About IPPEA

The Irish Primary PE Association was founded in 2002 by and for primary teachers who were particularly interested in the subject of physical education. The IPPEA is an association dedicated to heightening awareness of PE issues in primary schools and it aims to promote physical activity in an educational context.

The IPPEA aims to:

Represent and support the needs of primary teachers involved in Physical Education
Support the promotion of Physical Education and healthy lifestyles in primary school
Hold, organise and participate in conferences and workshops for the purpose of promoting PE at primary level
Keep members up to date on the latest issues and developments in PE and related area
Liaise with other organisations involved in the promotion of PE, Physical Activity and Sport

The organogram below highlights the structure of the association and gives an overview of the various sub-committees involved. Membership of these committees, along with membership of the executive committee, is determined during the AGM.

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IPPEA Committees

*Membership of more than 1 Committee is allowed

Name of Committee	Composition of Committee	Function of Committee	Approx no. of meetings p.a.
National Committee	Chairperson, treasurer, secretary + 1/2 rep(s) from each Committee below	– Oversee all work of Association (each Committee will report progress at meetings) – Approve membership	Twice annually
Policy/Advocacy (formerly PE Action Group)	As many as interested (4-6)	– Continuing work of PEAG in policy and promotion in PE and PA – Responding to media/other public sources in relation to PE/PA matters	At least twice annually or as necessary
PR	As many as interested (4-6)	– Developing website and termly newsletter	At least twice annually or as necessary
Membership	Treasurer and 1/2 others	– Managing membership data and advising National Committee – Informing final year students in the colleges of education about IPPEA	At least twice annually or as necessary
CoP	Regional Committees will be set up here and may consist of a number of members	– Managing/organising regional workshops/seminars with local primary school teachers	Twice per school term
Annual Conference	Approx 2-4 people	– Organisation + management of the IPPEA Annual Conference	As necessary

Name	Title	Description
Helena O’Sullivan	Chairperson	Helena O’Sullivan is a primary school teacher in The Redeemer Girls N.S., Co Louth with a strong interest in Health Promotion, Wellbeing, and Physical Education (PE). She has completed a postgraduate course in this area and is passionate about encouraging physical activity and healthy living in schools. Helena has also worked as a school placement tutor with Marino Institute of Education.Helena has been involved in Erasmus projects as a trainer, where she worked on making PE more inclusive for all students. She is also an Associate with Oíde.
Niamh Boylan	Secretary	Niamh Boylan is a Primary School teacher teaching in Our Lady’s Grove Primary School in Goatstown, Dublin. She has been an executive committee member since May 2022 and recently took over the role of Secretary to the committee. Niamh works part-time as a local facilitator working with Oide on the Health and Wellbeing team for Primary Schools.

Caitríona Cosgrave		Caitríona Cosgrave has been involved with the IPPEA since its inception in 2002. She has been teaching for 25 years in a range of classes and settings and lectured for 11 of those years in PE at Marino Institute of Education. She has been a facilitator with the PDST Health and Wellbeing team and delivers CPD workshops and courses to primary teachers in schools and as part of Marino summer programmes. Caitriona has been involved with the Active School Flag as an advisor, primary development officer and accreditor. She is currently teaching in Scoil Áine, Raheny Dublin.
Edel Murphy		Edel Murphy is a primary school teacher in St.Mary’s CS, Enniskeane, Co.Cork and is currently seconded to Oide as a PE Professional Learning Leader. She is passionate about developing quality PE in our schools and promoting the crucial role it plays in nurturing and enhancing the overall wellbeing of children.
Jason Byrne		Jason is a primary school teacher in Scoil Chroi Iosa, Galway City. He has been a member of the IPPEA Executive Committee since 2018. Jason is currently seconded to Oide as a PE and Wellbeing Professional Learning Leader. Jason has a passion for promoting Physical Education and Physical Activity among the whole school community.
Oisín Ryan		Oisín Ryan is a primary school teacher in Loughmore NS, Co. Tipperary with a strong interest in Physical Education. He is a post holder in PE in his school which sees him co-ordinate their whole school PE policy. He became a member of the IPPEA committee after the 2025 conference. He completed a specialism in PE as part of his Bachelor of Education undergraduate degree in Mary Immaculate College, graduating in 2021. He has been keeping up with professional development since graduating in the field of PE and is now in the middle of a doctorate research project himself. He is researching the opportunities and challenges for life skills (e.g. teamwork, communication, social skills etc.) development in primary PE over time. He hopes that his research will aid the integration of PE and SPHE in the new Wellbeing curriculum.
Martin Quilty		Martin Quilty is a primary school teacher at Scoil Ghráinne CNS, where he has worked for over 14 years, teaching across all year groups. Throughout his career, he has been passionate about creating meaningful and inclusive Physical Education experiences for all pupils, ensuring that children in both mainstream and ASD classes can participate fully and benefit from high-quality PE provision. A member of the IPPEA committee since 2026, Martin has a particular interest in the role of physical activity in supporting learning and wellbeing. He completed a Master’s degree, with his dissertation exploring the impact of exercise on pupils’ ability to attend to tasks across different age groups
Ciara Mc Donogh		Ciara McDonogh is a primary school teacher teaching Junior Infants in Gaelscoil na Dúglaise in Cork for the past three years. She previously worked as a Chartered Accountant for ten years. She has a keen interest in sport and is enthusiastic about how PE contributes to the development of fundamental movement skills and a love of physical activity. She is passionate abut how PE promotes overall wellbeing. She is a newly appointed member of the Irish Primary PE Association.
Jack Ryan		Jack Ryan is a primary school teacher teaching in The Glebe NS for the past five years. He has a keen interest in sport and is enthusiastic about how PE contributes to the development of fundamental movement skills and a love of physical activity. He is passionate abut how PE promotes overall wellbeing. He is a newly appointed member of the Irish Primary PE Association

Constitution of Irish Primary PE Association (Nov 2020)

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Click here Membership Link to Join

Members of the IPPEA receive the following benefits:

Access to Members area containing notes from annual conferences and all Community of Practice workshops
Full members only have the right to attend and vote at the IPPEA AGM

PLEASE NOTE! IPPEA membership runs for one calendar year from the date a member joins unless they have taken the recurring membership option.

If you choose the ‘recurring’ membership option, your card will automatically be charged each year to renew your subscription.

If the card used for payment expires before the following year, your subscription will not automatically renew and you will be required to renew manually.

Some members wishing to renew their membership have had difficulty in completing the online transaction. If this happens, please email ippeamembership@gmail.com

As the IPPEA is a non-profit organisation, membership subscriptions are used to promote physical activity in primary schools and to raise awareness of PE issues in schools and throughout the wider community.

Membership Categories

1) Member: Full Membership may be granted to: (a) Individuals who possess an approved professional qualification in primary teaching. (b) Physical education lecturers in the colleges of education. Annual fee = €10.

2) Student: Student members are required to be engaged in a course of study in higher education leading to an initial qualification in primary teaching. Student members receive all the benefits of Individual Members, including reduced fees for conferences, and are exempt from a membership fee. Student members do not have voting rights.

3) Associate: Associate membership is open to individuals who have a specific qualification to teach P.E., individuals who work in the area of sport and recreation and whose interest and work supports either PE or school sport. Associate members do not have voting rights and are not eligible for election to the Executive Committee. Annual fee = €10.

4) Retired Members: Retired members are classed as members who no longer receive an income (ie. those living solely on a pension). Please email ippeamembership@gmail.com to request membership.

5) Honorary Members: Honorary Members are individuals who do not qualify for membership but whom the Association wishes to honour in an appropriate manner. Honorary Members do not have voting rights.

6) Professional Membership: Professional Membership is available to professional associations, libraries, colleges, teacher centres and other bodies who the executive committee deem suitable for inclusion in this category. They will be informed of all IPPEA activities, but do not have voting rights. Annual fee = €50.

The Executive Committee may also at their discretion admit to membership in any class any person who, although not otherwise qualified for a particular class, is nonetheless in their opinion a specially suitable and desirable person to be so admitted.

Online Membership Application

Click here to pay online membership

The Teacher Educators Primary PE Network (TEPPEN) has replaced CEPEC due to developments in Universities and Colleges of Education related to restructuring and incorporations and in recent years.

CEPEClogo

The Colleges of Education Physical Education Consortium (CEPEC) held its first meeting in December 2006. The group is currently comprised of representatives from the Physical Education Teams in four Universities – School of Arts Education and Movement, Institute of Education, St. Patrick’s Campus, DCU, Drumcondra; Mary Immaculate College, Limerick; Maynooth University Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education and Marino Institute of Education. The group aims to progress issues relevant to primary physical education within the Republic of Ireland across the continuum of teacher education, with a particular focus on pre-service teacher education.

Members of CEPEC 2017 from L-R: Dr. Deirdre Ní Chroinin (Mary Immaculate College); Susan Marron (DCU), Dr. Frances Murphy (DCU); Dr. Maura Coulter (DCU); Dr. Bronagh McGrane (DCU); Dr. Richard Bowles (Mary Immaculate College); Suzy Maken ( Marino Institute of Education); Tony Sweeney (Maynooth University Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education); Missing from pic: ) Dr. Elaine Murtagh (Mary Immaculate College)

CEPEC work includes:

Assessment in Physical Education Lessons…a Teacher online Resource

Phase one of CEPECs assessment research work can be read in the journal ‘Physical Education and Sports Pedagogy’. The journal article title is ‘Implementing formative assessment in primary physical education: teacher perspectives and experiences’. (2012, pages 1–15, iFirst Article).

The recommendations from this study informed the development of an online assessment resource for teachers. With the cooperation of three practising teachers whose lessons we filmed, a series of video clips on assessment in PE lessons was launched in December 2016. The clips can be found in the ‘Members section’ of this website.

CEPEC Policy Document

Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) in Primary Physical Education

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