An evening with Liam Moggan
“Try your best, and if you can’t do your best, do the best you can.”
When Liam shared this quote, the realisation hit B. Kelly that he had been quoting Liam Moggan for years without knowing it. And Liam’s coaching ripples didn’t stop there, our minor manager, Tom Feehan, was reunited with his old PE teacher, giving them a chance to reminisce about their secondary school days together.
Good coaching makes a difference.
This was the title of the workshop, and Liam followed it up by reminding us: “So does bad coaching.”
38 of us met in the Village Hotel for a 2 hour interactive workshop with Liam, the coaches coach, as he’s often referred to in coaching circles.
Liam’s coaching career included working with thousands of grassroots coaches, intercounty teams and Olympic athletes as well as running a Coach Mentorship Program for Sport Ireland in the University of Limerick for nearly two decades. It was clear why he has been so successful, his charisma, his welcoming aura, and his ability to capture an entire room through storytelling.
What was reinforced for me was that, as coaches, we have an enormous opportunity to shape the lives of the young people in our community. We can all remember a coach or teacher who inspired us, who played a pivotal role in shaping our future. Now we have that opportunity too.
And there’s great responsibility in that.
When Liam told me his intended learning outcome was “to connect,” I was a bit surprised by the simplicity and vagueness of it.
But the simple act of connecting was, I imagine, what most people would say was their favourite part of the night. Coaches from all age groups got the chance to chat. Coaches who had never spoken before connected for the first time. Friends who hadn’t caught up in a long time reconnected.
As one coach said on her way out:
“If you ask me what I learned, I couldn’t really tell you, but I had a great time chatting.”
Sounds like Liam’s intended outcome was achieved.
In groups, we explored questions such as:
• What would we keep doing the same?
• What would we do differently?
• What are we proud of?
• What does success look like in 2030?
I gathered the answers, and Conor Flynn a Cilles minor who was on TY work experience with me last week kindly summarised everyone’s responses.
From the answers to “What do coaches need?” it was clear that coaches want more opportunities to connect and upskill. Responses included knowledge sharing, a mentor or buddy system for new coaches, and more coach-training workshops.
Over the winter and into the 2026 season, we hope to provide everyone with opportunities to connect and upskill.
We continued our winter coach education last Saturday with our Hurling and Football ICGG course in Pilltown.
In early 2026, we are preparing a practical S&C course for coaches, and we’re excited to announce the Cilles Coaching Conference coming in February 2026. More to come on that.
For now, I’ll leave you with some of the answers to Liam's prompts.
All the best
Níall Kane
Games Promotion Officer
Q: Jot down what you are most proud of.
• Proud of the club’s attitude to inclusivity and participation.
• How we give back to the community.
• How the players and coaches in my group have grown.
Q: List 5 or 6 things that you feel coaches NEED now.
• Mentor/buddy system for less experienced coaches or to share ideas.
• A starter pack (guidance and support).
• Knowledge sharing.
• Coach training delivered prior to the start of the season.
• Fewer WhatsApp messages. 😂
Q: Write the word ‘DIFFERENTLY’ at the top of your page. List 5 or 6 things you’d like to do differently.
• Dual training up to U9 for improved engagement in both codes.
• More daily use of Gaeilge on the pitch.
• Better collaboration with other coaching groups.
Q: Write the word ‘2030’ at the top of your page. List 5 or 6 things you’d like to be proud of by 2030.
• Recognition for having really good coaches in Cilles.
• Club success in men’s and ladies’ championships respectively.
• Togetherness in the club, irrespective of success.
• Friendships formed and maintained, even outside the club environment.