About Us

Why Choose Us?

We employ Physiotherapists who have completed a BSc or MSc in Physiotherapy and are eligible to become Chartered Physiotherapists. We currently have 7 on staff. 

We also employ athletic therapist and sports therapists who have a degree in athletic therapy or sports medicine and have received further training from Theresa McGinn, the owner of the clinic, who is a highly trained Chartered Physiotherapist.

We offer an in-depth Assessment and accurate Diagnosis to provide the right care for you.

We develop an effective treatment plan & home Exercise Programme so you need less sessions.

We offer long term advice and exercise regimes to help prevent injury recurrence.

Finally, We Genuinely Care about our patients.

About the clinic

Kilkenny Physiotherapy Clinic was established in 1994 and is currently the longest established independent physiotherapy clinic in Co. Kilkenny.

We employ Physiotherapists who have completed a BSc or MSc in Physiotherapy and so are eligible to become Chartered Physiotherapists.

We have clinics and pilates studios in both Kilkenny and Freshford area.

Kilkenny Physio Clinic

ABOUT US

We offer a wide range of specialities for all ages, and while physiotherapists may join and leave our team, the ethos remains consistent: To get to the root of your problem, alleviate your symptoms and address the underlying causes of your pain or dysfunction.

To this end, ongoing education is an integral part of our daily obligations, and Theresa constantly educates her staff, teaching them to think, see and feel as she does.

All our staff continually attend courses, listen to podcasts and keep abreast of research and developments in the field of medicine and sport.

ABOUT Theresa

Kilkenny Physio Clinic
Theresa McGinn - Chartered Physiotherapist

Theresa qualified from University of Ulster with a BSc Honours degree in Physiotherapy in 1986. She worked in hospitals in Galway, Tyrone, Cork, Kilkenny and Carlow. Whilst working in the public system she also worked in private clinics in Cork and Derry. 

In University Hospital Cork Theresa specialised in Neurology and Neurosurgery which gave her an excellent background into movement analysis; and created in her an acute awareness of abnormal movement patterns and how to approach them, this is an excellent basis for treating all sports injuries and musculo-skeletal problems

On arrival in Kilkenny in February 1994, Theresa commenced work in the O’Neill centre (Enable Ireland) but was only in the city 2 months when the,  Co. GAA approached her to work with the County hurling and Football teams; and hence was born Kilkenny Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic.

The clinic grew rapidly and in November 1996 Theresa reluctantly had to leave the O’Neill centre and work full-time in the clinic.

Theresa remained as sole physiotherapist in charge of all the Kilkenny County teams until 2000 when family commitments overtook her and she reluctantly gave up the Senior team.

Theresa kept on all other teams until 2005. Theresa now looks after all the underage hurling and football development squads and our county football teams.

Theresa has undergone intensive post-graduate training in many areas, and continues to update her skills and knowledge, keeping abreast of modern research and treatment approaches, whilst still retaining her past skills and utilising her previous experience to provide the best all round patient care for all her clients. 

Click here for more information.

Theresa loves all areas of physiotherapy but has drifted towards injury prevention through bio-mechanical assessments and analysis of movement, enabling her to accurately determine the root of the problem and treat accordingly.

Theresa especially enjoys treating children and teenagers with a view to injury prevention.

Theresa is also a Stott qualified Pilates Instructor and uses this approach to treatment in a lot of cases, as well as giving physical classes in the Core Clinic, Clontubrid near Freshford in North Kilkenny and in her pilates studio in Kilkenny City. With the arrival of the Covid Pandemic in 2020 she has moved many of her pilates classes online so everyone can avail of them.

In 2013 Theresa travelled to Australia to further upskill in the Schroth Method of Scoliosis treatment, and now runs a scoliosis clinic in Kilkenny.

 

Our Valuable Team

Theresa McGinn

Practice Owner & Chartered & CORU registered Physiotherapist with BSC in physiotherapy from UUJ, Stott Certified Pilates Instructor and Schroth qualified Scoliosis Therapist

Theresa McGinn comes from Co. Tyrone. She qualified from University of Ulster with a BSc Honours degree in Physiotherapy in 1986. She worked in hospitals in Galway, Tyrone, Cork, Kilkenny and Carlow. Whilst working in the public system she also worked in private clinics in Cork and Derry.

In Cork Theresa specialised in Neurology and Neurosurgery which gave her an excellent background into movement analysis; and created in her an acute awareness of abnormal movement patterns and how to approach them, this is an excellent basis for treating all sports injuries and musculo-skeletal problems.

On arrival in Kilkenny in February 1994, Theresa commenced work in the O’Neill centre (Enable Ireland) but was only in the city 2 months when the,  Co. GAA approached her to work with the County hurling and Football teams; and hence was born Kilkenny Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic.

The clinic grew rapidly and in November 1996 Theresa reluctantly had to leave the O’Neill centre and work full-time in the clinic.

Theresa remained as sole physiotherapist in charge of all the Kilkenny County teams until 2000 when family commitments overtook her and she reluctantly gave up the Senior team.

Theresa kept on all other teams until 2005. Theresa and her dedicated team now looks after all the underage development squads, the Minor Hurling and Football teams, the Intermediate Hurling panels and our football teams.

Theresa has undergone intensive post-graduate training in many areas, and continues to update her skills and knowledge, keeping abreast of modern research and treatment approaches, whilst still retaining her past skills and utilising her previous experience to provide the best all round patient care for all her clients.. click here for more information.

Theresa loves all areas of physiotherapy but has drifted towards injury prevention through bio-mechanical assessments and analysis of movement, enabling her to accurately determine the root of the problem and treat accordingly.

Theresa especially enjoys treating children and teenagers with a view to injury prevention.

Her latestnew skill is the Schroth Method of treating Scoliosis in children and teenagers.

Theresa is also a Stott qualified Pilates Instructor and uses this approach to treatment in a lot of cases, as well as giving physical classes in the Core Clinic, Clontubrid near Freshford in North Kilkenny and in her pilates studio in Kilkenny City. Since the arrival of the Covid Pandemic she has moved her pilates classes online.

Currently Theresa spends a lot of her time up-skilling her staff. She has always loved teaching and feels passionately that it would be a shame to retire or leave the profession without handing on all her knowledge and skills. SO Theresa holds weekly inservice training sessions to Upskill all her staff and encourage them to think like she does.

Liam dunphy

Head Physiotherapist – Chartered & CORU registered Physiotherapist  with BSc Physiotherapy and BSc Sports Science from UUJ and Stott trained Pilates Instructor

Liam Dunphy has a long standing relationship with Kilkenny Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic.

He is originally from Kilkenny but spent his university years in the University of Ulster in Jordanstown.

He initially completed a BSc degree in Sports and Exercise Medicine which was a great basis for his further BSc Degree in Physiotherapy at the same university. He choose a second degree rather than a Masters as he felt it would provide him with better physical skills.

During his degree course he advanced his skills completing a Sports massage course and his Stott Pilates Instructor Course.

On qualifying he returned to Kilkenny, and unfortunately, due to the gruelling process of having a degree obtained outside of the Rebublic of Ireland recognised by CORU, he was unable to work as a physiotherapist in our clinic.

So he commenced working with us as a Massage therapist and Pilates Instructor.

In a bid to develop his physiotherapy skills he left us to return to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast where he spent time on the acute wards updating his physiotherapy skills in the areas of neurology, respiratory, geriatric and orthoapedics.

Liam’s degree has now been recognised and he has now returned to the clinic as a Chartered Physiotherapist and is CORU registered.

Since returning to us Liam has become involved in developing the many services we offer in the clinic as well as carrying a client base of varied musculo-skeletal, sports injured, post-operative and paediatric clients.

Liam is co-ordinating a group within the clinic to utilise our own gym more and is planning to set up classes for various client groups such as Post ACL surgery or ankle sprains. He is also helping set up gym classes to help our clients learn how to use the gym safely and effectively.

He is involved in running our Kids coreagility and speed classes and our Sports Pilates classes. 

Liam has introduced an extension to our previous paediatric service where we treat children with running difficulties. We now offer Running Technique training and this has enhanced our services enormously, as we can now help children who are slow runners as well as those with “funny runs”.

Liam is very popular with our Pilates clients and takes many of the classes within the clinic. 

Liam is developing our “Athelytics” business which will be extremely helpful for our clients providing objective muscle strength testing for our clients.

Needless to say, being a Kilkenny man, Liam is a keen hurler and played for underage Kilkenny County Teams. He also played for Co Tyrone Inter County hurling team while he lived in Belfast.

We are very happy to have Liam back on our team and hope he will be with us for many years to come.

Nouman Abid

Chartered & CORU registered Physiotherapist with a Doctorate in Physiotherapy from Lahore University

With over seven years of clinical expertise, Dr. Nouman Abid brings a global perspective and an
exceptional therapeutic skillset to the Kilkenny Physio Clinic team. Having successfully run two
private practices in Pakistan, his commitment to delivering targeted, evidence-based care
continues to help clients navigate complex conditions and long-term recovery.

Dr. Abid is a CORU-registered physiotherapist, holding a Doctor of Physical Therapy
qualification alongside specialist certifications in dry needling and sports and exercise medicine. Driven by a passion for which, he pursued an MSc in this field while studying in Northern
Ireland, and obtained certification from sports medicine Australia as a sports trainer level-1.

His broad clinical repertoire includes neurological and respiratory rehabilitation, musculoskeletal
therapy, chronic pain management, vertigo, headaches and TMJ treatment—along with
advanced techniques like Shockwave Therapy (ESWT) and laser therapy.

He has a special interest in treating sports-related injuries and supporting pre- and post-operative recovery, using an integrative approach that tailors every treatment to the patient’s
needs. Known for his precision and calm presence, Dr. Abid’s philosophy is simple: informed care begins with patient understanding. His dedication to patient care and well-being is unwavering.

When he’s not in clinic, you’ll find him keeping pace with the latest research or exploring ways to refine his techniques. His patients consistently value the care, attention, and professionalism he brings to every session.

Nouman has become a valued member of our team, and has set aside his interest in cricket and
developed a love of hurling. He’s frequently seen on the sideline covering football and hurling matches throughout Kilkenny. We haven’t yet pursuaded him to take up the hurl himself.

Nouman is one of our student Facilitators and is involved in the education of our university students and younger therapists. He is an active participant in our weekly inservice trainings.

Despite his huge skill set and vast knowledge |Nouman has actively embraced our new GoTo
Mentorship programmes which aims to upskill therapists to be masters in assessing and treating
complex cases for longstanding health improvement.

Outside of work, Nouman is taking every opportunity to tour Ireland and further afield with his family, and we’re hoping we will eventually convert him into a fully fledged Irishman.

caitriona cody

Physiotherapist & Stott trained Pilates Instructor currently working as a Physiotherapy Assistant

Caitriona started work in our clinic in December 2023. She initally came in as a pilates instructor while she was completing her degree in the Netherlands. 

Since completing her degree she has engaged in ongoing in-service trainings within our clinic, learning from the experienced staff in the clinic. 

She has also completed her orthotic assessment training and is skilled in assessing for and fitting orthotics. 

Caitriona sees many of the children in our clinic.

Caitriona is responsible for our Kids core classes which are a hugely enjoyable for children to gain the improvements in the main key areas of development such as agility, core strength, co-ordination, strength and stamina.

Caitriona does many of our pilates classes including our osteoporosis, ante and post natal and general classes.

Oisin O'Ceallaigh

Chartered & CORU registered Physiotherapist with BSC in physiotherapy from UL

Oisín, a Wexford man, but we wont hold it against him, joined our team straight out of college, and we were lucky to find him. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy from the University of Limerick in 2025. His academic journey was complemented by hands-on clinical experience in college where he was exposed a wide range of musculoskeletal conditions across a variety of healthcare settings.

Passionate about promoting physical health and well-being, Oisín believes in a patient-centred approach to treatment. He takes the time to understand each individual’s unique needs, tailoring rehabilitation plans to support recovery and improve quality of life. His holistic approach to rehabilitation aligns beautifully with our clinic ethos of getting to the root of the problem and creating long term solutions.

Since joining our team Oisín has been involved in our unique mentorship programme coupling the GoTo Mentorship programme with Dave O’Sullivan – international mentor to many physiotherapists, and our in house mentorship programme. He has been shadowing both Theresa McGinn and Liam Dunphy to upskill in a variety of physiotherapy techniques and is committed to continuous professional development.

He has already taken part in the Initial Assessment Mastery training and is completing his deep dry needling under the guidance of renown export Dr Johnson McEvoy.

Oisín’s friendly demeanour and outgoing personality is helping him develop his own client base very quickly as our clients feel they can talk to him, and that he listens. He is establishing himself as a trusted and reliable physiotherapist and an integral part of our team.

Playing both hurling and football has also given Oisín a valuable insight into the role of strength and conditioning in athletic performance. Through his own experiences on the field, he has gained a deep appreciation for the importance of tailored fitness programs in enhancing strength, mobility, and endurance, as well as preventing injuries in sporting populations.

In keeping with his interest in sport Oisín has quickly learned how to perform athletic testing with our VALD muscle testing equipment and will no doubt put this to good use for 2026 pre-season athletic assessments.

Oisín is now also running our UCanAct outdoor exercise class and is proving to be a big hit with the Over 55 cohort of people who attend our classes, the love the energy and enthusiasm he exudes in the classes.

Hopefully Oisín will stay with us for many years to come.

Rutuja Pakhale

Chartered & CORU registered Physiotherapist and Masters in Sports & Exercise Science from UCC and certified Pilates Instructor

Rutuja joined our clinic with a strong academic, sporting, and professional background. Originally from India, she has just completed her Master’s degree in Sports and Exercise Medicine at University College Cork, where she specialised in sports injuries, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, and exercise prescription.

She has been an athlete since childhood, training in middle-distance running. Her dedication to athletics led her to compete at a national level in the 800m and 1500m events, which gave her valuable insight into the discipline, performance, and recovery required in competitive sport. This first-hand experience strongly influences her approach to working with injured athletes and active clients.

Alongside her studies, she trained in Pilates instruction, which she integrates into her clinical practice to help clients improve posture, flexibility, core strength, and injury prevention. Her Pilates classes are known for being both precise and encouraging, making them popular among a wide range of clients and we are delighted to have her taking some of the classes in our studio.

Before her Masters, Rutuja gained experience working with a variety of clients in areas such as musculoskeletal rehabilitation, post-operative care, cardiorespiratory, neuro and paediatrics. She is particularly passionate about designing individualised rehabilitation programmes in which she combines her  physiotherapy, pilates expertise, and athletic background to provide well-rounded care and helping people regain confidence and independence through exercise-based recovery.

Outside of work, Rutuja enjoys singing, dancing, and exploring new places, reflecting her lively and creative personality. We’ve introduced her to hurling, camogie and gaelic football here, but we’ve yet to see her try her hand at any of our national sports.

We are delighted to have Rutuja as part of our team. Her bubbly personality is bringing a breathe of fresh air to the clinic and she is rapidly becoming popular amongst our patients from the very young to the very old. 

Rutuja is passionate about continuing her professional development and is availing of our structured mentorship programme both via the GoTo Mentorship programme (a world wide physiotherapist mentorship facility) as well as our own mentorship programme where she is constantly upskilling under the guidance of Theresa McGinn and Liam Dunphy.
 
This month she is doing her deep dry needling with Dr Johnson McEvoy, the leader in deep dry needling education in Ireland.

Aoife Bolger

Chartered & CORU registered Physiotherapist  MSc Physiotherapy and BSc Health & Performance Science from UCD

Aoife Bolger is the latest addition to our physiotherapy team. She is a UCD graduate, having
completed a BSc Health and Performance Science and an MSc in Physiotherapy. She rocked up to her interview with an enthusiasm to learn that made it impossible for us not to bring her on board.

Her interest in our in house mentorship programme for new graduates as well as our affiliation with the Dave O’Sullivan GoTo online mentorship programme are what attracted Aoife to work
in our clinic, and she is buzzing to get involved with all of this.

Her training provided her with over 1000 hours of clinical placement in a wide variety of specialities, many of which we are noted for, such as paediatrics and especially neurological
paediatrics such as delayed development and Cerebral Palsy.

Neurology is another area in which she has a keen interest, and for 3 years she volunteered as a physiotherapy assistant for Move4Parkinsons, and she has completed work placements in this
area.

Her main interest of course is in sports injuries, and has a love for all sports with her own sporting interests being hockey, camogie, horse-riding and golf. No doubt she will try and get us all out on the golf course while she works here.

Aoife hopes to go on and specialise in women's health, and wants to do additional training in
many fields of physiotherapy. She has already completed her MOOC and Be Active with
Arthritis training courses which allow her to teach on our outdoor UCanAct exercise classes. She is hoping to train up in pilates as well as soon as possible.

Aoife is a Cardiac First Responder and is trained in pitchside, so she will be a valuable asset to
us for covering matches and training sessions.

Another area where we find Aoife’s experience invaluable is in her experience with athlete
testing and data analysis which aligns perfectly with the introduction of the VALD muscle and
performance testing equipment in the clinic.

Aoifes’s approach to physiotherapy focuses on understanding the whole person, not just their
injury, by combining evidence-based practice with the patients individual goals to support meaningful recovery. She is committed to helping people move better, feel stronger, and regain confidence in their bodies and abilities so that they can live life fully and become the best version of themselves.

Afeefa Ashraf

Chartered Physiotherapist, Pilates Instructor & Manual Lymphatic Drainage Therapist

Chartered Physiotherapist Dr. Afeefa Ashraf joined our team in 2021. She trained in The University of Faisalabad in Pakistan. This undergraduate course is a 5 year degree course which receives a doctorate on graduation.

At the end of her 5 years in college, Afeefa completed an internship in the NACE Centre of Enablement in Pakistan, where she gained huge experience in all aspects of physiotherapy.

Afeefa then travelled to the UK where she joined a research team in Oxford researching stroke rehabilitation and Cardiac Rehabilitation

Since Arriving in Ireland Afeefa worked in neurology and with the elderly before joining our team.

Since Afeefa joined us she has worked closely with senior staff members to enhance her assessment and treatment skills, and adapt approaches which we have spent years developing in our clinic.

Despite working full-time and running a home, Afeefa finds time to continue her education online in all areas of musculo-skeletal physiotherapy.  She has also gained national qualifications in neuromuscular therapy and sports and orthopaedic massage.

She takes time out to attend face to face courses and since commencing work with us she has also completed her Deep Dry Needling training and an Orthotic and Biomechanical Assessment course and she has become skilled in assessing for and fitting orthotics. SInce commencing work in the Midlands she has established an orthotic clinic for children with special needs.

As Afeefa has a huge amount of experience with babies and children she has worked closely with Theresa since started working in the clinic. This work inspired Afeefa to take up a job with the Midlands healthboard, where she works in the area of paediatrics with additional needs.

Afeefa has trained in Manual Lymphatic Drainage and was responsible for re-instating our Manual Lymphatic drainage service what had remained closed to this population for the past few years. She did her training  under the instruction of Suzanne Cromie, a tutor for Gateway Workshops in Belfast.

Although Afeefa would be a cricket fan at heart we are gradually converting her to the ways of hurling, and no doubt very shortly she will be an avid fan.

Afeefa married in summer of 2023, and unfortunately followed her love up the country. I am happy to say that she continues to make the long trek to Kilkenny every fortnight to work with some clients in our clinic.

Maire McCarthy

Practice Receptionist / Administrator

Maire will most likely to be your first point of contact at the clinic.

The physiotherapists may make you better, but Maire runs the show. She’ll always greet you with a smile, and do everything she can to make you feel welcome in the clinic.

Maire is extremely helpful and will ensure that any queries you may have are adequately followed up (in other words she’ll keep after the rest of us until we do the job).

Maire has been with us for years and knows the clinic inside out, so feel free to call her up and ask her whatever you need to know. If she cant help you, she’ll find someone who can.

Since commencing work with us many years ago Maire upskilled to become a qualified medical secretary and is one of our most valued staff members of staff

Vincent Dunphy

Practice & Financial Administrator

Vincent returned to our team after a long absence. He had worked for us as an administrator back in the day when we were just beginning to upgrade to technology from 2010 to 2014. He was the driving force behind our modernisation and the setting up of digital diaries and clinical notes.

He then moved to work for some local haulage businesses where he streamlined office procedures and managed the day to day administration of these businesses. He also got
involved in a bit of driving as he loves lorries and all things mechanical.

He rejoined our team in September 2025 to again bring our business on to the next level from the administration side. With the evolution of AI and new developments in all aspects of office administration we needed help to streamline the “behind the scenes” of our clinic, so we called on Vincent to come in and create processes and systems which will allow us function more efficiently and effectively from a financial and administration point of view.

As we say, there was no point in our clinic becoming the GoTo Physiotherapy Clinic in the area for the treatment of complex and complicated cases, if we did not have the office backup to facilitate this from an organisational perspective. So Vincent has joined Miare on our administration team, and together they are the face you will meet and the voice you will hear when you contact the clinic.

Outside of work Vincent is a keen hurling man. He is the current secretary of Lisdowney GAA and an avid Kilkenny supporter. He also follows Crystal Palace Soccer, but we won’t talk about that.

NIAMH DEELY

Sports Therapist 

Niamh  graduated from Dublin City University with a BSc in Athletic Therapy and Training in 2024.
Throughout her time at DCU, Niamh built a strong foundation in musculoskeletal physiotherapy, injury
treatment, injury prevention and strength & conditioning.

Niamh is EFR and CFR certified and throughout
her 4 years at University she gained invaluable pitch side physiotherapy experience working
predominantly with DCU GAA and Athletics teams.

Niamh was lucky to obtain a 3 month placement block at UPMC sports medicine clinic in Waterford where she gained further  experience in all aspects of injury treatment and rehabilitation working under the guidance of chartered physiotherapists.

Niamh joined our team in summer 2024 and will stay with us until she goes to do her masters in physiotherapy in September 2025

Niamh’s previous  experience enabled her to slot seemlessly into KPC clinic life and immediately began covering matches and training sessions for the many teams we look after in Kilkenny.

Niamh took over the role of therapist with many of the underage County Hurling and football development squads. She also provides cover for many other teams with which we work.

In the clinic, Niamh quickly became involved in all aspects of clinic life providing high quality treatments to many musculo-skeletal clients. 

She participates actively in our weekly In-service training sessions where we revise, teach and update all  our therapist on latest physiotherapy developments, while gaining invaluable knowledge from the experience of other staff members.

Niamh has continued her own professional development by attending post-graduate courses, She recently completed her Deep Dry Needling course under the direction of Johnson McEvoy.

Niamh is involved in our UCanAct Programme, this is our Outdoor exercise class designed for the over 50s.

Niamh is driven by a deep passion for sport with a background in camogie. She is an active member of
both the James Stephens club and the Kilkenny senior camogie team. With a genuine commitment to
improving physical health and performance, Niamh is dedicated to making a positive impact in the
sporting community and beyond.

She plays down her role with the County Camogie where she is a pivotal member of the team having won a number of coveted titles including a Senior All-Ireland Medal.

Faces you may remember

Where to find us

Sports Injury Clinic

Kilkenny Physiotherapy & Sports Injury Clinic,
Unit 1 Enterprise House,
Dublin Rd.,
Kilkenny
R95 V9H9

Pilates Studio & Gym

Kilkenny Physiotherapy Pilates Studio & Gym,
Unit 6 Enterprise House,
Dublin Rd.,
KIlkenny
R95 FE40

Core Clinic & Pilates Studio

Core Clinic & Pilates Studio
Clontubrid,
Freshford Co
Kilkenny
R95 W9W8