Humans of Gaelic

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Why are GAA players being dictated to by their dominant foot without even knowing it? Why does dominant-side kicking shape a team's entire tactical shape? And why is what we're currently doing to develop the non-dominant side simply not working?
Dr. Karol Dillon has just completed his PhD on bilaterality in Gaelic football - five years of research - and he's back on the podcast to break it all down.
After our first conversation, Karol has spent the last year visiting clubs and counties across Ireland sharing his findings. What he found surprised even him.
In this episode, we cover:
Why skill development in GAA needs to be treated like a lifestyle, not a drill at training

What the research actually showed when Karol ran a three-month intervention - and why the result wasn't what he expected

How dominant-foot kicking shapes team tactics across every division, male and female

Why left-footed players are worth their weight in gold and are undervalued

What David Clifford, Shane Walsh, Tomas Ó Sé and James O'Donoghue have in common that most coaches miss

Why the games-based approach is what teenage players themselves say works best

The role of parents in developing the non-dominant side - and why they matter more than the coach

How S&C coaches can bring this into training

How GAA's own 13-week coaching webinar only dedicates one week to skill - and what that tells us

Why we're playing with half a pitch and what would change if this improved by 25% over 30 years
You can follow Karol on X: https://x.com/KarolDillon8

I’m joined by Jonny McGailey, a Louth native who has worked across elite rugby, GAA, basketball and high-performance sport in Australia, with the Sydney Kings in the NBL.
I played under Jonny for a season at Clan na Gael Sydney in 2023, so it was great to catch-up with him.
We discuss:
• Coaching NBA-level talent and managing elite athletes
• The realities of working in professional sport
• What GAA can learn from elite Australian systems
• GPS, load monitoring and the future of athlete tracking
• The rise of ADI and why traditional GPS may miss key movements
• Injury prevention, asymmetries and return-to-play monitoring
• The differences between GAA, rugby, basketball and AFL environments
• Building buy-in with athletes across different sports and cultures
• The challenge of making a career as a professional S&C coach
• The GAA scene in Sydney
• Lessons from working with professional teams in Australia
We also dive into Jonny’s incredible personal story of donating a kidney to a close friend, and how that experience changed his perspective on sport and life.
A great listen for GAA players, coaches, S&C coaches and anyone interested in elite performance environments, sports science and the future of athlete monitoring.
Join 6k+ athletes - Gaelic Games S&C, Performance and Coaching newsletter: ⁠https://portal.humansofgaelic.com/newsletter

If you’re training hard, ticking every box in the gym and on the pitch, but still feeling flat, stressed, or close to burnout - it might not be physical.
In this episode, I sit down with Aoibheann NicGhiolla Bhuí, who researched mental health in GAA players, to break down what’s really going on behind the scenes - and why so many players are struggling to keep up.
We talk about:
• Why GAA demands are becoming unsustainable for modern players
• The concept of psychological flexibility and how it affects performance
• Why over 50% of GAA players drop out between 16–24
• The hidden pressure of balancing college, work, and GAA
• Why male inter-county players are 3x more likely to repeat a college year than their peers
• The role of team culture, self-talk, and social media in performance
We also dive into what players and coaches are getting wrong when it comes to mental preparation - and what actually helps.
Whether you’re trying to improve performance, stay consistent, or just enjoy the game again, this episode will give you a different perspective on what might be holding you back.
📕 You can read Aoibheann's book here
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My guest this week is former Offaly captain Declan Hogan, who is currently combining playing club football while also working as S&C coach with the Tullamore senior hurlers.
⁠📲 Follow Dec's coaching page on Instagram here
We discuss:
- What inter-county S&C looks like and the changes he witnessed in gym work over the last decade
- The level of work (gym, skill and recovery) needed to turn himself into an inter-county footballer
- Adapting to playing corner-back
- The 'sick' level of video analysis he does before man marking key forwards
- Tragic passing of Offaly manager Liam Kearns while Dec was captain, and how the squad navigated it
- Advice for young players
- Achilles injury, surgery and tips for rehabbing tendons
- How county football shaped him as a person
➕ I've got some great guests coming up. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any episodes.
Stay Connected
Subscribe to the Humans of Gaelic podcast wherever you're listening.
⭐ Leave a Review: If you found value in this episode, please give it a rating and review - it helps me get more top guests.
📢 Share the Episode: Know someone who’d benefit from this? Share it to help spread the word!
Follow Along
📍 Website: humansofgaelic.com
📸 Instagram: @humansofgaelic
📘 Facebook: Humans of Gaelic
🎥 TikTok: @humansofgaelic

What factors contribute to the high prevalence of ACL injuries in the GAA and why are females more at risk? Why do hurlers recover better from ACL surgery than footballers? And how are GAA players outpacing the AFL in return-to-play rates?
These are just some of the findings from the biggest ever ACL study in the GAA.
One of its lead authors, rehab specialist, biomechanics PhD, and Kildare S&C coach Neil Welch, breaks it all down on this week’s episode of the Humans of Gaelic podcast.
He also shares advice on what players and coaches are still getting wrong in ACL rehab.
In this episode, we also cover:
• The role of the inter-county S&C coach in the off-season
• Hamstring injuries and the best exercises to help prevent them
• How to structure ACL rehab for better outcomes
• Warm-up design for injury prevention
• The role of movement analysis in spotting risk early
• Exercises every player should be doing to protect their ACL
• ACL recovery rates in GAA vs pro sports
• Why female players are more at risk of ACL injuries than males
Whether you’re a coach, an athlete returning from injury, or just want to avoid common mistakes - this is essential listening.
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Time stamps:
ACL injury trends in GAA (3:45)

Why most rehab skips cutting work (9:00)

Is NordBord testing enough? (15:30)

Key benchmarks before returning to play (22:15)

Hamstring strain risks during deceleration (28:00)

Why multi-directional mechanics matter (35:00)

What AFL can teach GAA (42:00)

How to assess movement quality (47:30)
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➕ We've got some great guests coming up. Make sure to subscribe so you don’t miss any episodes.
Stay Connected
Subscribe to the Humans of Gaelic podcast wherever you're listening.
⭐ Leave a Review: If you found value in this episode, please give it a rating and review - it helps us hugely!
📢 Share the Episode: Know someone who’d benefit from this? Share it to help us spread the word!
Follow Along
📍 Website: humansofgaelic.com
📸 Instagram: @humansofgaelic
📘 Facebook: Humans of Gaelic
🎥 TikTok: @humansofgaelic