Motivation, Leadership & Success

Steven McDonnell worked with the Education2Employment team when delivering the programme to schools in the Newry area. He spoke at a Career Pathways event in November 2016, sharing his experiences in the world of work and sport. Steven was able to reinforce the message which we were trying to get across to the students. His delivery was exceptional, combining humour, real world examples using an informal but highly focused presentation. Steven demonstrated that he is a great communicator by leaving our audience feeling excited and motivated. The student evaluation results for his presentation were exceptional.

Steven is a remarkable person both on and off the field of play. Steven is widely regarded as one of the best Gaelic footballers of the modern game and a true ambassador of Armagh and Irish football. Off the field Steven has shown amazing qualities as a leader and human being. A true family man that has been a leader of his own community giving back to the development of so many young leaders. Internationally Steven has made a huge contribution to the vulnerable communities in Africa through his amazing work with The Alan Kerins Projects. Steven has helped raised thousands of Euro for essential programmes in Zambia and continues to be a great ambassador for warriors and humanity. Steven’s exceptional and inspiring qualities came to the fore during his trip to Zambia where he connected so brilliantly with the local people. A true gent and legend.

I had the pleasure of first working with Stevie in 2008 when he was a member of the Irish international rules team going to play down in Australia. What really made Stevie stand out for me was how mentally and physically tough he was. My role was to get the Irish team physically and mentally tougher and no matter how hard I made training Stevie never shirked any of it. In 2010 I was then appointed as fitness coach to the Armagh senior footballers so I got to work with Stevie 2/3 times a week with training and matches regularly. Again what struck me was nobody bullied Stevie , despite being man marked by the toughest defenders in Ireland, Stevie was as hard as nails. He never started trouble but if it came to his door in training or matches he always finished it.