About

Why Work With Me At The School Of Performance?

I am a professional musician who performs regularly with many of the major orchestras in Ireland and the UK. I am also a keen chamber musician and educator.  I am a member of Trio Táin (flute, viola, and harp). I lecture in Career Development and Mindset Training at the Royal Irish Academy of Music where I am a pedagogue of flute studies. I like to utilise mental skills training techniques to motivate and inspire my students. 

My appetite for performance psychology was born from my own experience of working in a high-level performing environment. I felt my own training as a professional musician did not equip me with the necessary tools to deal with performance situations such as auditions, examinations, and high-stress performances. 

I was invited to join the internationally acclaimed Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in 2004, where I held the post of Sub-Principal Flute. On leaving the orchestra, I was drawn to the world of sports for inspiration and was introduced to a wealth of knowledge from the field of sports psychology. I continued in pursuit of this knowledge at Waterford Institute of Technology earning a Master’s degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Since then, I have worked with musicians of all skill levels and ages. As a professional performing artist myself, I employ a hands-on approach to my performance psychology practice, with a strong emphasis on the practical aspects of mental skills training. I believe that elite performers like professional musicians can learn from the mental training regimes embraced by sports psychology. Mindful Mental Toughness can be developed, such that performing under pressure is something to be anticipated and planned for, not feared.