Alan Kerins (born 1977) is an Irish sportsman, humanitarian, social entrepreneur and philanthropist.
Kerins was a
dual player for
Galway, a
hurler between 1997 and 2011 and a
footballer between 2001 and 2004. He played with the senior inter-county team until 2011. Kerins played hurling with his local club
Clarinbridge and football with
Salthill-Knocknacarra. He is also founder and CEO of The Inner Winner Institute, a personal development training company.
Early life
Kerins's mother runs a B&B in Clarinbridge. His father Monty was a significant presence as a coach of hurling in Galway and was a selector for the county's minor and senior teams.
Kerins studied physiotherapy at
Trinity College Dublin.
[
]
Playing career
Kerins has the distinction of winning All-Ireland medals in both Gaelic games
Gaelic games ( ga, Cluichí Gaelacha) are a set of sports played worldwide, though they are particularly popular in Ireland, where they originated. They include Gaelic football, hurling, Gaelic handball and rounders. Football and hurling, the ...
codes (football and hurling) with his county and his club teams - a feat rarely achieved. He holds the unique distinction of having won All-Ireland Club medals in both hurling and football and is the only man to ever do so with different clubs.
Club
Kerins played his club football with Salthill-Knocknacarra. He won an All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship with Salthill-Knocknacarra in March 2006; he played at Right Half Forward.
Kerins played his club hurling with Clarinbridge. He won an All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship with Clarinbridge in 2011.
Inter-county
Kerins won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medal with Galway in 2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
.[ He was named AIB Connacht Footballer of the Year in 2005.][
He played senior inter-county hurling for Galway between 1997 and 2011.
]
Coaching career
In September 2019, he took up a performance and coaching role with the Westmeath senior hurlers.
Other activities
Kerins is also performance consultant, executive coach, public speaker and chartered physiotherapist.
Inner Winner Institute
Kerins founded the Inner Winner Institute, a training company that offers leadership, personal and professional development courses in USA, Africa, India and Ireland.
Charity work
Kerins founded The Alan Kerins Projects in 2005, raising 20 million directly and several more million euro indirectly for many vital and life-saving projects and programmes for communities all over the world.
Taking three months unpaid leave
The labour law concept of leave, specifically paid leave or, in some countries' long-form, a leave of absence, is an authorised prolonged absence from work, for any reason authorised by the workplace. When people "take leave" in this way, they are ...
from his job in the mid-2000s, Kerins started working on an outreach programme with the Presentation Sisters at the Cheshire Home in Mongu, the main township of Western Province in Zambia. The project was called the Alan Kerins Zambia Fund.[
In the 2010s, the Alan Kerins Projects partnered with Self Help Africa. Self Help Africa supports rural poor communities across sub-Saharan Africa to grow and earn more from their small farms.
]
Warriors for Humanity
Kerins founded a global citizen movement called Warriors for Humanity a platform that creates a cultural and societal legacy by facilitating and supporting citizens to make a real difference and leave a lasting legacy.
Plant the Planet Games
Kerins founded Plant the Planet Games, which saw the first inter-county GAA match played in Kenya, in November 2022. The players raised €10,000 each, and reached their target of raising enough money to plant one million trees across several African countries.
Personal life
Kerins is married. He and his wife have two sons and one daughter. Kerins addressed the crowd at Croke Park during the World Meeting of Families 2018. He told the crowd of how his spirituality, family, community and friends had sustained him and his wife when their son Ruadhan was ill.
Awards and honours
Inter-county
* 1 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
)
* 1 All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship (1996)
* 1 All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship (1994)
Club
* 1 All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship (2006
File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...
)
* 1 All-Ireland Senior Club Hurling Championship (2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
)
Individual
* AIB Connacht Footballer of the Year (2005)[
In addition, Kerins has received many awards & acknowledgements for his work in Africa, Asia and Haiti. In 2006, Kerins received an ESB Rehab People of the Year Award and Galway Person of the Year Award, while he was also awarded Ireland's most outstanding young person.
]
References
External links
*
Galway GAA honours
"Warriors for Humanity"
Inner Winner Institute video (2018)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerins, Alan
1977 births
Living people
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Dual players
Clarinbridge hurlers
Connacht inter-provincial hurlers
Galway inter-county hurlers
Galway inter-county Gaelic footballers
Hurling coaches
Irish humanitarians
Irish physiotherapists
Salthill-Knocknacarra Gaelic footballers