My Weekend: I absolutely love walking, swimming (or dipping) and horse riding

TELL us a little bit about yourself and your work.

I was born and bred in Ballinspittle, just a stones throw from Kinsale and famous for our moving statues.

My family are farming still and it’s very much a family affair now with everyone living close and giving a hand as needed.

I was lucky enough to have received a fabulous education beginning in Bandon Grammar School, continuing onto UCD, UCC and currently MTU.

My background in the fitness industry and my continued education in health promotion have led to a very happy work life at both Rogue Fitness in Kinsale and Cork Sports Partnership, with a side hustle doing some research with a great team in the Dept of Sports, Leisure and Childhood Studies at MTU.

What is your ideal way to spend a Friday night?

Throwing around a few barbells with the crew at CrossFit Kinsale, followed by lighting the fire and some cuddles with my Labrador(and best buddy) Holly.

I also absolutely love planning out the weekend and getting organised for the week ahead.

Lie ins or up with the lark.. which is it for you?

I’m definitely an early riser. By nature, but also out of necessity. During the week I’m up at 5am and start coaching clients from 6am.

Saturday will be a slightly later start but I’ll still be at training by 8am. I love getting up early and getting so much done in a day, but it does render me pretty useless after about 7/8pm.

Does work creep into your weekend at all?

Rarely. However, Cork Sports Partnership run a number of brilliant participatory events throughout the year some of which fall on the weekends to accommodate as many people as possible.

These events are such a pleasure and we have such together as a team that the few weekends are never a chore.

Like everyone, there are occasions when I might need to spend a few hours planning or doing some really specific work over the weekends, but these are few and far between thankfully. Earlier in my career weekends were my busiest times so I still really appreciate them to this day.

If money was no object where would you head to on a weekend city break? And who would you bring with you?

Having studied History for my undergraduate degree in UCD, I love visiting cities with rich histories full of galleries and museums. I would happily wonder around them all day.

So, I think Rome would probably be one of my first choices. Having visited the city once before with my mum, hopefully she would come along again. Barcelona, Edinburgh or London would probably be next on the list.

Closer to home, is there some place you like to head to recharge the batteries?

In all honestly, it’s really just going out home to see my family, spend time walking my dog in Garretstown Woods, Garrylucas Beach or James Fort, maybe jumping up on a horse for a hack out or a gallop on the beach.

Do you like to catch up with family/friends at the weekend?

Absolutely. That’s what weekends are for. Seeing family is pretty straightforward as we are all living quite close to home.

I’m also lucky that many of my best friends are training partners at CrossFit Kinsale so we are often at training or at Throwdowns together over the weekends.

I also have a number of friends from school and the local area who I try to meet for a walk, a swim or a coffee as often as I can. Good friends are an absolute lifeline.

Do you get to indulge any hobbies? Even as a spectator?

I do. I absolutely love walking, swimming (or dipping) and horse riding.

Horses have always been a huge part of my life and we still keep them at home, with my sister and mum heading all around the country to shows during the summer.

I will watch or take part in anything CrossFit related from training, to competing (for fun), to supporting my crew, to watching international competitions.

I also love taking on the odd challenge and jumping in headfirst so my hobbies often go through phases as the next challenge approaches.

Entertain or be entertained? If it’s the latter do you have a signature dish?

I do love having people over but the food would definitely be ordered in.

We have so many places to eat out in Cork - where are your go to spots for coffee/ lunch/ special meal?

There is a reason that Kinsale is known as the Gourmet Capital of Ireland. So we are spoilt for choice down here and you really can’t go wrong anywhere. I must admit that I don’t eat meals out much but I’m a great lover of coffee and cakes.

So, I’d have to go with Wild and Tame, OHK, Jo’s Café, Leona’s or the Post House In Kinsale.

We are also partial to a Saturday morning breakfast in Cosy Café after Saturday morning training. It’s a huge bonus that so many places are dog-friendly now. That’s a win straight away for me.

Sunday night comes around too fast.. how do you normally spend it?

Contemplating my life choices….. But joking aside I usually spend a good part of the weekend getting myself organised for the week ahead, so I usually feel quite prepared and look forward to a new week of possibilities.

However, if the weekend has gotten away from me, I can sometimes feel a little overwhelmed.

What time does your alarm clock go off on Monday morning?

Bright and early at 5am. Well, it’s early anyway, not always that bright.

Anything else you are up to right now...

I’m really proud to be helping drive the Get Cork Walking Project alongside an amazing team at Cork Sports and Get Ireland Walking with huge support from Sport Ireland at the moment.

We are hosting the Get Cork Walking Showcase in December 2023 and we are making big plans for 2024 which will include expansion of the project and many more initiatives and partnerships.

For more see www.corksports.ietarget="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> and www.getcorkwalking.ie