Paul lives near Ovens with his wife and their 3 children.

He volunteered as Coach and Club Secretary to help Nikky and Simon establish the Rebel Rockets club in 2018.

Paul is an amateur photographer and will often act as club photographer for Rebel Rockets activities.

He works as a Software Engineer and Software Architect.

Kate lives in Ballincollig and is very passionate about working with children with additional needs. She really enjoys providing engaging and fun experiences.

Kate is a qualified Pre-school teacher who has gone back to college by night to gain a BA in Early Years Education in order to provide high quality Early Years Education to all children with the ambition to always provide an inclusive environment.



Kate loves working with the club and getting to know each child and their strengths.

Diana started with Rebel Rockets as a volunteer, progressed to a coach and is now the Basketball Head Coach. She has a Basketball Coaching qualification from Basketball Ireland.

Diana lives in Ovens and has 4 children. She works with PM Group as a Document Management Systems Specialist.

Diana is also a qualified kids, teens and special needs Yoga teacher.

Rose has 2 grown up children.  She is passionate about various sporting activities such as hiking, cycling and walking. Her greatest passion is swimming as she is a lifelong swimmer and competed in national level from a young age and maintained strong friendships along the journey. 

Rose has over 30 years teaching experience and her ethos is that everyone should have the joy in learning to swim. Her qualifications include Level 2 Swimming Teacher, Level 2 Coach and Level 2 Autism Spectrum Disorder Swimming Teacher. She has coached children with special needs for many years. 

Julie joined Rebel Rockets as a volunteer and then trained as a coach during 2021. She enjoys working with young athletes and encouraging them to achieve to their full potential. 

Julie is from Ballincollig and works in a local primary school as a Special Needs Assistant. She is married to Tom and has three boys, Caoimhín, Aaron and Zach.

Julie has also previously volunteered with Special Olympics Ireland.

Adrian lives in Cork City and is a father to 3 children. His oldest son Darragh was born with Down Syndrome. Darragh has been an athlete with Rebel Rockets for a few years which got Adrian involved as a volunteer initially then progressing to a qualified coach.

He believes in inclusion of all children in all sports of all abilities. Adrian enjoys contributing to helping the athletes to the best of their abilities while having fun!

Aoife lives in Ovens with her husband and 4 children.

She is very passionate about sport and helping others reach their full potential.

Aoife has been working as a physical therapist for the last 12 years and has recently obtained an MSc in Psychology.

Aoife has a particular interest in developmental psychology within the scope of special needs and the use of physical activity to promote positive development. 

Mary is from Mitchelstown and is a coach at Rebel Rockets.

Mary became involved as a volunteer when her young son, Tom, joined the Young Athlete Programme. She then progressed and qualified as a coach at the end of 2022 and is really enjoying it.

Mary enjoys seeing the athletes getting to know each other in a fun environment while reaping the benefits of exercise.

As coaches, she believes that we also learn from the children. Their ability and determination is outstanding,

Amy lives in Ballincollig with her sister, Orla and her brother, Cian who has Down Syndrome.

Amy's mum and dad (Nikky and Simon) started Rebel Rockets so Amy has been very familiar with the Club since it's establishment.

Amy became a registered volunteer at age 15 and then quickly became a qualified coach within the same year making Amy our youngest coach in the Club.

Amy has experience volunteering in a special needs summer camp in addition to her experience with the Club. Amy enjoys playing gaelic football and playing piano.

Eimear is one of our young, qualified coaches. She became fully qualified as a coach after successful completion of the Coaching courses in 2022.

Eimear loves being involved in the athlete's sporting development. She enjoys helping them to prepare for the next stage in their sport all while having fun!

Eimear is pleased to see the athletes progress through the programmes.

Noreen lives in Macroom and is a Mom to 5 sport loving children with Conor being the youngest who has Down Syndrome. Noreen wanted to find a club for children with additional needs and allow Conor to have his own space where he could make lifelong friends and work on his sporting skills, but most importantly a place for Conor to be a part of a team just like his siblings. Noreen got involved and became a coach to provide this service she found hard to find.

Noreen is a qualified accountant and runs a very busy home.

Melissa is enthusiastic about making movement meaningful and fun for all athletes. Originally from Galway, Melissa is based in Cork where she is studying a Masters in Physiotherapy at University College Cork. Melissa previously studied Public Health and Health Promotion, and believes that physical activity and sports participation is key for health and well-being.

She is a tutor on the Coaching Children’s Course for Special Olympics Ireland.