In our final episode of 2024, Cork’s Saoirse McCarthy joined The Players Voice to chat about retaining the All-Ireland this year and to share some of the lessons learned along the way.

Over the course of this wide-ranging chat, the All-Star wing-forward discusses the importance of enjoying the inter-county lifestyle, experiencing burnout and how much she has benefitted from developing as both a person and athlete.

The Players Voice podcast is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks. Each episode is hosted by former Cavan player and New York manager Alan O’Mara, who works as a Mental Performance Coach in elite sports in the US and Ireland.

The GPA is the representative body for high performance inter-county players. Founded by players in 1999 and strengthened by a merger with the Women’s Gaelic Players Association in 2020, the GPA supports over 4,000 current male and female inter-county players, and a growing number of former players across four core pillars - Player Representation, Player Welfare, Player Development and Equality. You can learn more about their work at gaelicplayers.com.

If you enjoyed this episode of The Players Voice, you can listen to previous episodes with the likes of Niall Morgan, Conor Whelan, Lauren Magee and Maria Curley. Please also rate and review the show. Thanks for listening!

Kerry’s Kayleigh Cronin joined The Players Voice to chat about winning the All-Ireland this year and her decision to try life in the AFLW in 2025.

In a wide-ranging chat, the two-time All Star shares some of the lessons and insights that helped Kerry end a 31 year wait for an All-Ireland title at this level. She also opens up on her growth as a leader and person both on and off the field.

The Players Voice podcast is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks. Each episode is hosted by former Cavan player and New York manager Alan O’Mara, who works as a Mental Performance Coach in elite sports in the US and Ireland.

The GPA is the representative body for high performance inter-county players. Founded by players in 1999 and strengthened by a merger with the Women’s Gaelic Players Association in 2020, the GPA supports over 4,000 current male and female inter-county players, and a growing number of former players across four core pillars - Player Representation, Player Welfare, Player Development and Equality. You can learn more about their work at gaelicplayers.com.

If you enjoyed this episode of The Players Voice, you can listen to previous episodes with the likes of Conn Kilpatrick, Amy O’Connor, Mary Hulgraine or Ciarán Kilkenny. Please also rate and review the show. Thanks for listening!

Antrim’s Conor McCann joined The Players Voice to chat about his decision to step away from inter-county hurling after 14 years of stellar service.

He talked about handling the transition out of the elite level of the game and why now was the right time to step away for him, his family and his club. Conor also reflected on lessons learned from the time spent wearing saffron yellow and shared his optimism for the future of Antrim hurling.

The Players Voice podcast is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks. Each episode is hosted by former Cavan player and New York manager Alan O’Mara, who works as a Mental Performance Coach in elite sports in the US and Ireland.

The GPA is the representative body for high performance inter-county players. Founded by players in 1999 and strengthened by a merger with the Women’s Gaelic Players Association in 2020, the GPA supports over 4,000 current male and female inter-county players, and a growing number of former players across four core pillars - Player Representation, Player Welfare, Player Development and Equality. You can learn more about their work at gaelicplayers.com.

If you enjoyed this episode of The Players Voice, you can listen to previous episodes with the likes of Conn Kilpatrick, Amy O’Connor, Mary Hulgraine or Ciarán Kilkenny. Please also rate and review the show. Thanks for listening!

Meath’s Cillian O’Sullivan joined The Players Voice for an insightful and inspiring conversation about being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS).

Late in 2023 Cillian’s world was turned upside down on his honeymoon when his condition deteriorated. He talks us through some of the challenges he has had to overcome on this journey and how he bounced back to represent Meath within a matter of months. A clinical psychologist by profession, he also shares fascinating insight into his mindset and coping mechanisms during difficult times.

The Players Voice podcast is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks. Each episode is hosted by former Cavan player and New York manager Alan O’Mara, who works as a Mental Performance Coach in elite sports in the US.

The GPA is the representative body for high performance inter-county players. Founded by players in 1999 and strengthened by a merger with the Women’s Gaelic Players Association in 2020, the GPA supports over 4,000 current male and female inter-county players, and a growing number of former players across four core pillars - Player Representation, Player Welfare, Player Development and Equality. You can learn more about their work at gaelicplayers.com.

If you enjoyed this episode of The Players Voice, you can listen to previous episodes with the likes of Conn Kilpatrick, Amy O’Connor, Mary Hulgraine or Ciarán Kilkenny. Please also rate and review the show. Thanks for listening!

All-Ireland winner and All-Star Conor Whelan joins us for a special episode of The Players Voice on World Mental Health Day.

Fresh from a Masters in Psychology, and currently doing a PHD on the Mental Health of GAA inter-county players, Conor offers fascinating insight into some of the challenges facing modern day players.

In a wide-ranging conversation about mental health and wellbeing, the Galway hurler also talks about athletic identity, challenging himself to grow as a person, changing careers and the importance of volunteering.

The Players Voice podcast is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks. Each episode is hosted by former Cavan player and New York manager Alan O’Mara, who works as a Mental Performance Coach in elite sports in the US.

The GPA is the representative body for high performance inter-county players. Founded by players in 1999 and strengthened by a merger with the Women’s Gaelic Players Association in 2020, the GPA supports over 4,000 current male and female inter-county players, and a growing number of former players across four core pillars - Player Representation, Player Welfare, Player Development and Equality. You can learn more about their work at gaelicplayers.com.

If you enjoyed this episode of The Players Voice, you can listen to previous episodes with the likes of Conn Kilpatrick, Amy O’Connor, Mary Hulgraine or Ciarán Kilkenny. Please also rate and review the show. Thanks for listening!

On this week’s episode of The Players Voice, host Alan O’Mara is joined by Tipperary’s Maria Curley.

An experienced leader on and off the field, Curley discusses why she is as determined as ever to keep driving standards for female GAA players. She also talks about becoming an entrepreneur and shares how her physiotherapy practice has positively impacted the community through over 65 exercise classes.

The Players Voice podcast is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks. Each episode is hosted by former Cavan player and New York manager Alan O’Mara, who now works as a Mental Performance Coach in elite sports in the US.

The GPA is the representative body for high performance inter-county players. Founded by players in 1999 and strengthened by a merger with the Women’s Gaelic Players Association in 2020, the GPA supports over 4,000 current male and female inter-county players, and a growing number of former players across four core pillars - Player Representation, Player Welfare, Player Development and Equality. You can learn more about their work at gaelicplayers.com.

If you enjoyed this episode of The Players Voice, you can listen to previous episodes with the likes of Niall Morgan, Lauren Magee, Chloe Morey or Neil McManus. Please also rate and review the show. Thanks for listening!

On this week’s episode of The Players Voice, host Alan O’Mara is joined by Kildare’s Grace Clifford. Grace talked about the decline and rise of Kildare during her career, and why she keeps coming back for more! She also chatted about the importance of players speaking up to create lasting change, empowering young girls in sport and life, and her excitement for the future of the game.

The Players Voice podcast is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks. Each episode is hosted by former Cavan player Alan O’Mara, who now works as a Mental Performance Coach in elite sports in the US.

The GPA is the representative body for high performance inter-county players. Founded by players in 1999 and strengthened by a merger with the Women’s Gaelic Players Association in 2020, the GPA supports over 4,000 current male and female inter-county players, and a growing number of former players across four core pillars - Player Representation, Player Welfare, Player Development and Equality. You can learn more about their work at gaelicplayers.com.

If you enjoyed this episode of The Players Voice, you can listen to previous episodes with the likes of Niall Morgan, Lauren Magee, Chloe Morey or Neil McManus. Please also rate and review the show. Thanks for listening!

Mickey Quinn reflects on his decision to retire from inter-county football after 13 seasons and why now was the right time to transition out of the game.

In a wide-ranging chat with the former Longford stalwart and AFL player, we looked back on lessons learned from his life in elite sport and discussed some of the highs and frustrations he experienced. We also chatted about his motivation for setting up Mickey Quinn Performance and how he plans to help individuals and teams improve going forward.

The Players Voice podcast is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks.  Each episode is hosted by Alan O’Mara, a former Cavan player and New York manager, who now works as a mental performance coach with elite sports teams.

The GPA is the representative body for high performance inter-county players. Founded by players in 1999 and strengthened by a merger with the Women’s Gaelic Players Association in 2020, the GPA supports over 4,000 current male and female inter-county players, and a growing number of former players across four core pillars - Player Representation, Player Welfare, Player Development and Equality. You can learn more about their work at gaelicplayers.com.

If you enjoyed this episode of The Players Voice, you can listen to previous episodes with the likes of Niall Morgan, Lauren Magee, Chloe Morey or Neil McManus. Please also rate and review the show. Thanks for listening!

The latest episode of The Players’ Voice features Derry’s Conor Glass.

During this conversation, Conor reflects on lessons he learned from his experience as a professional athlete in the AFL. He talks about how working with a sports psychologist helped improve both his performances and wellbeing.

The Glen clubman also discusses how Derry have rebuilt confidence and a winning mentality in recent years, how much he loves being part of his home community again and the challenge of balancing life as a cafe owner, student, and inter-county footballer.

The Players Voice podcast is brought to you by the Gaelic Players Association in collaboration with Real Talks. Thanks for listening!

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!