University of Limerick Alumni Spotlight: Fiona McHale

In the next instalment of our Alumni Spotlight series, we caught up with Fiona McHale, who graduated earlier this year with a PhD focusing on physical activity in adolescents.

Discover Fiona's passion for physical activity promotion, her thoughts on balancing academics and sports, and her contributions to gender equality in sports. Read about her role as a course coordinator and teacher in Further Education and Training, and her aspirations for the future in education and research.

Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Fiona McHale and I'm from Ballintubber, County Mayo. I am a qualified PE and Biology teacher and I graduated from UL this year with a Doctorate in Philosophy which investigated physical activity behaviours in adolescents. I currently teach Sport and Recreation in Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board's College of Further Education and Training. I also play for the Mayo Ladies Football team. I have represented Mayo at senior level since 2004. captaining the team in the 2013 and 2014 seasons, winning a Division 1 National League in 2007 and an All-Star in 2016. I play my club football with Carnacon and am proud to have been involved in 6 All-Ireland club titles.

What drew you to undertake a PhD at UL?

I have always had a keen interest in the topic of physical activity promotion and exercise psychology and was always drawn to modules with this focus on my undergrad course led by Catherine Woods in DCU. After working for five years, I started to think about furthering my knowledge and study in these areas and I kept an eye out for research opportunities in UL.

Tell us about your area of study

My area of study was focused on the Active School Flag Programme (ASF), a Department of Education initiative to provide schools with a framework to promote and achieve a physically active school community. Throughout my PhD studies, the focus has been on improving the implementation of this programme in schools through seeking the opinions of stakeholders involved in its implementation i.e. TY student leader class, school management, the coordinator and staff committee. In the second stage of my PhD, I delved deeper into the peer-led aspect of the programme and adapted a shared leadership programme previously used in sports teams and businesses to assist the ASF student leader class with programme implementation. I ran the 5Rs Shared Leadership Programme in six schools that were undertaking the Active School Flag programme to establish its feasibility overall.

Why did you choose to study at UL?

I started working in Limerick in 2012 and I had been involved with the Ladies Football O'Connor Cup teams, so I was always in and around the campus and its world-class facilities and so it was a place where I always felt at home. They have always had a really strong PE programme and the addition of Catherine Woods into the PESS department brought new research opportunities in the area of physical activity.

What stands out as your most memorable experience?

Going to conferences abroad was always a memorable and enjoyable part of undertaking a PhD. I always enjoyed meeting new people on these trips and travelling with our research group.

The comradery developed among the Postgrad students within the Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences will also always be the best part about doing a PhD in UL. We developed such close friendships, had amazing craic and celebrated each other's wins along the way. The support network that is created by the students themselves is incredible and this legacy continues over the years as new cohorts move through its doors.

Are there any professors, mentors, or broadly people in UL or your life that have played a pivotal role in your academic and personal development?

I had an amazing supervisory team in UL, with Prof Catherine Woods and Dr Catherine Norton. These two women have been extremely influential in my overall research journey. I have been forced out of my comfort zone on many occasions and have learned so much as a result.