Sports Travel Academy

Ireland Academic Director in Sport Management

Dr. Seamus Kelly is a Sport Management professor at University College Dublin (UCD) and has lectured at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the field of Sport Management since 2002. He has also served as head of subject in Sport Management and as the Director of the UCD Centre for Sport Studies. He holds BComm (1996), MBS (2001), and PhD (2010) degrees from UCD and a Postgraduate Diploma in Teaching and Learning from the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT). Seamus has been a regular presenter for Sports Travel Academy groups since 2011 and we are delighted to welcome him as an Academic Director for our Ireland Professional Development programs. 

Dr. Kelly's doctoral research examined many aspects of management in professional football and was based on interviews with players, agents, and managers in the English Premier League (EPL), Championship, and Leagues I & II. His research has featured in journals such as: Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, British Medical Journal, Sports Medicine-open, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, European Sport Management Quarterly, Soccer in Society, Sport in Society, and Sport Business and Management. 

Seamus has also consulted with national governing bodies, including the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), Football Association Ireland, as well as professional football clubs in the UK & Ireland. Much of his research focuses on aspects of player, coach, and manager assessment and development. In terms or research, he gained access to the closed world of professional football due, in part, to his previous professional playing experience at Cardiff City FC, St. Patrick's Athletic FC, and Bohemian FC. Additional sporting achievements include GAA (hurling and football) playing experiences up to and including senior inter-county level with Offaly. He also has considerable coaching experience with Shamrock Rovers, Drogheda United, Shelbourne, and several senior inter-county GAA teams.