Minister Niall Collins launches new state-of-the-art sports campus in Limerick

A NEW state-of-the-art sports campus was launched today (30/08/2021) by Minister of State for Skills and Further Education, Niall Collins TD, in Limerick City.

The new campus is part of Setanta College, a sports college providing higher education programmes in strength and conditioning and performance science.

The college will be investing €500,000 into the new campus along with the creation of 50 jobs. The new campus will also comprise of a Setanta Wellness facility, similar to their new facility in Galway and exisitng facility in Thurles, which will be open to the public for bespoke fitness and wellness training. Setanta Wellness will provide a range of classes, small group personal training, SetantaSpin and more.

The new campus will be Setanta College’s first dedicated facility for their students providing elite further and higher-level education courses to over 1,000 students over the next three years. The college provides courses at certificate, diploma, degree and master’s levels in a variety of areas such as personal training, strength and conditioning, performance coaching and sports psychology. Students can also specialise in areas such as youth athletic development, health and wellness, and coaching science.

To date, there have been more than 55,000 graduates of the institute, with notable graduates and students of the college including world champion rower Sanita Puspure, Head of Strength and Conditioning with Limerick Senior Hurling Team Mikey Kiely and Kilkenny Hurler TJ Reid.

With a team of lecturers such as Des Ryan (formerly Arsenal and Irish Rugby), Prof Ian Jeffreys (formerly Cardiff City FC and Welsh Rugby), and Dr Liam Hennessy (formerly Irish Rugby, Juventus, and Bayern Munich), students will have the opportunity to learn from experts across the broad fields within sport science.

Speaking at the launch of the new Limerick Campus, Minister of State for Skills and Further Education, Niall Collins TD, said: "I am delighted to launch the new state-of-the-art sports campus here in Limerick. Setanta College are at the forefront of sports science and athletic development and this investment in their facility in Limerick is a huge bonus to the area.

"Ireland has proven itself on the world stage in sport in recent years, notably in last month’s Olympics, and to have a high quality facility like Setanta College to educate, train and motivate the next generation of elite athletes is a real coup for Limerick."

Also speaking at the opening of the new Limerick Campus was Commercial Director of Setanta College, Seán Hogan, who said: "The opening of the new state-of-the-art campus today will allow us to take our programmes at Setanta College to the next level. Over 1,000 students will receive training and education from our team of academic and industry experts here over the next three years.

"Setanta College is already at the forefront of higher education in sports science and this new campus will help us to continue delivering education to the highest level while also providing a base for us to drive innovation within human performance education."

Present on the day to lend his support to the launch was former Munster and Ireland rugby player Marcus Horan. "As a graduate of Setanta College, I have experienced first-hand the quality of the educational programmes that are delivered and the knowledge of the lecturing faculty. In my current role with Rugby Players Ireland, I’m delighted to be able to work alongside Setanta to develop and deliver educational programmes to the current crop of professional rugby players."

Setanta College is an internationally renowned provider of higher education in human performance and sports science. Headquartered in Ireland, Setanta College also operates campus locations in the UK, USA, South Africa and India and is led by a team of highly experienced academics and practitioners who count some of the world’s most prestigious sports organisations as clients.

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