Early career and training

Originally from Westport, Co. Mayo, Peter’s path to physiotherapy began early — a natural interest in biology at school, a few lengthy ankle injuries, combined with seeing first-hand the power of rehab in returning to sport, made it a dream early. He has been a chartered physiotherapist since 2012, with a career that has taken him from Ireland to the UK and Canada, and back again.

After graduating from the University of East London, Peter was further mentored at Nottingham University Teaching Hospital, where he earned a senior role within the musculoskeletal department and worked with Notts County Football Club. It was during this time that he developed a passion for adult musculoskeletal primary care and sports rehabilitation, gaining in-depth experience in trauma, orthopaedics, sports injury management, return-to-sport programming, and specialist upper limb, lower limb, and spinal teams.

As new research on pain and rehabilitation emerged in the 2010s, Peter moved to Canada to join a specialist multidisciplinary pain management clinic. Collaborating daily with physicians, psychologists, and allied health professionals, he helped deliver intensive, full-time rehabilitation programs. The complexity of this work inspired curiosity in how we approach persisting and chronic pains in rehabilitation and ultimately drove him to pursue a Masters in Pain Science and Interdisciplinary Management at the University of Western Ontario, deepening his expertise and bringing evidence-based insights into his practice. In the years that followed, Peter returned to his dual focus of adult musculoskeletal care and sports rehab at a busy sports and recreation centre in Victoria, Canada. 

Approach to physiotherapy

Peter's approach has always been about understanding what matters most to each person and building a plan around that. For some, that meant helping military members recover from injury and return to elite performance capacity; for others, like carpenters recovering from shoulder injuries, it involved designing targeted strength programmes to 'bulletproof' their shoulders for heavy overhead work. For recreational athletes, it could mean creating a strength and conditioning plan to manage tendinopathy so they could keep training and chasing a new 10km personal best. No matter the goal, Peter’s focus has remained the same: patient-centred, evidence-based care that helps people return to the activities that give their lives meaning.

Personal interests

Now back home in Mayo, Peter blends his broad experience with a strong commitment to his community. Outside the clinic, he enjoys strength training, Gaelic football with Kilmeena GAA, and hiking Ireland’s west coast. On quieter weekends, he might be slow-cooking short ribs with good music playing in the background, recharging for the week ahead.

Memberships

Peter is registered with CORU, the regulator for health and social care professionals in Ireland, and is also a member of the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists (MISCP).

Contact

To get in contact with Peter directly, please feel free to email peter@mdperformancetherapy.com.