#2 Heads Up - Interview with Kieran Low

Episode 2: Ed Daly speaks to Kieran Low, a Scottish professional lineout who retired from Rugby in 2016. Kieran spent most of his career at London Irish and had short spells at Glasgow Warriors and Saracens.

In this episode, Kieran speaks to Ed about his journey in professional Rugby, sharing the many successes and opportunities presented to him. Kieran shares his encounter with the numerous ignored concussion injuries that occurred as his career began to explode in 2013-2014. Sharing the impact they have had on his life, how he manages the after-effects daily and addresses the importance of creating a safety net for all retired players to transition from the professional game. A compelling, open and raw conversation.

About the podcast:
The Heads-Up Podcast are a series of interviews with ex-professional male rugby players, elite female players and coaches about concussion in the sport. The podcasts discuss their early careers and very open commentary about the realities of professional rugby. Heads-Up discusses insights into injury (specifically concussion), how they managed then and how they continue to manage with life after a professional career. The players offer insights into the culture around the game, their concussion experiences and their observations on player welfare, protective equipment and law changes to the game.  

About Ed Daly:
Ed Daly has over thirteen years of experience in sports coach education and more than five years of lecturing experience in third-level institutes. Ed is currently a PhD researcher focused on investigating concussion identification, concussion management and concussion reduction strategies.

Ed is an active PhD research scientist (Oxford Brookes University) specializing in concussion education, managing athlete workload, objective concussion diagnosis and post-concussion management. Currently developing research for the Irish Concussion Research Centre (ICRC) based in GMIT.

Ed is a lecture in Galway Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT) in the area of Sport & Exercise Science within the School of Science & Computing. Programme coordinator for MSc (strength & conditioning).

Before moving to a career in lecturing, Ed worked in professional sports and spent over ten years as a coach with Munster Rugby, coaching age-grade players on the professional player development pathway and in injury incidence reduction via workload management (specializing in the area of strength & conditioning).

Contact Details:
Ed Daly
Email: Ed.Daly@gmit.ie

Published by:
Emma.Finnegan
Email: Emma.Finnegan@gmit.ie