Richard Bolger

Dr. Richard Bolger is a Lecturer in the Department of Sport and Exercise Science at South East Technological University (SETU), where he has worked since 2005. His roles include teaching across undergraduate and postgraduate programs, supervising PhD students, and conducting research in biomechanics, strength and conditioning, and AI applications in sports. He holds a PhD from the University of Limerick (2017), an MSc in Sports Psychology/Physiology from Ithaca College (2004), and a BSc in Recreation & Sport Management (2004).

His research focuses on strength training, movement analysis, and AI-driven performance assessment. Current projects include investigating plyometrics in female Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) athletes and machine learning applications in GAA performance. He supervises PhD students in areas like combat sports performance, endurance athlete strength training, and AI in sports analytics.

Dr. Bolger is an external examiner for multiple sports science programs at GMIT, SETU Carlow, and IT Tralee. He serves on professional bodies including the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports (ISBS) and the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA). He received the 2024 Best Student Paper Award (co-recipient) at icSPORTS for work on machine learning in sports technique analysis.

His funded projects include a TU Rise-funded study on plyometric effects in GAA athletes and an IRC-funded project on endurance athlete strength training. He collaborates on mixed-methods research in Olympic combat sports and has published widely in journals like Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research and International Journal of Computer Science in Sport.