Beginners Class for Teenagers & Adults starts Wednesday 14th May at 7.30pm

Classes are held on Mondays from 8.00 – 9.00pm and Wednesdays from 7.30 – 8.30pm.

Develop self defence skills, fitness & health, and self confidence in a friendly atmosphere under the guidance of qualified & experienced Black Belt Instructors.

New members are welcome. For further details on this class, please contact Mr Mark O’Donnell 6^th Degree on 087 7970646 or email instructor@galwaytkd.com

To view feature on Taekwon-Do from the Galway Advertiser’s Health & Fitness special, click here to access the online edition, then click on the page number at the top and enter 104 to go to the relevant page.

Junior Beginners’ Programme (7-12yrs)

Classes for children (7 – 12 year-olds) are held every Monday from 7.00pm – 8.00pm. This is a specific class designed to teach children of this age self-defence, coordination, a healthy lifestyle, self-discipline, and respect for others.

This class is full at the moment. To be put on the waiting list or for more information, please contact Ms Marina O’Donnell 2^nd Degree on 086 3048057.

Click here for an Explanation of Taekwon-Do.

Diary Dates

In Memoriam-The Founder of Taekwon-Do

Latest News

The RITA are pleased to extend an invitation to all ITF Taekwon-Do practitioners to take part in the 2008 Connacht Open ITF Taekwon-Do Championships, to be held in the Leisureland Complex, Salthill, Galway on Saturday 10th May.

The tournament is hosted by the Galway Taekwon-Do School in partnership with the Republic of Ireland Taekwon-Do Association. For full details of the event & entry forms, please see the tournament information pack.

If you have any questions, please contact the RITA Tournament Director, Mr Floyd Keane 6th Degree on 0868541889, email tournaments@rita-itf.org, or visit the RITA Tournament page.

We would very much appreciate all Umpires attending the event to confirm their attendance with the RITA Umpire Committee either by text to Mr O'Donnell: 0877970646; email instructor@galwaytkd.com not later than Monday 5th May please.

Galway Taekwon-Do School are celebrating their 15th Anniversary this year and are looking forward to a great event.

Closing Date: Monday 29th April 2008

Download Invitation. (Word)
Download Rules and Divisions. (PDF)
Download info pack. (PDF)
Download school application form. (Word)

These forms can also be downloaded directly from the RITA website http://rita-itf.org

Upcoming Gradings

The next grading for the Galway & Athlone Taekwon-Do Schools will be held on Saturday 24^th May in the Athlone Regional Sports Centre starting at 11am. All members who wish to grade must ask permission from Mr O’Donnell and have their licences etc submitted by Wednesday 14^th May.

The grading for members of the Junior Class (Ms O’Donnell’s class) will be held on Monday 26^th May at 7.00 pm in the Renmore Centre. More information on the grading will be issued by letter to all parents in the coming weeks.

The 2008 Leinster Open

Well done to the members from Galway who took part in the recent Leinster Open in Dublin. Although we had a smaller number of competitors than usual, we still got some excellent results. Congratulations in particular to Padraic Carter who put in a great performance to win Gold in sparring and gold in Power, as well as bronze in Patterns. Well done also to Rafal Aksamit who won bronze in Patterns. Full list of results available on the RITA website.

Irish Open Championships

Well done to all the Galway members who took part in the recent Irish Open Championships in Dublin. Congratulations in particular to the following medal winners:

Click here for Photos

Click here for Videos

Fundraising Bag Pack

Members of the Galway Taekwon-Do School held a fundraising bag-pack in Tesco supermarket, Galway Shopping Centre, on Friday 9th & Saturday 10th November. The purpose was to raise funds to support our members in travelling to competitions abroad, and to develop our school through the purchase of new training equipment.

A total of €1950.05 was collected over the two days and we would like to sincerely thank everyone who supported us. Thanks in particular to Tesco Ireland for facilitating the event, and well done to all our members who worked so hard over the two days. €200 of the monies collected will be donated to Temple St. National Children's Hospital. The Galway Taekwon-Do School is delighted to be involved in supporting such a worthwhile cause.

Masters on RTE Radio 1

To celebrate the promotion to VII Degree of the RITA’s newest master, Master Robert Howard, RTE Radio 1 award winning show "Drivetime" broadcast an Interview on Tuesday 24/10/07. Not only is Master Howard Europe's youngest Master but along with his father Senior Master Howard VIII Degree became the first father and son Masters.

Click here to listen to the interview (mp3) provided by the RITA Website.

Many thanks to the RITA Website for providing this news.

2007 European Championships, Estonia

Congratulations from all the members of the Galway School to the Irish Squad who won Silver and Bronze medals at the European Championships in Tallinn, Estonia at the weekend. Mr David Freeman repeated his Silver medal in the -57kg Sparring while the Male Team of Mr Adam Fox, Mr Leon McSherry, Mr Mark Jordan, Mr Joe Gill, Mr Martin Mahoney (Galway) and Mr David Freeman won Bronze in the Team Patterns. For photos from the event, check out the RITA website or go to the Czech Sonkal Taekwon-Do site.

Team Challenge Event

Well done to all the Galway members who took part in the recent Team Challenge hosted by St Marks Taekwon-Do School.

Senior Team: Ms O’Donnell, Therese McGrath, Joe Conway, Pete Gibbons, Paul Curran; Junior Team: Sarah Kirk, Emma Kirk, Nathan Donnellan.

Congratulations in particular to the Junior Team did extremely well in the sparring event, finishing in silver medal position.

A very big thank you to the instructors & students of St Mark’s for hosting such a great event, and congratulations to them on their 25th Anniversary which occurs this year.

Promotion to ITF Master of our Chief Instructor

We are delighted to announce the promotion to VII Degree of the RITA’s newest master, the co-founder of, and Chief Instructor to our school, Master Robert Howard. Master Howard travelled to England to attend an International Instructors Course and Black Belt Grading conducted by Grand Master Rhee Ki Ha IX Degree. On Sunday 2nd September, having performed the final Taekwon-Do pattern, Tong-Il, and an impressive series of breaking techniques, Grand Master Rhee promoted Master Howard to VII Degree.

Master Howard has put in trojan work for the RITA over the years, opening schools in Galway, Athlone, and Stillorgan, as well as working on many committees and projects. He was instrumental in opening & developing the Galway Taekwon-Do School since 1993. Master Howard also won a gold medal at the 1994 World Championships in Malaysia, as well as many other international awards. He was awarded the title of Best Umpire at both the World Championships in 2005 & European Championships in 2006.

Congratulations to Master Howard on this great achievement from the Instructors and Students of the Galway Taekwon-Do School.

News Archive

For less recent news please follow this link to the News Archive.