Advisory Board and Tutors behind Setanta College

Setanta College has appointed a world renowned Advisory Board to inform and oversee our Educational Programmes 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 College at the cutting edge in the latest thinking, research and technology.

We have a team of international specialists who lecture and host webinars on both our online and full time programmes.

Our lecturers, who are qualified to MSc or PhD level, are former high level sports people, active coaches or both.

Advisory Board that oversees our Programmes and Research Strategy

Padraig Harrington
Padraig HarringtonChairman & Brand Ambassador
Padraig is widely regarded as one of Ireland’s greatest sportspersons. He has been competing on the European and PGA Tours for over 20 years and is a three time Major winner. He has 30 professional wins to his name with his most recent win on the PGA Tour coming in 2014 when he won the Honda Classic.

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
Dr Liam HennessyBoard Member
Dr. Liam Hennessy is the 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.

Dr Brian Moore
Dr Brian MooreBoard Member
In 1999/2000 the founder, 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 Ryan
Des RyanBoard Member
Des joined Arsenal in February 2013 after a successful strength and conditioning career in the rugby world.

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).

Dr Daniel Cohen
Dr Daniel CohenBoard Member

Dr. Daniel Cohen formerly lectured at London Metropolitan and is now a lecturer and researcher at the University of Santander in Bucaramanga, Colombia. Daniel is also a performance consultant with several professional sports teams in the EPL, La Liga, NHL, and AFL amongst others. His published research extends from lifestyle-related medical concerns to injury risk reduction interventions. Daniel was the founder of NMP ForceDecks, the company that created this technology and which has become one of the leading sports technologies now used on a daily basis across five continents.

Professor Ian Jeffreys
Professor Ian JeffreysBoard Member

Professor Ian Jeffreys is an internationally renowned coach, educator and author and is regarded as a world authority in the development of speed and agility and conditioning for team sports. Ian is a Professor of strength and conditioning at the University of South Wales, where he coordinates all of the University strength and conditioning activities while consulting extensively with several professional sports organisations. In July 2009, Ian was awarded a Fellowship by the NSCA, for his outstanding contributions to the industry. In 2016 Ian was elected to the Board of Directors of the NSCA and is currently the Vice President of the Association.

He has authored six books, and numerous book chapters, and is a frequent presenter and coach around the world.

Loren Landow
Loren LandowBoard Member
Coach Landow is highly sought after for his ability to analyze and correct biomechanics. His goal is to maximize human performance, while decreasing the likelihood of injury.

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.

Professor Mike Martino
Professor Mike MartinoBoard Member
Mike Martino is a process oriented professional providing educational, business, and human performance consulting that provides creative and innovative solutions for your clients, athletes, and business.

Mike has over 30 years of experience in the health and human performance field. His athletic career and success date back to age group swimming where he was a nationally ranked swimmer, collegiate conference champion, and ranked in the top 200 in the world in the 50 freestyle.

After his undergraduate career at Furman University he took a sales position in mid-range computer products and services and gained valuable experience in marketing and sales.

After receiving the opportunity to work with world class athletes at the University of Alabama while completing his Masters and Doctoral degrees he began his career in academia.

From 1990 to 2000 he worked with Olympic athletes including several national and world champions, world record holders, and Olympic champions.

He has been teaching at University level for over 20 years and currently hold the rank of Full Professor at Georgia College in Milledgeville. He is also one of three partners in Bodyplex Milledgeville, a 38,000 square foot facility with over 4,000 members, 12 personal trainers on staff, and 30 employees.

Mike has presented on various topics ranging from human performance to the business of personal training and profitable club management around the world.

Guest Lecturers

Dale Cannavan
Dale CannavanGuest Lecturer
Dale holds a doctorate in Biomechanics/Exercise Physiology and is the Washington state director for the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Dr. Cannavan also holds affiliations with the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the European College of Sports Science (ECSS).

An international speaker and university lecturer, Dr. Cannavan served in the British Army for 13 years as a physical training instructor. He believes in putting theory into practice and owned a personal training business in London. He has worked with many organizations, including the British Olympic Medical Center, the Washington State Patrol Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT), professional boxing, UK “Real-Tennis” Elite Squad, and British Weight Lifting.

Dr Dave Alred
Dr Dave AlredGuest Lecturer
Dr. Dave Alred, MBE, is an elite performance coach who has worked with some of the biggest names in sport. His clients have included rugby’s Jonny Wilkinson, George Ford, and Johnny Sexton; golfers Luke Donald, Brad Kennedy, and Padraig Harrington; the England Rugby team (four World Cups), the British Lions (three tours), and the Springboks; the England Cricket team; and Premiership sides Manchester City, Sunderland, and Watford.

Dave holds a PhD in Performing under Pressure from Loughborough University. A genuine pioneer in performance mindset and attitude, his approach optimises the abilities of sports and business people alike. He is the author of the acclaimed book, The Pressure Principle.

Gary Schofield
Gary SchofieldGuest Lecturer
Director of Sports Performance Training at Greater Atlanta Christian Shcool, Gary Schofield is a strength & conditioning specialist (NSCA). Coach Schofield’s unique background of athletic training and strength and conditioning has allowed him to coach and assist in the athletic development of athletes with teams and organizations such as the Atlanta Hawks (NBA), Georgia Force (Arena Football), Gwinnett Gladiators (ECHL), Atlanta Trojans (USBL), WCW Wrestling, Atlanta Silverbacks Pro Soccer (A-League), Georgia State Olympic Development Program, USA Track & Field Indoor Championships and many other pro and amateur organizations.

Also, he has worked individually with over 500 high school athletes that have gone on to NCAA D1 scholarships, over 100 professional athletes, and 3 Olympians.

Robert Linkul
Robert LinkulGuest Lecturer
Robert has a masters degree in personal training from the United State Sports Academy (University of Alabama) and a bachelors degree in kinesiology from California State University of Sacramento. He is the Southwest Regional Coordinator with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and was named the NSCA’s 2012 Personal Trainer of the year. Robert serves as the chairman for the NSCA’s personal trainer special interest group and is the career development columnist for the NSCA’s personal training quarterly publication.

Coach Linkul is an NSCA Certified Personal Trainer (NSCA-CPT *D) and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS *D) with distinction. He is the head personal trainer and the owner of Be STRONGER Fitness.

Antonio Robustelli
Antonio RobustelliGuest Lecturer
Antonio Robustelli is a Strength & Conditioning coach and Sport Performance Consultant from Italy and is NSCA, CSCS and MSc qualified. He works around the world with semi-professionals, professionals, and Olympic athletes in various sports including athletics, weightlifting, football, basketball, power-lifting, rugby, volleyball, boxing, martial arts, and cycling. He is also an expert in the monitoring and management of recovery and physical stress.

Antonio specialises in the application of technology in sport performance and focuses on data integration from advanced technologies. He has developed a unique system and approach to functional assessment and monitoring of athletes neuromuscular function, recovery, stress and fatigue.

Craig White
Craig WhiteGuest Lecturer
Craig has over 24 years of experience working in High-Performance Sports with teams such as Leicester Tigers, London Wasps, Ireland, Wales, the British and Irish Lions, and World Rugby. He has a well-known reputation for mentoring many S&C Coaches, who have moved into high profile positions within elite professional Rugby and Football. Craig has a unique background that includes qualifications and experience in all areas of physical and mental performance, including S and C, Nutrition, NLP, Emotional Wellness, Life Coaching, Yoga, and Mindfulness.

Today, Craig continues to mentor Sports Coaches in all areas of development on a professional and personal basis. He also works as a Men’s Life Coach and continues to consult for developing Rugby Nations.

Philip Morrow
Philip MorrowGuest Lecturer
Philip Morrow is a graduate of the University of Ulster where he gained a Masters in Sports and Exercise. He began his career with the Ulster Rugby Academy in 2001 before being appointed National Academy Fitness Manager working with the Ireland U19 and U21 sides. In October 2003 he took up the post of Head of Strength and Conditioning with Ulster and in 2008, he became the IRFU’s High Performance Fitness Manager.

Philip joined Saracens at the conclusion of the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand having been Head of Fitness with Ireland. He is now the Performance Director at Saracens Rugby Club and was an S&C Coach on the Lions Tour to New Zealand in 2017.

Stephen Aboud
Stephen AboudGuest Lecturer
Stephen is currently Head of Technical Direction for Player & Coach Development at Federazione Italiana Rugby.

Stephen took up a position with Conor O’Shea and the FIR having served as Head of Technical Direction in the IRFU for 7 years. He provided a common Technical vision for Coach Development, Elite Player Development and IRFU Technical staff. In the twenty-three years he worked in Irish Rugby, Stephen also Managed the IRFU Elite Player Development and National Coach Development programmes. As a Rugby coach, Stephen had been Backline Coach/Technical Advisor to all National teams from U18 XVs through to Senior XV. As a tutor, he has presented in most major Rugby Unions around the world and is one of the founding and current facilitators of the 6 Nations Elite Coaches Conference.

Meet Our Course Tutors

Dr Liam Hennessy
Dr Liam HennessyAcademic Director
Dr. Liam Hennessy is the 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.

Dr Joe Warne
Dr Joe WarneModule Tutor
Joe is an elite athlete, coach, and scientist. He specialises in data analytics, biomechanics, and 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 has been 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. He has become recognised as one of the world’s 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 talking about his work. Joe continues to develop this area of research today and is also a reviewer for over 12 different academic journals.

Des Ryan
Des RyanModule Tutor
Des Ryan is the current Head of Sports Medicine & Athletic Development (Academy) for Arsenal FC.

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.

Ciarán Keogh
Ciarán KeoghModule Tutor
Ciarán is an accredited Strength and Conditioning provider with the Irish Institute of Sport and has provided strength and conditioning to Paralympic athletes since 2005 preparing athletes for European, World and Paralympic games.

As well as being a graduate of Setanta College, Ciarán holds a BSc from Tralee Institute of Technology and has just completed his Masters of Science in Exercise Physiology at Trinity College Dublin.

Ciarán is currently lecturing on the BSc in Sports Strength & Conditioning programme in LIT-Tipperary in partnership with Setanta College.