathlon, British Rowing and UK Athletics squads from which 6 Olympic medallists emerged at the Athens games 2004. In 2005 Dr Moore began working with the Olympic Sailing Squad and developed a number of innovative solutions, incorporating his previous experiences to optimise performance and support athletes competing at the highest level which culminated in nine Olympic medallists at Beijing 2008.
ORRECO was incorporated in November 2009 by Dr Brian Moore and Dr Andrew Hodgson.
Des worked for the IRFU as fitness education manager and his responsibilities involved managing the Continued Professional Development (CPD) programme for IRFU strength and conditioning coaches and managing the fitness development structures for rugby players in under-19 sides and below. Before this, Des worked as head fitness advisor at Connacht Rugby from 1998 to 2008. During this time he had worked with the Ireland A rugby team for three years and assisted with the Ireland senior team.
Des is also a tutor with the IRFU and a trainer with the International Rugby Board.
He has a keen interest in the area of long-term player development and has presented at many conferences around the world over the last few years.
Recently Des has become accredited with British association of sport and exercise science as a High Performance Sport accredited (HPSA) and also a chartered scientist (CSci).
Daniel is author of a number of articles in relation to strength and power testing using force platforms and isokinetic dynamometry in athletes and handgrip and jump testing in youth in relation to cardiometabolic health. He also works in a research and consultancy capacity at the High Performance Centre of Coldeportes (the Colombian Institute of Sport) and is Head of Sports Science for NMP ForceDecks, who are the official dual force platform suppliers to the English Institute of Sport and provide platforms and support to a number of professional teams in the EPL, La Liga, NHL and AFL amongst others.
He is a Professor of strength and conditioning at the University of South Wales, where he co-ordinates all of the University strength and conditioning activities, as well as managing the strength and conditioning programmes for Cardiff City Football Club’s Academy.
Ian has been a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) since 1989. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), and Certified Personal Trainer (NSCA-CPT) with the NSCA, and has been re-certified with Distinction (*D) in all categories. He is also an Emeritus Registered Coach (RSCC*E) and a fellow of the NSCA.
Ian was a founder member of the UKSCA and was a board member with the organisation from its inception in 2004 through to 2013. He is a senior assessor and education tutor for the UKSCA and in 2015 was made an honorary fellow of the Association.
Ian is editor of Professional Strength and Conditioning the UKSCA Journal, and Associate Editor of the Strength and Conditioning Journal and Journal of Australian Strength and Conditioning.
He has authored six books and numerous book chapters, and is a frequent presenter and coach around the world.
Loren has trained thousands of athletes of all ages and abilities, including over 400 professional athletes in the NFL, NHL, MLB, UFC, WNBA and Olympic medalist.
Coach Landow served as the Strength and Speed coach during the NFL lockout for over 20 Denver Bronco players and had over 45 professional NFL athletes train with him. He has worked with over 30 NFL All-Pro’s and over 20 first round draft selections in the NFL.
Coach Landow has been a National and International presenter for the leading organizations in the performance field, and also serves as a consultant for many professional and collegiate teams across the country.
Jacques is a world-renowned Rugby Coach and high performance professional with elite experience working with organisations including Western Province, South Africa Rugby Union (SARU), Paul Roos Gymnasium, Buccaneers Rugby, and Connacht Rugby.
Meet Our Teaching Faculty
Liam was previously the Director of Fitness with the Irish Rugby Football Union, a position he commenced in 2000. At the IRFU he headed a staff of 24 full time coaches. His role was to develop a world class system of player support within the areas of Strength and Conditioning, Injury Rehabilitation, Sport Nutrition and Medical Care.
Liam is also Fitness Coach to Padraig Harrington having worked with Padraig for over a decade now.
He gained his undergraduate degree in Physical Education and English from Thomond College in 1981 and from there he completed his Master’s at Loughborough University before going on to complete a further Master’s in Clinical Physiology.
Liam was also an international athlete, competing over 50 times for Ireland at the Pole vault. After competing he became national jumps coach. Liam also had the distinction of being Irish team manager at the first world junior Athletic Championships in Athens in 1985.
Prior to his current role, Des worked for the IRFU as fitness education manager and his responsibilities were managing the Continued Professional Development (CPD) programme for IRFU Strength and Conditioning Coaches. His role included managing the fitness development structures for rugby players at Under 19 years of age and below. His responsibilities also included managing the Strength and Conditioning staff with the age grade international teams, Ireland women’s, club and A team. Previous to this Des worked for Connacht Rugby for 10 years as Head Fitness Advisor from 2000 to 2008. During this time Des has worked with the Ireland A rugby team for 3 years and assisted with the Ireland senior team.
Des has presented at many conferences over the past few years in Ireland and abroad including conferences run by the International Rugby Board (IRB) and the GAA’s national coaching development conference.
Joe is an elite athlete, coach, and scientist. He specialises in research methods, biomechanics, and performance physiology.
Joe comes from a Sports Science background, with extensive practical experience in the S&C setting working with DCU Athletics and GAA Academy teams for a number of years. He spent some time as a high-performance coach in DCU Sport, and was the Sports Science Author for Irish Runner Magazine for over 6 years. He has also worked in physiological testing services for DCU athletics, international athletes, and Athletics Ireland in the past. His focus is very much on high performance, where he has coached and currently coaches several international athletes, working as an advisor to many more.
Academically, Joe has numerous publications in the area of running biomechanics and physiology of footwear. He has become recognised as one of the leading experts in the transition to minimalist footwear with respect to performance and injury as a result of his PhD research. He has been the Keynote speaker at a number of international and national events, and has been featured on RTE television and RTE radio talking about his work. Joe continues to develop this area of research today and is also a reviewer for numerous academic journals.
Johan is a former professional rugby player, having played for the Stormers, Western Province, Sharks, South Africa A, and Northampton Saints in England. He is a renowned physiotherapist who currently works with Stellenbosch Academy of Sport, SA Sevens, Junior Springboks, and a number of other major organisations and athletes include PTA/WTA carded tennis professionals.
Damien is currently lecturing on the full-time BSc Sports Strength and Conditioning course at LIT Thurles and has also been lecturing with Setanta College for the previous eight years. His main subject area is on Growth, Movement and Development. He has developed activities to improve a person’s fundamental and rudimentary movement skills, which are currently being used in a number of Primary Schools around Ireland. As a result of these activities, Primary school teachers have commented on the student’s improvement in their overall physical movement ability and their academic performance.
Damien completed a research Masters and Ph.D on the Physiological Demands of Inter-County and Inter-Club hurling using GPS technology. His main research areas involve GPS technology.
Damien is currently involved in a number of research studies:
- Investigating the physical and technical demands of hurling.
- Quantifying the duration demands of team sports.
He also has qualified as a Level 2 Coaching Ireland Tutor and over the previous 15 years has delivered GAA sports specific coaching courses and a wide range of CPD courses to tutors, coaches, and players.
Claire is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and her main areas of interest are human movement, injury prevention and performance. She is a strength and conditioning consultant in Sport Ireland Institute, coaching Irish Olympic and Paralympic athletes from athletics, badminton and hockey.
Previously, Claire taught Anatomy & Physiology and Speed & Endurance Development modules on the BSc Sports Strength and Conditioning programme in LIT and currently, is a tutor for the Speed Development and Functional Screening modules with Setanta College. Claire has numerous peer-reviewed publications in the area of strength and power diagnostics, sprint acceleration and focus of attention.
Teresa is a Setanta College graduate and has been a tutor with the college since 2015. She is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and holds an MSc in Strength and Conditioning from Limerick Institute of Technology.
She has an extensive background within Gaelic Games and currently coaches in a full-time capacity at all levels from underage through to senior at schools, club and inter-county level. In addition, Teresa is qualified as a Level 2 Sport Ireland Coach Tutor with the LGFA & GAA and has assisted in the development of the LGFA Level 2 coaching course and Athletic Development course.
Shayne Murphy is the founder and director of SDM Performance. He qualified with a first- class honours degree in Sports and Exercise Sciences at the University of Limerick in 2010. He completed his MSc in Sport Science in 2012 and certified as a Strength and Conditioning Coach in 2013. Shayne has been working in elite football for over 11 years across first team and academy squads in the Premier League, including Manchester City, Liverpool FC, Blackburn Rovers and Cardiff City. He also spent several years with the Wales National Squads during their international campaigns at U21 level. He currently works with sports people independently and remains a consultant for City Football Group, which is a global football organisation. Shayne recently worked with New York City FC in the US for their pre-season. Shayne is passionate about human movement and training. He believes, “We need to understand on a far higher level the demand our sports play on our athletes and how these demands will affect the athletes individually. This is where we can we make significant changes to develop our athletes. We have all the tools, but I’m not convinced that until we analyse our athletes and their sports better, we will know exactly how to use them” Shayne has moved back to Ireland after more than a decade in the UK and whilst he has still work abroad with various organisations, he is hoping to develop relationships closer to home with people and organisations. Social Media: www.sdmperformance.com @sdmperformance – Instagram & Twitter Shayne Murphy – Linkedin
Dan has a wealth of experience within the field of strength & conditioning and sport science, specifically within elite team sports. He is currently senior lecturer at the University of Brighton and has worked with ‘Collaborate Sports’ as a high performance coach for the past 2 years.