Meet Some of Our Students
Ottavia Cestonaro is a professional triple jump athlete from Northern Italy. She competes for the Italian National Team and C.S. Carabinieri (one of the Italian military corps).
Siviwe is a renowned South African rugby player having represented the Eastern Province Kings, Southern Kings, and Stormer, before committing to the Blitzboks South Africa Sevens squad.
Sanita is a X2 Olympian and a X2 World European Champion who represents Ireland and competes in Rowing. Sanita recently graduated from the BSc in Strength & Conditioning and has become the first-ever female head coach of an Irish University – University College Cork.
I qualified as a personal trainer in 2013. I worked in a commercial gym for two and a half years, while gaining certs in strength and conditioning, sports physiology and nutrition, until I set up One Arena in 2016.
I wanted to give more to the clients I was working with than just results from their training and diet. I wanted to create an environment where people would thrive. At One Arena we aim to educate, inspire and empower people to live healthier, happier lives through physical fitness.
Ben Earl is an England international rugby union player, who plays his club rugby with Premiership team Bristol Bears (on-loan from Saracens). Currently studying on our Diploma in Personal Training and S&C, Ben has a passion for sports science and personal training and has aspirations to open his own gym in London in the coming years.
From the age of 6, I’ve been involved in sport from horse riding and GAA, to athletics and swimming. However, it was in college that I found my true passion with is Powerlifting. A friend wanted to join the Powerlifting club at CIT and I agreed to attend the first training session to introduce them to the club captain at the time as we were friends. Little did I know when I entered the Tyco gym, I would fall in love with the sport. Over the past 4 years, I have been the CIT Powerlifting Vice Captain, received a CIT Sports Scholarship 2018/2019 and developed a family within the sport. I have represented Ireland at 1 European Championships and 2 World Championships. During the Summer of 2018, I became the Drugs Control Officer for the Irish Drug Free Powerlifting Association (IDFPA) and I am also a Level 1 World Powerlifting referee.
Since finishing my undergraduate degree with CIT, I have felt that a piece is missing from the puzzle in my life. The Setanta College scholarship has offered me the opportunity to fill the void and create a career from my passion for strength and conditioning. I am very much looking forward to what the future holds after my studies with Setanta and I cannot wait to put my practice to work in the field of S&C.
Team GB Olympic High Jumper, 4th highest British jumper all time with a personal best of 2.36m. 2016 European bronze medalist, 2x England Commonwealth Games finalist (4th and 11th place) 2014 & 2018, World indoor finalist 2016 (8th), 3x British Champion.
Mia Griffin is a track cyclist with the Irish squad and is part of the Irish women’s UCI team Ruplecleaning Champion on the road. Mia recently won a medal at the U23 European Championships in the individual pursuit, has competed in many international races, and was part of the women’s Team Pursuit squad who set the national record at Elite World Championships last year.
Gary Brennan is an inter-county Gaelic Footballer with Clare. Earning an All-Star nomination in 2016, Gary has also represented Ireland in the 2015 and 2017 International Rules Series. Gary is a student on our MSc in Performance Coaching programme.
Marc Potts is a track cyclist, representing Ireland at International competitions. Marc competed at the 2016 European Track Championships in the Men’s Points race and in the 4 km individual pursuit. He placed 4th in the 2017 European Track Championships in the Men’s Scratch race.
Pieter Terblanche is Performance Specialist with South African Rugby Union team The Sharks. A qualified Biokineticist, Pieter has over 20 years of experience in professional sports. He played for Harlequins Rugby club from 1996-2000 before taking up the role of Performance Specialist for 11 years with Bulls Rugby Union. In his present role with Sharks as Performance Specialist, Pieter is the academy manager and S&C specialist.
Pádraic Mannion is an inter-country Gaelic Hurler with Galway and is a two-time All-Star winner.
Ellen Keane is an Irish Paralympic swimmer competing in S9, SM9, and SB8 classification events.
Ciarán Kilkenny is an inter-county All-Star footballer with Dublin and is a dual player for his club Castleknock.
David Grey is a Biomechanics Specialist and Owner of David Grey Rehab. He helps athletes and everyday people with injury, pain, rehabilitation, and performance. David has delivered workshops and seminars internationally, and regularly consults with and mentors some of the best coaches & therapists to help them get even better results with their own clients.
Michael Shields is a former inter-county Gaelic Footballer with Cork. Michael played for 13 seasons and is a two-time All-Star winner. Michael is a graduate of our BSc in Strength & Conditioning and is currently a student on our MSc in Performance Coaching programme.
Bryan Mollen has been playing on the Ireland Rugby 7s team since 2017. Since then, he has helped qualify the team for the world series, winning rugby Europe, compete in the world series, play in the world cup, and has now qualified for the Olympics.
TJ Reid is an inter-county Kilkenny hurler and is the Owner of TJ Reid Health & Fitness.
Richael Timothy is an Irish Elite Para-Cyclist from the Galway / Roscommon border. In the space of a year, she has broken 4 National records and achieved many top 10 finishes in international events. Richael will be competing in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Mark Brady is a strength and conditioning practitioner, consultant, and trainer who has worked at the elite level of sport for the best part of 10 years.
He has previously worked at the international level in rugby 15s, rugby 7s, Handball, and Paralympic Powerlifting.
Mark completed his BSc in Strength and Conditioning Science with Setanta College in 2015 and is now completing an MSc in Performance Coaching Science again with Setanta College.
Sandile is a renowned South African rugby player and coach who has represented the Falcons and Griquas in Currie Cup competition and played international Rugby Sevens with the South African Blitzboks.
Breege plays camogie for County Carlow. She is a chartered physiotherapist and owns her own practice – Breege Nolan Physiotherapy.
Richard is a Gaelic Football player for county Roscommon. He is trained to assess, diagnose, treat and rehabilitate musculoskeletal injuries. Previous Clinical and Pitch-side experience with Melbourne Rebel’s rugby academies, Na Fianna GAA and Clontarf Ladies GAA.
Barry is a Gaelic Footballer and completes at inter-county level with Sligo.
Tino is a former Barbados and West Indies Cricketer. He has competed for 18 years as a professional cricketer representing Barbados for 18 seasons and the West Indies for 12 seasons.
Nicole Rodriguez is a physical development coach currently working with youth athletes. She is from the U.S.A. and currently supporting youth organizations in Poland, Slovakia, and Czechia.
Nicole started her coaching career in 2006 at Mike Boyle Strength and Conditioning working across youth, collegiate and professional Ice Hockey, along with baseball and women’s Rugby.
She then joined the international division at Athletes’ Performance (EXOS) in 2012, as an educator, lead performance coach, and project manager, primarily focused on professional sports.
Nicole was a 4-year collegiate athlete at a division-1 University in Texas, UNT. Her passion is to help young athletes enhance their education and personal life experiences through sport and develop infrastructure for developing programs.
Maddie is a member of the NHSSCA. She is an Assistant Strength & Conditioning Coach and an Assistant Girls Soccer Coach at Hoban High School, Ohio.
Paul Kilgannon is a Coach, Coach Educator, Author, and the Creator of The CARVER Framework. He has a particular interest in Youth Sports Coaching. Paul believes strongly in a positive, holistic approach to coaching youth in sport- developing both “the youth” and “the athlete”.
Liam is a Gaelic footballer who plays for the Cork Senior Championship club Clonakilty and at inter-county level with the Cork Senior Football Team.
William O’Donoghue is a hurler who plays as a midfielder for club side Na Piarsaigh which he captains and at inter-county level with the Limerick senior hurling team.
Paul Kerrigan is a former inter-county Gaelic Footballer with Cork. Winning an All Ireland Senior Football Medal in 2010 and Under 21 Medal in 2007, as well as numerous Munster Medals. Paul has also represented Ireland in the 2015 and 2017 International Rules Series. Gary is a student on our MSc in Applied Sport and Exercise Psychology.
James is a chartered physiotherapist, currently working in private practice in Athlone, Co Westmeath. He has previously also worked as a physio in Dublin and Wicklow. James has a keen interest in many sports and plays gaelic football with the Garrycastle club in Athlone as well as inter-county with his home county Wicklow.
Jacqueline is currently teaching PE, Geography & IT at Mercy College, Sligo. On the sporting front she has just retired from playing County & Club Football with Sligo & St. Farnan’s. She joined the club senior team in 1998 & started playing county in 2001. Jacqueline has also played soccer for club, college and internationaly in UEFA Cup & she went to the USA on a soccer scholarship 2004-2006. She started playing rugby in 2011 and made the first Irish womens 7’s squad in 2012. She also played 15’s with Sligo, Galwegians and Connacht.
Michelle is a former inter-county senior camogie player for Clare. She continues to play senior camogie for her club Truagh Clonlara. She is a primary school teacher with a particular interest in youth coaching and female participation in sport.
Manuel is a professional volley ball and beach volleyball player. He is U21 Italian champion and he is currently playing in the Serie A3 which is one of the highest leagues in Italy.
Dave Murphy is a sponsored skateboarder from Cork City. He travels around the world for skate competitions and creates content. He developed an overuse injury as a result of intense training that lead him to be out of skateboarding for three years. This is where he developed an interest in strength and conditioning to reduce the risk of something similar happening in his future as a skateboarder.
Juan De Jongh has been a level 2 coach at England Rugby for almost 3 years now. He has a wealth of experience in professional rugby as he previously played as a pro-rugby player for Western Province Rugby Union for nearly 10 years. He currently is a pro-rugby player for the South African Rugby Union (SARU) and has spent over 14 years here.
Josh Strauss has played professional rugby for many different organisations such as Lions Rugby Company, Glasgow Warriors, Sales Shark Rugby Club, Bowdon RUFC, OYONNAX Rugby and Blue Bulls company also. He is currently working as a coaching consultant at SACS high school.
Rudy Paige is a South African rugby union player for Clermont in the French Top 14. He joined Clermont in 2019. He is a current Setanta Institute student on the BSc in Strength & Conditioning Programme.
Daniel Parisi has been a Performance Specialist and Strength Coach for the past ten years. He is also program director at Parisi Speed School since June 2022. He is a Kinesiology and Exercise Science (BS) graduate.
Stephanie is an Irish footballer who plays as a striker for Peamount United of Dublin and the Republic of Ireland women’s national football team. She has played for various clubs such as Division 1 Féminine team ASPTT Albi in 2014 , National Women’s Soccer League club Houston Dash in 2015 and FA WSL club Sunderland from 2015 to 2018. She is currently a student on our Diploma in Personal Training and S&C programme.
Fintan McCarthy is an Irish national champion and a world and Olympic champion light weight rower. He recently won gold in the Men’s Double Sculls final at the 2022 World Rowing Championships in the Czech Republic. He is currently studying on the MSc Performance Coaching programme at Setanta College.
Joanne is an Irish Gaelic Footballer and former AFLW player for Carlton Football Club. She has played intercounty Gaelic football for Fermanagh and currently runs her own business as a fitness coach ‘Joanne Doonan Fitness’. She is a Setanta College student on the MSc in Performance Coaching programme.