Kate has worked at the highest level of sport for almost 20 years and has attended the London, Rio, Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games as a psychologist with Team Ireland. Through her position as a senior psychologist in the Sport Ireland Institute, she has worked directly with medal-winning athletes from Olympic rowing, Olympic sailing and Paralympic swimming. She has also supported World and European medalists from a range of sports such as athletics, women’s hockey, taekwondo, badminton and modern pentathlon. In addition, Kate works privately with athletes from individual sports such as golf and tennis and is actively supporting a number of successful touring professionals in both sports.

She also possesses considerable expertise in the area of athlete career and lifestyle management. Through her previous work as a personal development consultant for the Gaelic Players' Association and at Rugby Players Ireland, she has supported the dual careers of many high-performance athletes and helped them through their transition out of elite sport and into the next phase of their working lives. Kate also acted in the role of psychology lead on the National Sports Science Working Group for Gaelic Games for a number of years.

Alongside her work in sport, Kate has extensive experience in the corporate sector, translating lessons from elite performance environments into practical, evidence-based insights that resonate strongly with business leaders and teams. In 2021, she was recruited as a member of Google’s worldwide Speaker Bureau and partnered with the company on its global Staff Resilience Project. She regularly speaks at corporate events throughout Ireland and internationally, as well as appearing in print and broadcast media.

Dr Kate Kirby

Olympic Sport Psychologist

With decades of experience operating at the highest level of sport, Kate brings deep expertise in performance under pressure, resilience, mindset, and leadership.

Kate has worked at the highest level of sport for almost 20 years and has attended the London, Rio, Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games as a psychologist with Team Ireland. Through her position as a senior psychologist in the Sport Ireland Institute, she has worked directly with medal-winning athletes from Olympic rowing, Olympic sailing and Paralympic swimming. She has also supported World and European medalists from a range of sports such as athletics, women’s hockey, taekwondo, badminton and modern pentathlon. In addition, Kate works privately with athletes from individual sports such as golf and tennis and is actively supporting a number of successful touring professionals in both sports.

She also possesses considerable expertise in the area of athlete career and lifestyle management. Through her previous work as a personal development consultant for the Gaelic Players' Association and at Rugby Players Ireland, she has supported the dual careers of many high-performance athletes and helped them through their transition out of elite sport and into the next phase of their working lives. Kate also acted in the role of psychology lead on the National Sports Science Working Group for Gaelic Games for a number of years.

Alongside her work in sport, Kate has extensive experience in the corporate sector, translating lessons from elite performance environments into practical, evidence-based insights that resonate strongly with business leaders and teams. In 2021, she was recruited as a member of Google’s worldwide Speaker Bureau and partnered with the company on its global Staff Resilience Project. She regularly speaks at corporate events throughout Ireland and internationally, as well as appearing in print and broadcast media.

Areas of expertise include, but are not limited to:

  • Lessons from elite sport applied to business
  • Building a high performance culture
  • Reaching and sustaining peak performance levels
  • Fostering youth sport
  • Women in sport
  • The psychology of doping in sport
  • Life after sport: managing the transition out

We reached out to Kate to run a panel session for our department with a focus on mental strength and resilience. Kate ran the session in front of a captivated audience of approx. 500 people in the Convention Centre. The topics ranged from training approach, personal challenges and ways to deal with pressure, and overall feedback from the discussion was hugely positive. The whole session resonated really well with the group and Kate did an excellent job of relating the professional sporting world to the dynamic of the workplace environment.

Deloitte

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