Explorer Pat Falvey to be named as Kerry’s new performance coach

Pat Falvey: His appointment will be the final piece of the Kingdom’s senior management jigsaw as Peter Keane prepares for the new season

Pat Falvey, Ireland’s most accomplished explorer, will tonight be unveiled as the performance coach for the Kerry senior football squad.

His appointment will be the final piece of the Kingdom’s senior management jigsaw as Peter Keane prepares for the new season.

It is understood that he has already spoken to the players individually over the past three weeks and the feedback from those interactions has been very positive.

While the addition of the Cork native might surprise Kerry supporters, Falvey is a hugely respected figure in his field.

Falvey was the first person to complete the Seven Summits (the highest mountains of each of the seven continents) twice by reaching the summit of Mount Everest from both the Tibetan (1996) and Nepalese sides (2003).

He was expedition leader of the team that saw Clare O'Leary become the first Irish woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest (2003).

Other extreme achievements on his CV include walking to the South Pole, crossing South Georgia Island and traversing the Greenland ice cap.

Falvey has also enjoyed a successful career as an author and motivational speaker. His company, Pat Falvey Irish & Worldwide Adventures, also offers "a wide range of courses for individuals, groups, teams and companies which focus on personal and team development and skills attainment and which take place in the magnificent outdoor wilderness setting of County Kerry."

The use of such performance coaches is not a new phenomenon in the GAA. Limerick hurling manager John Kiely has  frequently lauded Performance psychologist Caroline Currid for her role in helping the Shannonsiders win two All-Ireland titles in the past three years while other county's have incorporated such roles in their backroom teams.

While Keane has not gone for a high profile coach to boost his backroom team, it is understood that he has given Maurice Fitzgerald a greater hands-on role in coaching along with Tommy Griffin while Jason McGahan Head of Athletic Performance will also be involved in the on-field preparation.

Gavin Rackard and Kevin Beasley have been added to the county set-up. Rackard is performance nutritionist with Connacht Rugby while Beasley was Kingdom nutritionist previously under Éamonn Fitzmaurice.

Exploratory talks were held with Paul Galvin prior to Christmas but the Finuge man was unable to take up a coaching position because of the logistics of travelling from Mayo for training while Kieran Cronin of Ballinskeillgs who had been involved with the Cork minors, also was unable to join the backroom team.

When the inter-county teams get the nod to return to outdoor squad training, five new recruits will link up with the existing squad. The five additions to the Kerry panel are: Kieran Fitzgibbon (Kenmare Shamrocks), Brian Leonard (Desmonds), Mark Ryan (Kenmare Shamrocks), Paul O’Shea (Kilcummin) and Eddie Horan (Scartaglen).