You might have thought that the definition of GAA fashionwear was a pair of O’Neills football togs as modelled by Paul Mescal in Normal People – but two enterprising Galway footballers are hellbent on transforming all of that.

Cian and Ryan Monaghan – All-Ireland U20 winners with Galway and All-Ireland Intermediate Champions with Oughterard in 2020; Sigerson Cup winners with University of Galway – both know how everything has to be absolutely right to win; how an additional one per cent can give you the critical edge.

So, fresh from graduating from University of Galway in Financial Maths and Economics, the brothers have established Faciem Metus, a revolutionary brand of sports performance and training apparel that is unashamedly aimed at the GAA market they know so well.

The name translates from Latin as ‘Face Fear’ – and that’s part of the concept behind the idea, because even a glance at their comprehensive website offers an insight into the mind of elite sports performance.

In a nutshell, Cian (25) and Ryan (23) created Faciem Metus to help athletes overcome the fear of underperforming through hard work, discipline, and relentless consistency.

It’s about how to get from good to great; to avoid reach a plateau that’s short of your full potential.

“Hard work is one of the biggest things in sport and the discipline – but also the doubt and myself and Cian know that as GAA players, you can have those doubts on the day, no matter what work you put in beforehand,” explains Ryan.

“So we want a brand that can help alleviate that doubt, give you that extra one per cent.”

“If you’re doing everything right but you don’t have the right clothing, that’s the one per cent that’s holding you back,” adds Ryan.

“You’ re putting in the effort everywhere else – so you might as well make sure that your clothing is spot-on too.”

This Friday, they are launching the new Blackout Collection to add to a range of tops, tee-shirts, togs, jackets, hoodies and socks – all designed to maximise your sports performance and look fashionable at the same time.

One big admirer of the range is Galway All-Star Shane Walsh, along with a host of other top GAA players and several elite HYROX endurance competitors – all already proudly wearing the gear.

“The Blackout Collection is more for training and performance-based athletes,” explains Ryan.

Pictured: Brothers Cian (left) and Ryan Monaghan (right) with Jorge Malinesku and Issa McDonnell.