Background: Hamstring injury is one of the most common injuries affecting gaelic footballers, similar to other field sports. Research in other sports on whether residual hamstring weakness is present after hamstring injury is inconsistent, and no study has examined this factor in irish gaelic footballers. The aim of this study was to examine whether significant knee muscle weakness is present in male Irish gaelic footballers who have returned to full activity after hamstring injury.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the addition of a “resilience-focused” Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-based psycho-educational course for asylum seekers within a primary care Increasing Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) service. Design/methodology/approach – Eight asylum seekers who attended the “Healthy Minds” psycho-educational course took part in semi-structured interviews. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis to gain insight into participants’ experiences of attending the course. Findings – Five main themes emerged: factors promoting engagement; acquiring coping skills; connecting with personal strengths; connecting with others; and future support. Overall, positive feedback from the course participants suggests that the intervention was effective and well received. Research limitations/implications – The sample’s heterogeneity and size, as well as potential biases, limit the generalisability of the findings. Future research is therefore needed to confirm these findings and additional areas for further enquiry are considered. Practical implications – The group-based intervention provided a cost-effective and culturally relevant means of promoting social inclusion, whilst disseminating psycho-educational material. Social implications – Good practice in this area is important and timely. The success of this intervention indicates that future collaborations between IAPT services and community organisations which support people seeking asylum, should be explored. Originality/value – This study is valuable as it demonstrates that a non-specialist IAPT service has the ability to provide an effective low intensity psycho-educational intervention for people seeking asylum.

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Aim The COVID-19 pandemic led to the introduction of movement restrictions and the concept of social distancing in Ireland, beginning suddenly on March 12th 2020 (1). Following this, virtual consultation via video-call have been identified and integrated as an alternative to in-person consultation. To follow national recommendations and reduce the risk of patient attendance, video consultations were rapidly integrated by the hand therapy team at University Hospital Galway. This service provides a service to 730,513 people across eight counties (2) and was utilised for a range of upper limb injuries, providing vital care to trauma patients post-operatively and to minor injury cases. We wanted to retrospectively assess the implementation of these virtual clinics and how it affected patients. Method Patients were offered virtual hand therapy appointments. Patients were sent a link with their virtual appointment time and date via email. The patient could accept or decline the option of a virtual appointment at this stage. Patient satisfaction was measured via a bespoke survey. Functional outcomes were assessed via the QuickDASH assessment tool (3). Results 44/74 ( 59.5%) of patients responded to the survey. Subjectively, the vast found the service user-friendly, convenient and beneficial. Objectively, the QuickDash score demonstrated low disability and high upper limb function return post injury. Conclusions Implementation of virtual hand therapy was integrated into practise without major issues. Patient satisfaction was very high. Virtual health services have obvious economic and environmental benefits and are essential to providing safe patient care in a social distancing society.

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