Dr Liam Sweeney

    Sport Science and Nutrition

    Assistant Professor

    Biography

    Dr Liam Sweeney jointed Maynooth University in October 2023 as an Assistant Professor in Sport Science. Prior to joining Maynooth University, Liam held academic and research roles at Dublin City University (DCU), including as a Lecturer and as a Postdoctoral Researcher. Liam’s primary research interests are focused on the broad area of athlete development in sport, with a particular focus on the physical, physiological and psychosocial factors that influence development, and their interactions.  Liam completed his PhD at the School of Health and Human Performance in DCU between 2020-2023, which was funded by the Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme. Liam’s PhD examined talent development in the Football Association of Ireland’s male player pathway. This PhD research undertook a mixed-methods approach, examining various aspects of player development, including physical, physiological and psychosocial elements of player development. Liam’s PhD thesis was titled, “Maximising potential through the pathway: An interdisciplinary and mixed-methods investigation of player development in Irish male football”.

    Prior to the completion of his PhD, Liam attained a first class master’s degree with honours in Exercise Physiology at the University of Galway, and a first class undergraduate degree in Sport and Exercise Science with honours at the University of Bedfordshire. During his undergraduate degree in Sport and Exercise Science, Liam won all three special student achievement awards; including the award for the highest overall dissertation grade in the School of Sport Science and Physical Activity, the highest overall final course degree grade, and the highest overall grade at the University of Bedfordshire Discipline of Exercise Physiology poster presentation and oral defence. During his master’s degree in Exercise Physiology, Liam was awarded the highest overall grade for his MSc thesis. In addition to his academic role, Liam continues to work in a number of research and consultancy roles with several sporting National Governing Bodies, including the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), the Irish Football Association (IFA), and the Swedish Football Association. 

    Research Interests

    Liam’s primary research interests are focused on the broad area of athlete development in sport, with a particular focus on the physical, physiological and psychosocial factors that influence development, and their interactions. Liam is currently working on a number of research projects with several sports clubs and sporting National Governing Bodies, including the Football Association of Ireland and the Swedish Football Association. 

    Research Projects

    Title Role Description Start date End date Amount
    What role does biological maturation play in the development experiences of female players on the FAI’s national and international pathway? PI 05/01/2024 04/01/2025 13514.8
    Football Association of Ireland Research Bursary PI 22/09/2020 31/08/2021 5505
    Research Collaboration: Maynooth University, Karolinska Institutet and the Swedish Football Association. PI 10/04/2024 15/03/2025 1700
    Maximising Potential Through the Pathway: An Interdisciplinary and Mixed-Methods Investigation of Player Development in Irish Male Football PI 01/09/2021 31/08/2023 54510

    Peer Reviewed Journal

    Year Publication
    2024 Liam Sweeney; Tommy R Lundberg; Cian Sweeney; Jack Hickey; Áine MacNamara (2024) 'Biological maturity but not relative age biases exist in female international youth soccer players relative to the general population'. Biology of Sport, 42 (2):249-256. [Link] https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2025.144411 [Full-Text]
    2024 Liam Sweeney; Áine MacNamara; Jamie Taylor (2024) 'Riding the wave: a prospective exploration of the temporal impact of perceived challenges on the development of relatively early high performing national-level youth soccer players'. European Journal for Sport and Society, . [Link] [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2024 Liam Sweeney; Alfonso de la Rubia; Jamie Taylor; Christian Thue Bjørndal (2024) 'Looking beyond relative age to understand relative advantage and disadvantage in talent development'. Frontiers In Sports And Active Living, 6 (1470944):1-7. [Link] [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2024 Liam Sweeney; Áine MacNamara; Jamie Taylor; Tommy R Lundberg (2024) 'Selection of reference data significantly influences biological maturity timing classification in national youth soccer players'. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 0 (0):1-10. [Link] https://doi.org/10.1177/17479541241277661 [Full-Text]
    2024 Liam Sweeney; Tommy R Lundberg (2024) 'Relative age and biological maturity-related selection biases in male youth soccer across different competitive levels within a national association'. Science & Medicine In Football, :1-9. [Link] https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2024.2369543 [Full-Text]
    2024 Michael O'Driscoll; Tommy Mooney; Liam Sweeney (2024) 'The Relationship Between Maximum Lower Limb Strength & Power, and GPS Acceleration Speed in Elite U20 Gaelic Football Athletes'. International Journal of Strength and Conditioning, 4 (1). [Link] [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2023 Liam Sweeney; Áine MacNamara; Jamie Taylor (2023) 'International selection and competition in youth sport: pin the tail on the donkey or targeted intervention?'. Frontiers In Sports And Active Living, 5 (1298909). [Link] [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2023 Liam Sweeney; Jamie Taylor; Áine MacNamara (2023) 'Push and Pull Factors: Contextualising Biological Maturation and Relative Age in Talent Development Systems'. Children, 10 :1-20. https:// doi.org/10.3390/children10010130 [Full-Text]
    2022 Liam Sweeney; Sean P Cumming; Áine MacNamara; Dan Horan (2022) 'The selection advantages associated with advanced biological maturation vary according to playing position in national-level youth soccer'. Biology of Sport, 40 :715-722. https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2023.119983 [Full-Text]
    2022 Liam Sweeney; Sean P Cumming; Áine MacNamara; Dan Horan (2022) 'A tale of two selection biases: The independent effects of relative age and biological maturity on player selection in the Football Association of Ireland’s national talent pathway'. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 0 :1-12. [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2022 Liam Sweeney; Áine MacNamara; Dan Horan (2022) 'The Irish Football Player Pathway: Examining Stakeholder Coherence Throughout and Across the Player Development System'. Frontiers In Sports And Active Living, 4 . [DOI] [Full-Text]
    2021 Liam Sweeney; Dan Horan; Áine MacNamara (2021) 'Premature Professionalisation or Early Engagement? Examining Practise in Football Player Pathways'. Frontiers In Sports And Active Living, 3 . [DOI] [Full-Text]
    Certain data included herein are derived from the © Web of Science (2024) of Clarivate. All rights reserved.

    Honors and Awards

    Date Title Awarding Body
    01/09/2021 Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship The Irish Research Council
    10/09/2020 Highest graded MSc Exercise Physiology Thesis Grade, National University of Ireland, Galway National University of Ireland, Galway
    19/07/2019 Highest undergraduate degree grade on the BSc (Hons) Sport Science and Personal Training course, University of Bedfordshire University of Bedfordshire
    19/07/2019 Highest graded undergraduate dissertation at the University of Bedfordshire School of Sport Science and Physical Activity University of Bedfordshire
    19/07/2019 Highest grade at the University of Bedfordshire School of Sport Science and Physical Activity undergraduate dissertation poster presentation and oral defence, Discipline of Exercise Physiology University of Bedfordshire

    Committees

    Committee Function From / To
    Maynooth University Healthy Campus Steering Group Faculty of Science and Engineering Representative 12/12/2023 -
    Maynooth University Physical Activity Framework Implementation Group Member 01/11/2023 -
    Faculty of Science and Engineering Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Committee Department of Sport Science and Nutrition Representative 09/02/2024 -
    Maynooth University Sports Strategy Project Working Group Working Group Member 07/11/2024 -
    Department of Sport Science and Nutrition First Year Co-Ordinator Department of Sport Science and Nutrition First Year Co-Ordinator 01/09/2024 -

    Employment

    Employer Position From / To
    Maynooth University Assistant Professor 01/10/2023 -
    Dublin City University Postdoctoral Researcher 01/06/2023 - 30/09/2023
    Dublin City University Lecturer 01/09/2022 - 01/06/2023
    Setanta College Teaching Assistant 01/11/2021 - 30/09/2023
    Dublin City University Research Assistant 01/04/2021 - 30/11/2021
    Dublin City University Postgraduate Demonstrator 01/04/2021 - 31/05/2022

    Education

    Start date Institution Qualification Subject
    01/09/2019 University of Galway/National University of Ireland Galway MSc (Master of Science with Honors) Exercise Physiology
    01/09/2016 University of Bedfordshire BSc (Bachelor of Science with Honors) Sport Science
    22/09/2020 Dublin City University PhD (Doctor of Philosophy) Sport Science - Thesis Title: Maximising Potential Through the Pathway: An Interdisciplinary and Mixed-Methods Investigation of Player Development in Irish Male Football

    Consultancy

    Client Description
    Irish Football Association Consulting at the Irish Football Association delivering lecture and seminar content on the UEFA Elite Youth A and B coaching licenses on the topic of Biological Growth and Maturation.

    Outreach Activities

    Organisation Type Description
    FIFA Industry In this presentation, Dr Liam Sweeney of Maynooth University, Ireland, presents a fascinating study exploring how biological maturation selection biases can vary according to playing position in youth football. [Link]
    Foootball Association of Ireland Industry National Coaching Conference 2022
    RTÉ Industry [Link]

    Teaching Interests

    Liam's teaching primary interests include exercise physiology, performance coaching, physical activity, and supporting athlete development in sport. 

    Module Co-Ordinator:

    1. SN153 Physiology and Exercise 
    2. SN251 Coaching and Performance Science 2

    Joint module Co-Ordinator:

    1. SN151 Coaching and Performance Science 1

    MH412 - BSc Business with Sport Science 

    MH221 - BSc Sport Science and Health