Course Tutors

Motions has a team of tutors built up over twenty years. There is a great mix of experienced tutors with recently qualified tutors adding freshness to the team. Brendan Hackett is the owner and driving force behind Motions. Linda Gaynor and Joan Rock coordinate the Certificate in Exercise and Fitness Courses and they are joined by Caroline Hogarty, Colette Healy, Kate Turley, Brendan Roche, Gerry Cullen and Stephen Bates. Linda and Caroline have also tutored on the Holistic Massage Courses. Brendan Hackett is the main tutor on the Sports Massage Course.

Brendan Hackett

Brendan set up Motions Health & Fitness in 1984. He had graduated from Thomond College the previous year with a degree in Physical Education. The business was established in Leixlip initially. Motions started out as a fitness centre and expanded rapidly. It became an approved teaching centre for NCEF and ITEC courses before establishing itself as the leading corporate fitness consultancy company in Ireland in the early 90's.

Brendan Hackett coupled his management of Motions with an interesting career in sport. He was an inter county football manager, coach to the Irish Compromise Rules Team and an international athletics coach. He has worked as a sports psychologist for the past 15 years after completing a masters degree in Sports Psychology in 1993. He has advised many of Ireland's leading athletes and teams in that period.

He was also the first chief executive of the Athletic Association of Ireland. He now concentrates on Motions and he is backed up by a dedicated team of fitness professionals in both the training and corporate divisions.

Joan Rock

Joan has been involved in the fitness industry since the early 80's. She qualified with the British Physical Education Association initially and was one of the first instructors to receive the National Certificate in Exercise & Fitness when it was established in 1987. She was part of the first NCEF tutor training group in 1990 and has been teaching with Motions since then. She tutors a variety of modules and has specialist qualifications in pilates and pre and post natal exercise. She is one of the most experienced tutors in the country and now coordinates the Certificate in Exercise & Health Fitness course in the Irish Life Mall in the City Centre.

Linda Gaynor

Linda has a unique insight into the mindset of students taking courses. She came to Motions in 1997 to do the fitness instructor course. She completed the massage course the following year and enjoyed the courses so much that she decided to train as a tutor. She completed the NCEF tutor course in 2002 and has since completed a degree in Education and Training in DCU. She has tutored with Motions since 2002 and coordinates the UCD and Palmerstown courses. She also has specialist qualifications in pilates and childrens' fitness.

Caroline Hogarty

Caroline decided to change her career after doing the massage course and then the fitness course in Motions in 2001. She went on to train as a tutor in 2003 and has turned her interest in health and fitness into a great career. In addition to tutoring on the Motions courses, Caroline recently set up her own business teaching Pilates and working as a Personal Training and Massage Therapist. She completed a BACR Phase IV Cardiac Rehabilitation course in Leeds Metropolitan University in 2009 as well as a Walking Leaders course in conjunction with the Irish Heart Foundation.

Stephen Bates

Stephen has a degree in Business & Leisure Recreation. He has come through the full pathway in the NCEF structure and has obtained the Diploma in Exercise & Health Fitness from the University of Limerick. He is currently employed by the County Dublin VEC as a Leisure Centre Manager. This educational and practical experience means that Stephen brings a great insight into his tutoring on the courses.

Brendan Roche

Dr. Brendan Roche has been involved in Fitness and Sport for the last 25 years. He has been involved in a wide variety of activities from long distance kayaking to kickboxing, Defence Forces Fitness training to Massage Therapy. He also has a strong interest in teaching and has worked as both a lecturer and researcher for the University of Ulster.

Brendan is an NCEF qualified tutor with particular interest in resistance training, fitness testing, programming and circuit training. He has been tutoring with Motions since 2005.

As well as being a tutor, Brendan is an active fitness instructor providing classes to corporate clients and doing individual personal training. He has worked with a wide variety of personal training clients with a particular expertise in working with the disabled (primarily visual and hard of hearing disabilities).