What will I study during this BSc (Hons) Sports Therapy – Advanced Entry course?

During this programme, you will learn to assess, treat and where appropriate refer athletes for specialist advice and intervention. You will learn to provide immediate care of injuries and basic life support in a recreational, training and competitive sporting environment. You will learn to plan and implement a unique rehabilitation programme for each athlete you treat. The practical techniques you will acquire, include sport and remedial massage for injury prevention and rehabilitation.

Year 1
Year 2
Year 3

Advanced Entry – Bridging Programme

Students approved for advanced entry are required to complete a bridging programme to cover elements covered on the current year 1 modules to satisfy LMU academic requirements. A Certificate of Completion from Portobello Institute will be awarded for attending this programme, ahead of entry onto this degree programme.

This programme takes place over 2 weeks in September ahead of the commencement of the academic year. Attendance on this bridging programme is mandatory. It takes place in September ahead of the commencement of the academic year – there is no charge for this programme.
Year 1 – exempt

Assessment and Evaluation of Sport and Exercise Injuries – 30 Credits
Module Description

Building on Introduction to Sports Therapy, this module develops learners’ skills in assessment, evaluation and diagnosis of sports and exercise injuries.
The module will consist of taught sessions to introduce key concepts of examination, assessment and diagnosis of sports and exercise injuries. It will develop the skills of clinical examination and assessment of peripheral and spinal regions. Problem based learning will allow learners to explore the presentations and treatment of common sports related injuries acknowledging the process and timings of healing and repair.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, the learner will be able to:
1. Plan and carry out a relevant and justified subjective and objective assessment of a patient / client with a given sport and exercise related injury and subjective presentation.
2. Make a reasoned clinical diagnosis based on subjective and objective findings while considering differential diagnoses
3. Discuss the role of the Sports Therapist in the assessment and management of sport and exercise related injury as part of a multi-disciplinary team
4. Clinically assess and evaluate function of peripheral joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons.
5. Clinically assess and evaluate function of spinal movements and joints, muscles, ligaments and tendons
Treatment of Sport and Exercise Injuries – 30 Credits
Module Description

This module develops the learners’ knowledge, understanding and skills in treatments available to sports therapists in their practice. Maitland’s and Mulligan’s philosophies of manual therapy will be explored. Therapeutic modalities will include soft tissue techniques and other manual techniques, including spinal and peripheral joint mobilisations. The use of taping will also be considered. Learners will learn to undertake a reasoned approach in their practice of sport and exercise injuries closely based on typical healing times and recovery.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, the [learner] will be able to:
1. Select and demonstrate the application of a range of therapeutic techniques. Discuss the physiological and biomechanical effects of manual therapy on the musculoskeletal system.
2. nterpret findings to formulate and develop a manual therapy treatment plan Provide a clinically reasoned argument for the selection of a range of therapeutic techniques
3. Demonstrate ability to administer peripheral joint mobilisations and an awareness of precautions and contraindications when administering peripheral joint mobilisations.
4. Demonstrate ability to administer spinal joint mobilisations and an awareness of precautions and contraindications when administering spinal joint mobilisations.
Sport Rehabilitation – 30 Credits

This module develops students’ ability to research, plan, provide and justify an appropriate rehabilitation programme for the early, intermediate, late and pre-discharge stages of sports injuries.

This module aims to provide students with academic knowledge and understanding to plan a safe and effective rehabilitation programme suitable for the initial response, acute, sub-acute and remodelling stages of injury healing.

Students will develop critical analysis skills in an oral context and develop awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses in a rehabilitation setting. Students will gain the underpinning knowledge and practical ability to screen for injuries, interpret the findings and implement a pre-habilitation programme to help reduce the risk of injury. Students will be able to plan, implement and deliver rehabilitation and remedial programmes suitable for the early, intermediate, late and pre-discharge stages of any common sports injury.
Research and Evidence for Practice – 15 credits
Module Description

In this module learners will explore data, approaches to collecting data and the issues surrounding validity, reliability and trustworthiness of data. Learners will experience and learn from the realities of planning and conducting research and interpreting findings, in an academic setting. Group activity will be undertaken within an inter-professional learning environment. Learners will be encouraged to work in autonomous groups to collect and analyse data appropriately.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, the learner will be able to:
1. Formulate research questions and hypotheses for a feasible final year dissertation project.
2. Constructively critique qualitative and quantitative research methods.
3. Plan investigations and provide an evidence-based justification of the design of data collection tools, taking issues of validity, reliability and trustworthiness into account.
4. Apply ethics in relation to research and prepare Ethics Submission for a planned research project including supporting documentation preparation (e.g., informed consent, risk assessment, information sheets)
Psychological Factors in Sporting Teams & Individuals – 30 Credits

This module elaborates on the key theories in sport psychology, covering a wide range of sport psychology topics and the mental skills used within those topics. The module aims to provide students with an understanding of key psychological theories which underpin sporting performance and participation itself. Students will focus initially on the psychological factors which influence an individual’s sporting behavior and later develop an understanding of group dynamics in sport.

The module encourages an appreciation of how to work effectively in a team setting and also aims to develop students’ communication and literacy skills to allow them the ability to write a scientific piece of work with confidence. Most mental skills developed in sport psychology are directly transferable therefore students are given qualities necessary to advance in many other areas of life

Advanced Sports Therapy Techniques – 30 Credits

This module allows students to integrate their knowledge gained throughout their degree and combines this with new skills and knowledge developed within their final year.

The module focuses on vertebral mobilisations and the theoretical and practical knowledge of electrotherapeutic modalities.

Guidance notes: Students must pass the practical attendance in order to successfully complete the module.
Sports Therapy Placement – 30 Credits
Module Description

Learners will undertake 200 hours of supervised clinical placement in a sport and/or exercise related environment. At least 50 of these hours will take place in the Learner Sports clinic. 10% of placement hours can be acquired during first and second years following successful completion of Level 4 modules. Learners will be supported in obtaining and undertaking further supervised placement activities outside of the Institute. Portobello Institute understand the importance of securing placements for learners so that they can compound their academic learning with hands on practical experiences. Portobello Institute have an arrangement with several organisations that accommodate our learners during their placement. Theses placements are assigned to learners based on their geographical home address and individual needs. Programme managers will support them through this aspect of learning and assessment. Placement Supervisors are nominated by each placement and mentor the learners whilst on placement. They also complete a report on the placement and return to the Programme manager on completion of the placement.

On completion of this module learners will be able to demonstrate achievement of the Society of Sports Therapists Standards of Proficiency drawing on their learning from the experience undertaking this module and other modules within the course.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, the learner will be able to:
1. Demonstrate the standards of proficiency expected of a sports therapist.
2. Demonstrate the skills required of a sports therapist in practice
3. Use evidence critically to ask and answer appropriate clinical questions to improve their sports therapy practice
4. Evidence plans for their future continuing professional development by reflecting critically upon their current, knowledge, understanding and practice
5. Have undertaken at least 200 hours of supervised practice
Business Development in Health Studies – 15 Credits

This module is an introduction to the principles of business in the specific context of health science related ventures.

More specifically, it aims to provide students with academic knowledge and understanding to implement good business practice including marketing, accounting, management, service and reflection. These topics should provide the underpinning information to allow students to harness an entrepreneurial approach to business and professional work to optimise their employability and performance. The module also seeks to develop competence in discussion, oral presentation and written work, encouraging clarity of presentation and transferable tools often used in many employment settings.
Research Project – 30 Credits
Module Description

This module offers learners the opportunity to undertake an in- depth piece of work focused on a Sports Therapy topic of their choice. The Research Project may take various forms of empirical research, employing different kinds of methods and methodologies such as surveys, interviewing or processing secondary data. The project provides an opportunity to apply the research methods covered during their course.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, the learner will be able to:
1. Formulate a problem relevant to Sports Therapy.
2. Review relevant literature (this may be theory, research studies, official statistics, policy documents etc.)
3. Follow through an investigation which will involve designing a piece of empirical research (considering the key methodological issues, risks and ethical issues)
4. Incorporate relevant knowledge and skills from other parts of their degree including theoretical, methodological, analytical or substantive elements
5. Using available evidence, develop an argument, and write up their material in a coherent and well-presented dissertation and produce a conference quality poster.
Clinical Exercise Physiology – 15 Credits

This module analyses the interactions between exercise and a variety of disease. It covers both general topics such as epidemiology and pathology, as well as specific conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and psychological disorders. The module aims to give students some theoretical and practical experience of describing and understanding clinical conditions.

Programme Manager

Cathal Brady

Cathal Brady dreamt of being a professional soccer player during his early years. He got pretty close to achieving his dreams too, spending 11 years as a semi-professional player in the League of Ireland.

Understanding that his career wasn’t going to belong fully on the pitch, Cathal found a way to stay involved in sports by becoming a sports therapist.

He has drawn on his experience of playing soccer at a high level throughout his career working as a lecturer, opening his own private clinic and working for elite professional teams.

“I wanted to be involved in sport as much as I could and an occupation that allowed me to be involved with sport as a career. I knew that from a very early age that was what I wanted to do, you’re talking 13/14 that I knew my career was going to be in sport in some shape or form.

I played League of Ireland for 11 seasons…it was high level in a semi-professional capacity…I looked at myself as a semi-pro because I always worked while I was playing.

Playing at the level of sport, in soccer, it not only opened some avenues and that sort of stuff in the soccer side of things, it also opened in GAA and that because people knew I played at a high level…that helped with me having the ability to relate with clients a little bit more. I was in their position, I knew what they were going through, I knew what they wanted to do.”

Cathal could relate to sports people very easily. He also relates to Portobello Institute students very easily, as he was one before he became a lecturer in Sports Therapy.

“I love it, really like it. To be honest I didn’t think I’d like it as much as I do. I find it really good. I like having the interaction with the students. I like the whole setup I have to say I really enjoy it.”

Having worked with so many sports teams and having set up the Dunboyne Sports Injury Clinic, Cathal is in prime position to help all of Portobello’s students no matter what type of career they are pursuing in therapy.

Working in smaller classes has allowed him to engage with his students as individuals, generating a level of pride as they work their way towards graduation and enhance their skill sets in sports therapy.

“With small classes and lots of practical interaction time, we get to know each student well over three years. So when a student gets to where they want to be, their perfect job or postgraduate position, I am delighted for them. I’m proud to be part of the team that helped them get there.”

Personal Academic Tutor

Each student is assigned a personal academic tutor to support you throughout your learning journey. They are available to offer you telephone and email support at any time. You can arrange to meet them for further one to one guidance at a time convenient to you.

Many of our past graduates have found it is the opportunity to ask a simple question, seek direction and submit a draft of their assessment that supported them most to successful completion. Emailing your tutor at any stage during your programme to ask a query or submit a draft of your assessment supports you to achieve your personal best throughout your studies with Portobello.

This level of one to one support is a particular benefit to choosing Portobello as your Institute of choice to complete your studies.

Colm Murphy

During the final weeks of the Portobello school year, Colm Murphy is frenetically keeping track of his students and handing out grades. It’s an incredibly busy time of year after which anyone would want to take a long break.

But Colm doesn’t go and sit on a beach somewhere. Instead, he dives straight into summer camps for the children at his local tennis club.

“The youngest ones are five. It’s mostly aimed at primary schools so a few of them are 11 and 12. We split them into smaller groups within that but the smallest ones are really small. They’re very funny.”

You can sense the delight from Colm as he talks through the fun of coaching kids.

Even on this unseasonably stormy summer day where the sessions were disrupted more than once, you can sense his enthusiasm and passion. The energy he radiates personifies that delight that only comes from someone who is fully enjoying his day-to-day activities.

Colm had always wanted to be a PE teacher and a coach of some kind. There’s no doubt that he’s living out his dream but that alone isn’t enough to explain him being so content with life.

That kind of happiness comes from someone who has endured a winding and often disrupted journey to where he wanted to be.

“In school it was all about the sport and not about the study. I came to study very late in the day. At the time the only thing I wanted was to become a PE teacher but the academic requirements for that were way out of my reach.

I certainly didn’t regard myself as any kind of student or certainly not an academic. I was enjoying sport far too much to actually apply myself to my studies.”

Needing to get a proper job, Colm forewent college and went to work straight away.

Instead of PE and coaching, he spent his days in a bank. After working his way up through entry level jobs to land in the finance department, Colm was pushed towards doing accountancy exams. A proper job.

“I was trying to basically hammer a square peg into a round hole. It didn’t want to go…I had to stop at the certificate stage, I couldn’t force myself over the line no matter how valuable it would be. I was just completely sick of it at that point.”

Having not found his fit in the bank, Colm departed to an IT Software company. He was closer to what he wanted to be here, filling a position of leadership in quality control and project management. But it still wasn’t PE or Coaching.

While it didn’t feel like it at the time, Colm was very fortunate to be forced away from that career after a couple of years.

“The dotcom bubble burst in 2002 and the company I was with just shrank and shrank and shrank…eventually [my boss] called me into the room and said ‘I have a new list [to let go] and you’re on it.'”

There were no opportunities in the sector. That forced Colm to look elsewhere, which led him back to the tennis coaching qualification that he had earned in his youth.

“Funnily, I really started to enjoy it hugely, really quickly. And I actually got quite busy really quickly as well…this was an enforced change that I wouldn’t have chosen but it was kind of opportune as well. So what else could I do? What else would I like? What else would fit with this?”

At 35 years of age with two kids and a mortgage, Colm couldn’t go back into a 9-5 college education to become a physiotherapist. He instead found a Blended Learning course that could fit into his established life that allowed him to become a qualified physical therapist.

Despite never being a good student in his youth, Colm impressed so much on his course that the Institute of Physical Therapy and Applied Science offered him an opportunity to become a lecturer.

He carried out that role while still coaching and working as a therapist himself for more than 10 years before Portobello Institute came calling.

Colm has been demystifying the course material for Portobello students for five years now. He’s an energetic lecturer with a positive outlook that helps students to build their confidence and knowledge so they can overcome the challenges they have set for themselves.

But more than just putting on a show and celebrating their development, Colm’s journey allows him to empathise with his students on a professional and personal level. Especially the mature students.

“I find the mature students to be really interesting. I suppose it’s because my pathway has been unconventional and a lot of them are in the same boat…You look back at some crunch times in your journey and you wonder how you managed to get through it.

I often end up having that conversation or conversations like that with mature students.

You say, ‘Look there are gonna be bumps in the road here. You mightn’t know yet what they are but they’re gonna pop up and you need to be prepared for the fact they’re gonna pop up. If it does pop up, come and talk to me because chances are whether it’s me or Cathal [Brady] or Barry [Roe] we’re going to have had a similar experience.’”

When Colm was a mature student, he and his wife were both working and studying while taking care of their two children. They had a third child during those years and each of them felt the heartbreak of losing a parent.

So even though students now get to work with an incredibly enthusiastic and positive lecturer who can put on a show in the classroom, the person behind that lecturer also has all the experience to empathize and understand their needs.

Qualifications

MSc Applied Sport & Exercise Psychology (Waterford IT)
Post Grad Certificate in Third Level Teaching & Learning (DIT)
Diploma in Physical Therapy (IPTAS)
Tennis Ireland Development Coach (Tennis Ireland)

Research / Industry Participation

Anatomy & Analysis Tutor for 11 years with IPTAS (Institute of Physical Therapy & Applied Science). 2006 – 2017
Physical Therapist in private practice since 2006
Tennis Ireland Development Coach since 1994
Sport Performance Coach since 2015

Ciara Mulrooney

“I think the interactions with students are great. You always get different feedback off different students. You’re teaching them, but they’ll teach you a few things as well which is brilliant.”

Ciara Mulrooney is currently a lecturer on the BSc in Sports Therapy for the Portobello Institute. But her journey to becoming a qualified athletic therapist was a rather scenic one. While becoming an athletic therapist was on her radar going back to her school days, it was a different venture that kept her busy in the aftermath of her Leaving Cert.

“I had always thought that being a sports therapist or physio is what I wanted to do. But during school I used to work in sailing, I would go away on the tall ships. So, after the Leaving Cert I went away and sailed on tall ships for a while. I sailed around Ireland, the UK and northern Europe”

After her maritime adventures, Ciara then travelled down under a spent a full year in Australia before returning home to Ireland. Once back, the desire to become an athletic therapist was re-discovered, but she wanted to be sure of herself before fully pursuing that career path.

“When I came back home, I went and did a PLC course in Sports Therapy in college just to make sure that going back full time was what I wanted to do. So, after that I went to DCU as a mature student and did my Athletic Therapy and Training degree there because I was fully sure that it was something that I wanted to do.”

It would be another while before Ciara would venture into the world of academic as she returned to her native Sligo. Ciara works as Head Athletic Therapist for a number of teams in the northwest.

Sligo Ladies football team at Senior, Minor, U16 and U14 level
Sligo Rovers Women’s teams at U19, U17 and the incoming senior team
IT Sligo GAA Academy in hurling, football, and the ladies’ teams
Coolera GAA in hurling football, and the ladies’ team

In addition to her responsibilities with the teams above, Ciara also set up her own clinic, Recalibrate Sligo Injury Clinic in 2016. Her main enjoyment came from interacting with her patients but before long, she began taking on final year students for their placement.

“I started taking final year students and mentored them for their final year placement. So, I think that lead to looking more into the academic side. I went on to Trinity College then and did my Masters in Sports and Exercise Medicine. Finished that at the start of 2020 after handing in my thesis. Then the opportunity in Portobello came along and I’ve been happy teaching students since then.”

Ciara has been with Portobello for almost two years and, while maintaining her field work, has really enjoyed the opportunity to teach what she learned in her career so far.

“I think the interactions with students are great. You always get different feedback off different students. You’re teaching them, but they’ll teach you a few things as well which is brilliant.

“It’s just great to see them develop, see them move and gain confidence in their skills and see how they progress through the different modules and getting confidence and competence going into the real world.”

Brian Spring

Brian Spring is a tutor for Portobello Institute’s sports department, working across a number of different modules including Human Physiology and Applied Principles of Strength and Conditioning.

Brian grew up in Co. Mayo, developing a strong love for sport and fitness through his playing of soccer and Brazilian jiu jitsu. He carried that love of sport right through his youth and into university.

“I decided to do Sport and Exercise Science in UL. Did my undergrad degree there for four years and loved every second of it. Ended up graduating top of my class.

“Then I went on and did a master’s in Sports Performance in UL also,” he said.

During his time doing his undergraduate, Brian was able to avail of some valuable practical experience many miles from his Mayo home.

“I worked with the West Coast Eagles in Australia for a year during my undergraduate degree.

“During their 2018 Grand Final winning season, I helped out with them on the sports science. Things like GPS, questionnaires, RPE monitoring and also their strength and conditioning side of things. In the gym with the lads every day, helping them with their gym programmes,” Brian said.

Brian’s disciplines cover a wide area of professional sports, but he says there isn’t one specific area he prefers working in.

“I enjoy everything because it all works together in terms of nutrition, psychology, physiology.

“Nothing works by itself; they all complement each other. I like looking at sport in a broader sense, trying to make the puzzle work and make everything fit together,” he says.

While on the field success was always the end goal for him and the team, Brian says there’s much more to enjoy from a backroom perspective than winning on matchday.

“Obviously seeing the team win on game day is great.

“But I also like seeing players return or if they are coming off a bad patch of performance and you’ve helped them do a bit of extra work in the gym. Whether it’s a bad patch of performance or coming back from injury, seeing them have a good game on the day is quite satisfying as well,” Brian said.

Upon returning from Down Under, and completing of his second degree with the university, Brian was offered a role as a teaching assistant with UL, discovering a passion for teaching along the way.

“After my master’s I worked as a teaching assistant in UL for a year. I taught labs and tutorials on nutrition, physiology, biomechanics, strength and conditioning, a bit of everything really, from undergraduate to postgraduate degree.

“I really enjoy seeing the students reach their goals for learning.

“From week one, their knowledge on physiology isn’t that wide and you get them to week 12 and you can have a proper discussion about exercise physiology and strength and conditioning, and they can start critically analysing what I’m saying to them and ask questions. Knowing that they can bring that information into a practical setting is quite rewarding too,” he said.

Like many practitioners who teach alongside their practical work, he likes how one can inform the other, and vice versa.

“The better understanding you have of the physiology and the strength and conditioning and all the theoretical things, the better you are able to explain these things to the athletes. That increases their buy-in, it makes them more likely to engage in the programme and what you’re telling them to do.

“And vice versa, obviously having a better understanding of how to communicate with athletes, how the theoretical knowledge is used in a practical sense, you can take that information to the students. There are times when there’s a bit of a disconnect between people who are lecturers, and who aren’t practitioners. It’s good to do both,” Brian said.

Brian now works with Portobello Institute across multiple degree programmes. While the UL position was something offered to him, he says that his current role with Portobello that he actually went looking for.

“In UL, it was something that I was approached for. But the Portobello gig is something I sought out and got in contact with Susan about. I love the teaching so it’s definitely something I want to keep on doing going forward.

“Now I’m in Portobello, lecturing on physiology, exercise physiology and strength and conditioning modules.

“I’m loving it so far. As I mentioned, I love working with people and helping them reach their goals. But I think the part I’m enjoying the most, so far, is seeing people’s knowledge grow.

“Having them a bit confused on week one until they’re asking some really great questions come week 12. We’re able to have conversations as a class and have a debate in class on certain topics. Just seeing their understanding and confidence grow is probably my favourite bit,” he said.

While he is exploring his passion for teaching with Portobello, Brian does not rule out a future focus on a return to more practitioner work.

“I definitely would like to keep working in sport in some respect.

“I think before, I always wanted to work at the highest level of sport. I now like the idea of working at the academy levels or with youth athletes a bit more because I feel like their development is nearly more important than the elite athletes’ development, which has nearly peaked.

“You’re maintaining their levels of fitness or skill whereas in a developing age, you can see the growth a lot more.”

Shannon Byrne

Portobello Institute graduate and founder of Rebound Injury Clinic, Shannon Byrne has returned to Portobello as a lecturing assistant on the BSc in Sports Therapy.

Shannon established and runs Rebound Injury Clinic based in BeDo7 Fitness‘ purpose-built Sports Therapy room.

Throughout her education journey she has achieved an Honors Degree (Bachelor of Science) in Sports Therapy, obtained from London Metropolitan University in 2020 through Portobello Institute.

She is also a member of the Society of Sports Therapists and the Irish Massage Therapy Association.

Shannon brings her previous private practice experience where she treated anyone from athletes to desk workers, young and old, for a wide range of injuries to her role at Portobello.

As well as this, she has worked pitch-side with football teams, volunteered as a therapist at Iron Man events and worked with world championship level dancers with a focus on improving flexibility and injury prevention.

Shannon’s experience and qualification mean she has the knowledge, ability and skills to provide immediate care of injuries through assessment, treatment and rehabilitation.

She brings her past experience as a student at Portobello, her practical pitch-side experience and her academic knowledge to lecturing at Portobello Institute.

After completing her Leaving Certificate, she did a PLC in Coláiste Íde in physiotherapy. Thanks to her superb results, she was able to go straight into the second year of our Sports Therapy degree.

“I got all distinctions in that so I was delighted. That led me to Portobello where I started in the second year. Because of my results, they let me bypass the first year which would have been a foundation year. Did the two years then in order to get the undergrad degree and I finished up in May of last year.”

Before going to Coláiste Íde, Shannon developed a keen interest in sports science and the impact of injury on the body.

“I was a dancer myself in multiple different styles. It always led to injuries here and there.”

However, her sister also helped to develop that interest.

“I have a little sister who has special needs as well, so she underwent an awful lot of physiotherapy and speech and language therapy in her early years.

“We were told she’d never walk or talk and now she’s at stage school singing and dancing and acting. So when you see it first-hand it’s definitely more inspiring to get into it.”

But it was more so the sports side that Shannon wanted to get into and in October of last year, just five short months after finishing her Bachelor’s degree in Portobello, she opened up her own injury clinic.

“Usually you’d go work somewhere first. But what happened for me was that we were in lockdown, and I just had an idea.

“Back in March 2020 when lockdown kicked in, we had one business module, a hypothetical what would you do if you opened your own business and what you needed to know. I said I’d do it on a clinic.

“My sister does digital marketing so I asked her what would I need. She made up a logo. It was kind of boredom. My sister kept saying ‘I made that logo and it’s so nice and it’s not going anywhere’.

“Then I was off on annual leave and a guy I know years who owns a gym, he plays for Dublin GAA, gave me a ring and asked was I qualified yet and I said yes.

“He said he had a room in the back of the gym and he had this idea of opening an injury clinic in the gym and having a person on-site so that if someone in the gym gets injured we can have somebody to send them to.

“Eventually I said why not, let’s go for it. If we can do it in the middle of a pandemic you can do it outside of a pandemic. We painted the room ourselves and we opened.”

Now, in addition to running her own clinic, Shannon will be helping out her former thesis supervisor, Cathal Brady, to lecture on the very degree she gained at Portobello in 2020.

The role allows Shannon to pass on the useful knowledge she has picked up both inside and out of Portobello.

“I’m really excited about going in and passing on what I’ve learned. Cathal was an excellent lecturer when I was there and was really helpful.”

One of the things that Shannon really enjoyed about her time in Portobello was how personable it was and that is something she is looking forward to being part of again.

“I have a twin sister who went to a different college and she was just a number in a class.

“In Portobello I think everyone is much more close-knit which I loved. Putting names to people instead of numbers. So I’m really looking forward to being able to make it a better experience for other students and pass on what I learned,” she said.