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Events Landing PageCourse Leader Bbs Recreation and Sport Management (Lv 7 & 8) / Lecturer in DHSES
Health Sciences - Sport And Exercise Science - Cork Road campus
+353 0 51845686
205 O'Connell Bianconi - Health Sciences Building
Main Campus
I have been a lecturer in the Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Science since 2008. I teach mainly on the Recreation and Sport Management and Sport Coaching and Performance degree programmes. I hold a PhD in the area of talent development in Irish football. I am the course leader for the Bbs (Hons and Ord) in Recreation and Sport Management (WD019).
‘THE TALENT IS OUT THERE.’ TALENT DEVELOPMENT IN IRISH FOOTBALL: AN EXAMINATION OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE AND PRACTICE. Final PhD submission. http://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/13837/1/2020Finneganphd.pdf
Somewhat united: primary stakeholder perspectives of the governance of schoolboy football in Ireland. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23750472.2018.1513342
The influence of date and place of birth on youth player selection to a National Football Association elite development programme. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2016.1254807
Stepping-stones? An exploration of internal football player movement in the Republic of Ireland. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21681376.2019.1685905
Blogposts: https://talentdevelopmentinirishfootball.com/
Publications:
Finnegan, L., Richardson, D., Littlewood, M. & McArdle, J. (2016). The influence of date and place of birth on youth player selection to a National Football Association elite development programme. Science and Medicine in Football, 2016, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02640414.2016.1254807
Finnegan, L. & McArdle, J. (2015). Guest chapter: Football on Film: The Portrayal of Sportsmanship. In Sportsmanship: Multidisciplinary Perspectives, Delaney, T. McFarland: North Carolina. https://www.amazon.com/Sportsmanship-Multidisciplinary-Perspectives-Tim-Delaney/dp/078649803X
Finnegan, L., Doyle, C. & McArdle, J. (2014). Emerging Talent: A review of elite Irish youth football players. FAI.
Conference Presentations:
Finnegan, L. (2018). “You Cannot Tell Every League in the Country How to Organise Their Leagues” – The Implementation of a National Football Development Plan for the Republic of Ireland”. European Association Sport Management (EASM), 07/09/018. Malmo, Sweden.
Finnegan, L. (2018). The implications of Relative Age Effect for grassroots football and talent development. International Sports Convention (ISC), 05/12/2018. Geneva, Switzerland.
Finnegan, L. (2019). Relative Age Effecting youth football/ Effetto dell’ eta relativa. Italian FA Seria A/B club conference, 04/02/2019. Rome, Italy.
Finnegan, L. (2019). Relative Age Effect in youth football. Croatian FA UEFA Pro/A licence conference, 11/06/2019. Varaždin, Croatia.
Finnegan, L., Richardson, D., Littlewood, M. & McArdle, J. (2013). Talent Identification within the Emerging Talent Programme. Presented at the 2014 All Ireland Postgraduate Conference in Sport Sciences and Physical Education, 24 January 2014, Limerick, Ireland.
Finnegan, L., Richardson, D., Littlewood, M. & McArdle, J. (2014). Talent Identification within the Emerging Talent Programme. Presented at the 2014 PEPAYS Conference in Waterford Institute of Technology, 6 June, 2014, Waterford, Ireland.
Finnegan, L., Doyle, C. & McArdle, J. (2014). Emerging Talent: A review of elite Irish youth football players. Poster presented at the 2014 PEPAYS Conference in Waterford Institute of Technology, 6 June, 2014, Waterford, Ireland.
Modules Past/ Present
Recreation Management Issues
Recreation Technology
Recreation Planning
Coaching Process
Sports Pedagogy and Skill Development
Talent Identification and Long Term Athlete Development
Sport & Exercise Psychology
Professional Practice
2021: Established a longitudinal research partnership with Irish professional club Waterford FC.
2020: Secured a place on the FAI’s inaugural ‘Women in Football -Emerging Leaders’ programme
run in partnership with UEFA and FIFA.
Supporting the FAI’s Governance Review Recommendations to improve gender balance on national committees.
Includes modules such as Managing Self / Others, Managing Change, Decision Making, Influencing, Conflict, Communication.
2019: Founded the ‘Football Research Group’ in Waterford IT.
Included inviting academic and independent scholars to participate. GDPR and legal responsibilities for the research actions of the group. Liaising with football contacts to initiate research projects.
Now the official research partner for the Croatian FA. Also research collaborators with professional clubs.
2019: Presented on the Croatian UEFA Pro license course. Zagreb, Croatia. Also at the Croatian FA coach development (UEFA A/Pro) conference. Varazdin, Croatia.
2019: Presented to the Italian FAs Serie A/B directors conference. Rome, Italy.
2019: Presented at the FAI Coach Education Staff training session on potential talent development areas to include in Coach Education pathways.
2018: Presented at the International Sports Convention- Football. Geneva, Switzerland.
2018: Presented at the European Sport Management conference. “The implementation of a national football development plan for the Republic of Ireland”. Malmo, Sweden.
2021: Established a longitudinal research partnership with Irish professional club Waterford FC.
2020: Secured a place on the FAI’s inaugural ‘Women in Football -Emerging Leaders’ programme
run in partnership with UEFA and FIFA.
Supporting the FAI’s Governance Review Recommendations to improve gender balance on national committees.
Includes modules such as Managing Self / Others, Managing Change, Decision Making, Influencing, Conflict, Communication.
2019: Founded the ‘Football Research Group’ in Waterford IT.
Included inviting academic and independent scholars to participate. GDPR and legal responsibilities for the research actions of the group. Liaising with football contacts to initiate research projects.
Now the official research partner for the Croatian FA. Also research collaborators with professional clubs.
2019: Presented on the Croatian UEFA Pro license course. Zagreb, Croatia. Also at the Croatian FA coach development (UEFA A/Pro) conference. Varazdin, Croatia.
2019: Presented to the Italian FAs Serie A/B directors conference. Rome, Italy.
2019: Presented at the FAI Coach Education Staff training session on potential talent development areas to include in Coach Education pathways.
2018: Presented at the International Sports Convention- Football. Geneva, Switzerland.
2018: Presented at the European Sport Management conference. “The implementation of a national football development plan for the Republic of Ireland”. Malmo, Sweden.
PhD: 2013 – 2020: Talent Development in Irish Football: A study of organizational structure and practice. Liverpool John Moores University, UK.
Involved working with key stakeholders in a research capacity (i.e. FAI, SFAI, Junior representatives, coaches, clubs) to analyse the suitability of talent development structures.
MA in Sport Psychology: 2007: 1:1 grade: Waterford Institute of Technology, Cork road, Waterford, Ireland. Dissertation focused on participation motivation and perceived competence in 6–12-year-olds
Degree Recreation and Sport Management: 1999-2003 Waterford IT.