Donncha O'Callaghan
Encyclopedia
Donncha O'Callaghan is an Irish
rugby union
footballer. He plays as a lock for Munster
and Ireland
.
, beating St. Munchins College, Limerick (a team including Jerry Flannery
and Jeremy Staunton
) in the final at Musgrave Park
. The same year, he also played for the Irish Schoolboys team. The following year he was part of the U-19 World Championship winning team, along with Brian O'Driscoll and Paddy Wallace.
at the Millennium Stadium
in March 2003.
He was chosen by Sir Clive Woodward
both for the northern-hemisphere side in the IRB Rugby Aid Match
at Twickenham
and for the 2005 Lions tour of New Zealand
. He also played in two of the tests, after the injury to Malcolm O'Kelly
, the suspension of Danny Grewcock
, and the disappointing game that Ben Kay
had in the first test.
He featured in all three November 2005 Tests for Ireland when Paul O'Connell
was injured.
He scored his first international try against France in the 43 – 31 loss in Paris in the 2006 Six Nations tournament.
He was part of the Irish Team which won the Grand Slam in the 2009 Six Nations
. On 21 April 2009, it was announced that O'Callaghan was to be a member of the British and Irish Lions
for the 2009 tour to South Africa
, and captained the Lions against the Southern Kings on the 16 June in their final tour match before the first Test against South Africa.
O'Callaghan featured in all of Ireland's tests in the 2009 November Tests, the 2010 Six Nations, the 2010 Summer Tests, the 2010 November Tests and the 2011 Six Nations. He was selected in Ireland's training squad for the 2011 World Cup warm-ups in August, and was included in the 30-man squad to go to New Zealand.
O'Callaghan has a reputation as joker among the Munster and Irish Rugby squads, once attempting to participate in a line-out during a match with Cardiff Blues whilst wearing no shorts (the referee eventually insisted O'Callaghan replace his shorts before allowing the line-out to take place).
in their first home game since winning the Heineken cup. O'Callaghan was also a part of the Munster team which won the 2008 Heineken Cup
final in Cardiff. On 11 November 2010, O'Callaghan committed his future to the province when he signed a new three-year contract.
He was part of the Munster team that won the Magners League in the 2008/09 season, and again in the 2010/11 season.
. He is the cousin of the former Cork City F.C. footballer George O'Callaghan
.
On December 23, 2009, O'Callaghan married his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Harte, at St. Columba's Church in Douglas, Cork
.
In August 2010, O'Callaghan's wife gave birth to their first child, a baby girl called Sophie.
O'Callaghan has been an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland
since July 2009 and has made visits to both South Africa and Haiti, with UNICEF.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
footballer. He plays as a lock for Munster
Munster Rugby
Munster Rugby is an Irish professional rugby union team based in Munster, that competes in the RaboDirect Pro12 and Heineken Cup.The team represents the Irish Rugby Football Union Munster Branch which is one of four primary branches of the IRFU, and is responsible for rugby union in the Irish...
and Ireland
Ireland national rugby union team
The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...
.
Early career
He began his rugby education in Highfield Rugby Club, on the Model Farm Road in Cork. During the 1997/98 season he won a Schools Senior Cup with the Christian Brothers College, CorkChristian Brothers College, Cork
Christian Brothers College, Cork is a fee-paying Catholic school under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust in Cork, Ireland....
, beating St. Munchins College, Limerick (a team including Jerry Flannery
Jerry Flannery
Jeremiah Paul "Jerry" Flannery is an Irish rugby union player who plays at Hooker for Munster and Ireland.-Early career:...
and Jeremy Staunton
Jeremy Staunton
Jeremy Staunton is an Irish rugby union fly-half, currently playing for English club Leicester Tigers in the top level of English rugby, the Aviva Premiership. He has also played for Ireland.He was educated at St Munchin's College Limerick....
) in the final at Musgrave Park
Musgrave Park, Cork
Musgrave Park is a rugby football stadium in the city of Cork, Ireland. The ground consists of four terraces, one stand, three tribunes, one jogging track, and two VIP stands on the west side. Musgrave has a capacity of about 9,251 and is situated on Pearse Road in Ballyphehane...
. The same year, he also played for the Irish Schoolboys team. The following year he was part of the U-19 World Championship winning team, along with Brian O'Driscoll and Paddy Wallace.
International career
He made his international debut for Ireland coming on as a replacement against WalesWales national rugby union team
The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...
at the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
in March 2003.
He was chosen by Sir Clive Woodward
Clive Woodward
Sir Clive Ronald Woodward OBE is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He is currently the British Olympic Association's Director of Elite Performance.-Early life:Woodward was born in Ely...
both for the northern-hemisphere side in the IRB Rugby Aid Match
IRB Rugby Aid Match
The IRB Rugby Aid Match was a rugby union football match played on 5 March 2005 under the auspices of the International Rugby Board to raise money for the United Nations World Food Programme to support its work aiding victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami....
at Twickenham
Twickenham Stadium
Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...
and for the 2005 Lions tour of New Zealand
2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand
In 2005 the British and Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing 7 tour matches against first and second division clubs from the National Provincial Championship series, 1 tour match against the national New Zealand all Māori club, and 3 official test...
. He also played in two of the tests, after the injury to Malcolm O'Kelly
Malcolm O'Kelly
Malcolm O'Kelly is a retired Irish rugby union player who played as a lock for Ireland and Leinster....
, the suspension of Danny Grewcock
Danny Grewcock
Daniel Jonathan Grewcock MBE is a retired English rugby union rugby lock who played for Bath, England and the British and Irish Lions...
, and the disappointing game that Ben Kay
Ben Kay
Benedict James Kay MBE is a retired English international rugby union footballer who played Second row forward for Leicester Tigers and .-Background:...
had in the first test.
He featured in all three November 2005 Tests for Ireland when Paul O'Connell
Paul O'Connell
Paul O'Connell is an Irish rugby union player who plays lock for Munster and Ireland. He also captained the British and Irish Lions on their 2009 tour to South Africa.-Early life:...
was injured.
He scored his first international try against France in the 43 – 31 loss in Paris in the 2006 Six Nations tournament.
He was part of the Irish Team which won the Grand Slam in the 2009 Six Nations
2009 Six Nations Championship
The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2009 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the tenth Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major Northern Hemisphere rugby union national teams...
. On 21 April 2009, it was announced that O'Callaghan was to be a member of the British and Irish Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
for the 2009 tour to South Africa
2009 British and Irish Lions tour to South Africa
The 2009 British and Irish Lions Tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour which took place in South Africa from May to July 2009....
, and captained the Lions against the Southern Kings on the 16 June in their final tour match before the first Test against South Africa.
O'Callaghan featured in all of Ireland's tests in the 2009 November Tests, the 2010 Six Nations, the 2010 Summer Tests, the 2010 November Tests and the 2011 Six Nations. He was selected in Ireland's training squad for the 2011 World Cup warm-ups in August, and was included in the 30-man squad to go to New Zealand.
O'Callaghan has a reputation as joker among the Munster and Irish Rugby squads, once attempting to participate in a line-out during a match with Cardiff Blues whilst wearing no shorts (the referee eventually insisted O'Callaghan replace his shorts before allowing the line-out to take place).
Munster
He was part of the Munster team that won the Heineken European Cup in 2006, scoring a try in the away win in Castres in their pool game. Munster went on to win the Cup in Cardiff. He scored a try after a 55 m run in their first game of their Heineken Cup defence against Leicester at Welford Road. He scored another try against Bourgoin at Thomond ParkThomond Park
Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and count Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in...
in their first home game since winning the Heineken cup. O'Callaghan was also a part of the Munster team which won the 2008 Heineken Cup
Heineken Cup
The Heineken Cup is one of two annual rugby union competitions organised by European Rugby Cup involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the six International Rugby Board countries in Europe whose national teams compete in the Six Nations Championship: England, France, Ireland,...
final in Cardiff. On 11 November 2010, O'Callaghan committed his future to the province when he signed a new three-year contract.
He was part of the Munster team that won the Magners League in the 2008/09 season, and again in the 2010/11 season.
Personal life
O'Callahgan attended the Christian Brothers College, CorkChristian Brothers College, Cork
Christian Brothers College, Cork is a fee-paying Catholic school under the trusteeship of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust in Cork, Ireland....
. He is the cousin of the former Cork City F.C. footballer George O'Callaghan
George O'Callaghan
George Paul O'Callaghan, Jr., is an Irish football player who plays as an attacking midfielder for DPMM FC....
.
On December 23, 2009, O'Callaghan married his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Harte, at St. Columba's Church in Douglas, Cork
Douglas, Cork
Douglas or Duglas is an area of Cork city, Ireland. As its borders are ill-defined and it straddles the boundary between Cork City and County Cork, it is difficult to ascertain the exact population. The CSO gives a figure of 18,192 for the parts of Douglas that lie within Cork County...
.
In August 2010, O'Callaghan's wife gave birth to their first child, a baby girl called Sophie.
O'Callaghan has been an Ambassador for UNICEF Ireland
UNICEF Ireland
UNICEF Ireland, also known as the Irish National Committee for UNICEF, is one of 36 UNICEF National Committees based in industrialised countries.The National Committees raise funds for the organisation's worldwide emergency and development work....
since July 2009 and has made visits to both South Africa and Haiti, with UNICEF.