Setanta College is a

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at a school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance. Traditionally, this usually i ...

college, with a focus on sports courses. It offers internationally accredited qualifications, ranging from

Higher Certificate The Higher Certificate (''Ardteastas'' in Irish) is a third level education award at level 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications in the Republic of Ireland. The Higher Certificate is awarded by various Institutes of Technology. A Higher C ...

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

level. The college is primarily web-based but also offers campus-based courses at its

Limerick City Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

campus. Other teaching locations include

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, UK,

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Kar ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...

and

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

History

Setanta College was founded by Liam Hennessy BA, MSc, PhD, FRAMI, a former international

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the My ...

competitor and record holder. Hennessy is an exercise physiologist and

strength and conditioning coach A strength and conditioning coach (also known as an S&C coach) is a physical performance professional who uses exercise prescription to improve the performance of competitive athletes or athletic teams. This is achieved through the combination of ...

whose work has been published in scientific journals and has worked with European soccer club teams in Italy, and Germany,http://m.rte.ie/sport/rugby/2000/0119/rugby3.html the

Irish Rugby Football Union The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) ( ga, Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and hom ...

(IRFU), the Irish Olympic Team,

Tipperary GAA The Tipperary County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae Thiobraid Árann) or Tipperary GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in Co ...

, and as Fitness coach to three time Major winning golfer

Pádraig Harrington Pádraig Peter Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three major championships: The Open Championship in 2007 and 2008 and the PGA Champ ...

. Through his own work, Hennessy believed there was a need for better qualified experts in the area of strength and conditioning, and so designed a course that would concentrate on this area of expertise. In 2019 Setanta College entered a partnership with Irish American University (IAU) that saw the graduate programmes accredited regionally by IAU.

Other courses

Setanta College has designed and operates or facilitates courses for the

Irish National Teachers' Organisation The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) ( ga, Cumann Múinteoirí Éireann), founded in 1868, is the oldest and largest teachers' trade union in Ireland. It represents teachers at primary level in the Republic of Ireland, and at prima ...

and

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

. In addition to these courses, Setanta College has delivered education programmes to coaches at the National Cricket Academy of

Board of Control for Cricket in India The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is the national governing body for cricket in India. Its headquarters are situated at Cricket centre, Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The BCCI is the richest governing body of cricket in the world ...

(BCCI) and to other sporting organisations such as

Saracens Rugby Saracens Rugby Club () are an English professional rugby union club based in North London, England. As of the current 2022–23 season, they compete in Premiership Rugby, the highest tier competition in English rugby, as well as the domestic P ...

and

Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inc ...

Education partners

Gaelic Players Association The Gaelic Players Association ( ga, Cumann na n-Imreoirí Gaelacha), or GPA, is the officially recognised player representative body for inter county Gaelic footballers and hurlers in Ireland. The GPA's aim is to promote and protect all aspects ...

(GPA) *

(INTO) *

(IRFU) *

Rugby Players Ireland The Rugby Players Ireland is the representative body for professional rugby players in Ireland. Founded in October 2001, its aims are to promote and protect the welfare of professional rugby players in Ireland. The Chief Executive Officer is Sim ...

*Irish Amateur Weightlifting Association (IAWLA) *

Titleist Titleist (pronounced "title-ist") is an American brand name of golf equipment produced by the Acushnet Company, headquartered in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, United States. The Titleist brand, established in 1932 by Phillip E. Young, focuses on go ...

Performance Institute (TPI) *The Irish Institute of Sport, a subsidiary of the

Irish Sports Council Sport Ireland ( ga, Spórt Éireann), formerly the Irish Sports Council, is a statutory authority that oversees, and partly funds, the development of sport within Ireland. It is located at the National Sports Campus in the townland of Sheephil ...

, the state agency for sports development. * Saracens F.C. *

– Ambassador of the college * Football Association of Ireland *

Irish Wheelchair Association The Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) is a charity in Ireland that has been working with people with physical disabilities since its foundation in 1960. It has 2,000 registered volunteers across its 32 volunteer branches. The IWA’s objectiv ...

-Sport *

Inspire Institute of Sport Inspire Institute of Sport (IIS) is India's first privately-funded high performance training centre for athletes. Founded by the JSW Group, the facility is spread over 42 acres in Vijayanagar, Bellary district, Karnataka. The institute provides ...

, an elite training facility in

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

* World Academy of Sport (WAoS) with

World Olympians Association The World Olympians Association (WOA) is an independent association of Olympic Games competitors. Its stated objectives are to promote the Olympic ideals and fair play, advance environmental protection, educate against doping and drug use, supply ...

Alumni

Tommy Dunne Tomás Dunne (born 21 May 1974) is an Irish hurling coach and former player who is from Toomevara, County Tipperary in Ireland. He is the current coach of the Tipperary senior hurling team. Dunne enjoyed a distinguished playing career with To ...

– former

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of pla ...

player and captain,

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship The GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship, known simply as the All-Ireland Championship, is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). It is the highest inter-county hurling competition i ...

winner 2001. * Tommy Carr – former Dublin GAA

Gaelic Football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

player and manager, also former football manager of

Roscommon GAA The Roscommon County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Coiste Chontae Ros Comáin) or Roscommon GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in Coun ...

and

Cavan GAA The Cavan County Board ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae an Chabháin) or Cavan GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in Co ...

. * Mick Dempsey – former

Laois GAA The Laois County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Luthchleas Gael Coiste Laois) or Laois GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Laois. The county boar ...

footballer and current member of management team for the all-conquering

Kilkenny GAA The Kilkenny County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (Kilkenny GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Cill Chainnigh) is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kilkenny. The c ...

hurling team. * Declan Meehan – Former

Galway GAA The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael Coiste Chontae na Gaillimhe) or Galway GAA are one of the 32 county boards in Ireland; they are responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway, and ...

Gaelic Footballer, winner of 2

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC) ( ga, Craobh Shinsir Peile na hÉireann) is the premier competition in Gaelic football. An annual tournament organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), it is contested by the county ...

s and 2

GAA GPA All Stars Awards The Gaelic Athletic Association-Gaelic Players' Association All Stars Awards (often known simply as the All Stars) are awarded annually to the best player in each of the 15 playing positions in Gaelic football and hurling. Additionally, one play ...

. *

Johnny O'Connor Johnny O'Connor (born 9 February 1980) is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. He is currently a strength and conditioning coach at his former club Connacht, having previously performed that role at football clubs Arsenal and Galway ...

–

Irish International The Irish Future Series or ''Irish International'' is an international badminton tournament held in Ireland. This tournament has been a Future Series level, another tournament for higher tournament level is Irish Open. Previous winners Refe ...

and

Connacht Rugby Connacht Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Connachta) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. Connacht competes in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU Co ...

player. Also previously played with London Wasps *Nicholas Walsh – Former

Gaelic Footballer and Melbourne Football Club Australian rules football player. Current coach of

Greater Western Sydney Giants The Greater Western Sydney Giants (officially the Greater Western Sydney Football Club and colloquially known as the GWS Giants or simply GWS) are a professional Australian rules football team based in Sydney Olympic Park, which represents th ...

AFL team *

Gavin Duffy Gavin Duffy (born Liam Duffy; 29 April 1960) Kildare, Ireland is an Irish entrepreneur and businessman who was a former part owner of the HRM Group of Companies, one of Ireland's largest recruitment companies. Duffy is a regular conference spea ...

–

and

Rugby Union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player. Also previously played with Harlequins. *

Joe Gamble Joseph Finbar Gamble (born 14 January 1982) is a retired Irish footballer. Gamble's playing career spanned 16 years and saw him play for a number of teams across England and Ireland, most notably his local Cork City, as well as being capped twi ...

– Former

Reading F.C. Reading Football Club ( ) is a professional football club based in Reading, Berkshire, England. The team play in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. The club is managed by Paul Ince. Reading are nicknamed ...

and

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...

international Soccer player. *

Liam Kearns Liam Kearns (1962 – 12 March 2023) was an Irish Gaelic football Manager (Gaelic games), manager and player. He managed Offaly county football team, Offaly from 2022 until his death in 2023. Kearns previously managed the Limerick county footb ...

– Former

Limerick GAA The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) ( ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Coiste Chontae Luimneach) or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Li ...

and

Gaelic Football manager * Gavin O'Mahony –

Hurler. * Derek Lyng –

Hurler and winner of 6 All-Irelands and 2 All-star award, current member of management team for

hurling team. *

BJ Botha Brendon James Botha, better known as BJ Botha (born 4 January 1980) is a South African former rugby union player. He played as a prop. Professional career Sharks Botha played in the Currie Cup and Super 14 the Sharks. He played in all 13 Sup ...

–

Munster Rugby Munster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Mumhan) is one of the four professional provincial rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the IRFU's Munster ...

and

rugby player. Previously

Ulster Rugby Ulster Rugby is one of the four professional provincial rugby union, rugby teams from the island of Ireland. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup. The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Unio ...

and

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to ...

winner * Aaron Dundon –

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...

player * Marcus Horan – Former

and

rugby union player. *

Charlie Hodgson Charles Christopher Hodgson (born 12 November 1980) is a retired English rugby union player, having previously been a player for Sale Sharks and Saracens. His position was fly-half and he is the leading Premiership points scorer of all time. ...

– Saracens F.C.,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

rugby player. Previously

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks is a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. Originally founded in 1861 as Sale Football Club, now a distinct amateur club, they adopted the ...

* Michael Clegg – Former

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

player and current Manchester United F.C. coach * Louis Ludik –

player. Previously

Agen The commune of Agen (, ; ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne southeast of Bordeaux. Geography The city of Agen lies in the southwestern department of ...

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

and

*Brian Doherty –

Irish international The Irish Future Series or ''Irish International'' is an international badminton tournament held in Ireland. This tournament has been a Future Series level, another tournament for higher tournament level is Irish Open. Previous winners Refe ...

and Royal Beerschot (Belgium) professional

Field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shootin ...

player. *

Max Sorensen Max Christian Sorensen (born 18 November 1985) is an Irish former international cricketer of South African origin, who played for the Irish national team. Born in Johannesburg, Sorensen is a right-handed batsman who bowls right-arm fast-medium ...

–

and The Hills C.C.

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

player. *

Chris Baker (high jumper) Chris Baker (born 2 February 1991) is an English athlete specialising in the high jump. He won a bronze medal at the 2016 European Championships. In addition, he represented Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ...

- International athlete who represented

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

References

External links

Official WebsiteUS WebsiteSouth African Website
{{authority control Universities and colleges in the Republic of Ireland Educational institutions established in 2007 Distance education institutions based in the Republic of Ireland Online colleges 2007 establishments in Ireland