2013 Press Releases
Kidney to lead Sport at UCC
Declan Kidney, recently coach to the Irish national rugby team, has been appointed Director of Sport and Physical Activity at UCC for the start of the 2013/14 academic year.
Kidney has worked at the highest levels of sport, having coached rugby at provincial and international level, achieving Grand Slam and Triple Crown success and reaching the quarter finals of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. He was named International Rugby Board Coach of the Year in 2009 and has been recipient of the Phillips Sports Manager of the Year award on three separate occasions.
Kidney is an alumnus of UCC and later became an accounting and mathematics teacher and careers guidance officer at Presentation Brothers College, Cork. Following initial success as rugby coach at the school, he became coach to the Irish schools team and subsequently led the Irish Under 19s to win the Junior World Cup in 1998. This role was followed by an appointment to Munster rugby where he coached the team to the Heineken Cup finals of 2000 and 2002. Having coached with Ireland and Leinster he returned to Munster who lifted the Heineken Cup in 2006 and 2008.
UCC sees sport as a key component of the 3rd level student experience, playing its part in supporting the development of students in a healthy, social and high quality environment.
Dr Ian Pickup, Head of the Student Experience at UCC says: “We pride ourselves on providing a world class student experience at UCC and Declan brings a wealth of world class experience to this role. We encourage all of our students to embrace the healthy mind, healthy body philosophy and UCC is fast developing a programme that offers something for everyone. I have no doubt that Declan will provide exceptional leadership in all areas and at all levels of sport development, and we are very excited about UCC’s sporting future.”
Already boasting some of the best sporting facilities in Ireland at the UCC Mardyke Arena, UCC has further plans to develop outdoor sports grounds on the western outskirts of the City at Curraheen. A new high performance athlete scholarship scheme has been launched for the 2013/14 academic year and the College’s 60 sports clubs are busy gearing up for the intake of new students.
Declan Kidney comments: “I am really looking forward to working with the staff in the Department of Sport and Physical Activity, and to learn from the Coaches and Managers of the 60 Clubs that at present are in existence in UCC. I firmly believe in a holistic approach to education and see physical activity, be it at the highest elite level or participating just for fun, to be an integral part of this experience”.
With this appointment, UCC is well set to build on its proud and distinguished sporting history and to inspire future generations of students to get involved with healthy and active lifestyles. Continued success in sporting competitions will surely follow, but the embracing of sport as a conduit for personal development and for building a sense of belonging and pride are the bigger trophies for Kidney and UCC to aim for.