Limerick man pioneers product to fight injuries in contact sports

A Limerick man has pioneered a new product to combat injuries in contact sports and it’s already being hailed Stateside as the one of the most important innovations to arrive in high school and college American football.

Shadowman Sports is the brainchild of Limerick man, JP Hartigan. The company’s flagship product is a three-part inflatable tackling dummy, fitted with specialised target zones, which teaches players perfect tackling technique. A UL graduate in product design and technology, Hartigan was prompted to develop the product after his rugby career was cut short after an injury.

Combining his studies and his rugby background, Hartigan recognised standard tackling equipment is often badly designed and doesn’t accurately simulate an opposing player. The alternative is player-on-player tackling, which can result in injury.