The Players Voice

The latest episode of The Players Voice features Cork’s Amy O’Connor. Fresh from captaining the Rebel county to the All-Ireland title and winning an All-Star, Amy sat down to reflect on a memorable year and some of the lessons learned along the way. She talked about what it was like to score 3-7 in the 2023 All-Ireland final, including a hat-trick within two minutes. Incredibly, as you will hear, she was so in the zone during the game that she didn’t realize she had scored three goals until after the final whistle! Amy discussed how much the GPA Jim Madden leadership programme impacted her professional development and helped her become a better and more authentic captain. She also chatted about her underage international soccer career and why her deep love for Camogie meant that it was always going to be the sport for her! The Players Voice podcast is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks.  Enjoy!

The latest episode features former Galway player Alan Kerins. Back in 2001, Alan Kerins had the rare experience of playing in both the All-Ireland football and hurling finals but since then his impact has stretched far beyond the playing field. Through his charity work, Alan has raised millions of euro that has saved and changed thousands of lives in Africa. During this conversation, Alan tells us about the upcoming ‘Plant the Planet Games’ which will see 50 inter-county players travel to Kenya to play in an exhibition game and plant trees to help tackle the devastating effects of climate change. This is the second year of the Plant the Planet Games and last year a group of footballers, hurlers and camogie players helped to raise over €500,000 and plant one million trees in the region in partnership with Self Help Africa. He also talked about leadership and legacy. Each episode is hosted by Alan O’Mara, a former Cavan goalkeeper who now works as a Performance and Wellbeing consultant with sports and business leaders around the world. Check out www.RealTalks.ie to learn more about Alan and his work.   Thanks for listening!

The latest episode of The Players Voice features Dublin’s Ciarán Kilkenny. The Castleknock clubman talks about life as a teacher, setting up a Yoga business and the importance of trying new things. He chats about his search for sport/life balance and lessons learned from pushing himself too hard. Ciarán also looks back on the high of recapturing the Sam Maguire this year and opens up on the mental and emotional challenges that came with being out of the starting team for some big championship games. The Players’ Voice is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks. The podcast series is part of BEO 360, a GPA programme that empowers inter-county players across 4 key areas - life skills, wellbeing, dual career and transitions. Please go to beo360.gaelicplayers.com to learn more. Each episode is hosted by Alan O’Mara, a former Cavan goalkeeper who now works as a Performance and Wellbeing consultant with sports and business leaders around the world. Check out www.RealTalks.ie.

The latest episode of The Players Voice features Dublin’s Lauren Magee. During this conversation, Lauren explains why Dublin's All-Ireland victory in 2023 was the sweetest of them all. She discussed how much she benefited as a person from taking a break to go traveling and what she learned from her experience in the AFLW. Lauren also opens up about losing her step-dad to suicide and her journey with grief. If you are a GPA member in the Republic of Ireland and are in need of mental health support, call 1800 98 92 85 or text ‘GPA’ to 50808. From Northern Ireland, please call 0800 044 5059 or text ‘GPA’ 85258. If you aren’t a GPA member and need mental health support, please check out the Samaritans or Pieta House. The Players’ Voice is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks. The podcast series is part of BEO 360, a GPA programme that empowers inter-county players across 4 key areas - life skills, wellbeing, dual career and transitions. Please go to beo360.gaelicplayers.com to learn more. Each episode is hosted by Alan O’Mara, a former Cavan goalkeeper who now works as a Performance and Wellbeing consultant. To find out more about his work with sports and business leaders around the world, please go to www.RealTalks.ie.

The latest episode of The Players Voice features Dublin’s Lauren Magee. During this conversation, Lauren explains why Dublin's All-Ireland victory in 2023 was the sweetest of them all. She discussed how much she benefited as a person from taking a break to go traveling and what she learned from her experience in the AFLW. Lauren also opens up about losing her step-dad to suicide and her journey with grief. If you are a GPA member in the Republic of Ireland and are in need of mental health support, call 1800 98 92 85 or text ‘GPA’ to 50808. From Northern Ireland, please call 0800 044 5059 or text ‘GPA’ 85258. If you aren’t a GPA member and need mental health support, please check out the Samaritans or Pieta House. The Players’ Voice is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks. The podcast series is part of BEO 360, a GPA programme that empowers inter-county players across 4 key areas - life skills, wellbeing, dual career and transitions. Please go to beo360.gaelicplayers.com to learn more. Each episode is hosted by Alan O’Mara, a former Cavan goalkeeper who now works as a Performance and Wellbeing consultant. To find out more about his work with sports and business leaders around the world, please go to www.RealTalks.ie.