Dr Liam Sweeney
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. In line with these research interests, Liam's primary teaching interests relate to biological maturation in sport and exercise, performance coaching, exercise physiology, and supporting youth athlete development in sport. Liam is module coordinator for the following modules: SN153 Physiology and Exercise and SN251 Coaching and Performance Science 2; and is joint module coordinator for the SN151 Coaching and Performance Science 1 module on the MH412 - BSc Business with Sport Science and MH221 - BSc Sport Science and Health courses. Liam is also the Department of Sport Science and Nutrition First-Year Student Co-Ordinator.
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 athlete development in the Football Association of Ireland’s male player pathway. This PhD research undertook a mixed-methods approach, examining various aspects of athlete development, including physical, physiological and psychosocial elements, with a particular focus on biological maturation. 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 undergraduate thesis grade in the School of Sport Science and Physical Activity, the highest overall undergraduate 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 in his cohort 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. A particular area of this research focus is on the role and influence of biological maturation in youth athlete development. 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
Peer Reviewed Journal
Year | Publication | |
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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] |
Honors and Awards
Committees
Employment
Education
Outreach Activities
Organisation | Type | Description | |
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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 primary teaching interests relate to biological maturation in sport and exercise, performance coaching, exercise physiology, and supporting athlete development in sport.
Module Co-Ordinator:
- SN153 Physiology and Exercise
- SN251 Coaching and Performance Science 2
Joint module Co-Ordinator:
- SN151 Coaching and Performance Science 1
MH412 - BSc Business with Sport Science
MH221 - BSc Sport Science and Health
Department of Sport Science and Nutrition First-Year Student Co-Ordinator (2024/25)