Who We Are
Eoin Rheinisch (OLY)
Head of Performance Life Skills at the Sport Ireland Institute. Represented Ireland in 3 Olympic Games in the sport of Canoeing. As a student-athlete I completed my degree in Business and Marketing and following my sporting career, a postgraduate diploma in Executive Coaching from the IMI supported me with my move to the Sport Ireland Institute in 2014 as a Life Skills consultant.
During this time, I began my career in coaching with Canoeing Ireland with the support of the Institute of Sports Pursuit of Excellence Programme (PEP). I also worked as an Athlete Mentor on the Sky Sports Living for Sport Programme delivering transferable skills workshops in secondary schools nationwide. Currently completing my MSc in Performance Psychology. I have a special interest in preparing athletes for the Olympic Games experience and their readiness for life after competition.
Dr. Emma Saunders
Accredited Sport Psychologist, Lecturer in SETU Waterford, and a member of the Life Skills team since 2017. I work as part of a multidisciplinary team across a number of high-performance sports including rowing, gymnastics, Paralympic swimming, and Inter-County GAA teams, and was fortunate to be a member of the sport science and medical team for the Tokyo Paralympics. Completed a PhD through Stirling University in the area of athlete transitions and dual careers and now lead the Accreditation for Student-Athlete Support Programme (ASAS).
Niall O'Donoghue
Accredited Sport Psychologist, Chartered Organisational Psychologist, certified executive and life coach, learning and working in both the High-Performance sport environment (Sport Ireland Institute) and the corporate industry (World Rugby). Very fortunate to have experience working as part of a multidisciplinary team in High-Performance sport contributing to our National Boxing program, Cycling Ireland, Paracycling Ireland, Irish Hockey, Cricket Ireland, Leinster Academy and Inter-Country GAA teams. My passion is supporting athletes to maximize their performance in sport, and support their development outside of sport.
Carol Keenan
Registered Guidance Counsellor, Coach and Secondary School Teacher with experience in schools and 3rd level institutions as a Careers Advisor (University of Galway) and Assistant Lecturer (TUS Midlands).In high performance sport, my experience spans across different organizations and sports; as a Player Development Manager with Ireland Men's and Women's 7s Programme, Educational Consultant with the GPA, and currently within the Performance Life Skills team working mainly with Ireland Women's Hockey Team, Triathlon Ireland athletes and leading the Athlete Friendly Employer Network.