Pat O'Hara (rugby footballer)
Encyclopedia
Pat O'Hara is a retired Irish
rugby union
wing-forward. Born in Hornchurch
, Essex
, he played for Sundays Well
, Cork Constitution
Munster
and Ireland
, winning 15 caps between 1988 and 1994.
O'Hara won his first international rugby cap coming on late in the game against Western Samoa as a substitute for Ulster flanker Philip Mathews, his last was played against the US Eagles in 1994. He was known for his hard tackling and rugged style of play and was one of very few internationals of his time that came from a non-rugby playing school. He was born in Hornchurch Essex and in 1961 and went to Bishop Ward secondary school in Dagenham where he excelled as a cross country runner.
He moved to Ireland
in 1973 and finished his schooling at Ashton comprehensive school in Blackrock. His early years were spent with the Sundays Well rugby club where he joined the youth section as a 12 year old. He started his rugby career as a tight head prop before moving to the open side of the scrum the following year. He was playing senior rugby with the club as a 17 year old and won his first senior cap for Munster against Connacht in 1983 at the age of 22. He played on many winning Munster sides but never managed to win a interprovincial medal. Some notable wins during his time with Munster included both Gloucester and Middlesex while they were current county champions and he also played against such touring sides as the All Black's, Australia, Fiji to mention a few. He played with such players as Donal Lenihan, Michael Bradley, Moss Keane, Ralph Keyes and Tony Ward, and was in the 1991 Irish world cup squad.
O'Hara had the distinction of winning the Irish rugby writers "player of the year" award for the season 1989/1990 and won the Texaco rugby sportsperson of the year award for the same year.
He is Sales Director of Architectural and metal systems based in Cork, a company that he helped establish in 1990.
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
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...
wing-forward. Born in Hornchurch
Hornchurch
Hornchurch is a large suburban town in England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Hornchurch is in North-East London .It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan. It comprises a number of shopping...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
, he played for Sundays Well
Sundays Well RFC
Sundays Well Rugby Football Club is a Rugby Union team in Cork City, Ireland. Based in Musgrave Park on the Tramore Park, the club has a long and successful history as one of the main clubs in Cork City...
, Cork Constitution
Cork Constitution
Cork Constitution is a club, based in Cork. It was founded by staff of the Cork Constitution. Since the paper did not publish on Sundays, the staff were looking for activities to pursue on Saturday afternoons. In the summer, cricket was played, while in the winter, rugby was the designated...
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...
, winning 15 caps between 1988 and 1994.
O'Hara won his first international rugby cap coming on late in the game against Western Samoa as a substitute for Ulster flanker Philip Mathews, his last was played against the US Eagles in 1994. He was known for his hard tackling and rugged style of play and was one of very few internationals of his time that came from a non-rugby playing school. He was born in Hornchurch Essex and in 1961 and went to Bishop Ward secondary school in Dagenham where he excelled as a cross country runner.
He moved to Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
in 1973 and finished his schooling at Ashton comprehensive school in Blackrock. His early years were spent with the Sundays Well rugby club where he joined the youth section as a 12 year old. He started his rugby career as a tight head prop before moving to the open side of the scrum the following year. He was playing senior rugby with the club as a 17 year old and won his first senior cap for Munster against Connacht in 1983 at the age of 22. He played on many winning Munster sides but never managed to win a interprovincial medal. Some notable wins during his time with Munster included both Gloucester and Middlesex while they were current county champions and he also played against such touring sides as the All Black's, Australia, Fiji to mention a few. He played with such players as Donal Lenihan, Michael Bradley, Moss Keane, Ralph Keyes and Tony Ward, and was in the 1991 Irish world cup squad.
O'Hara had the distinction of winning the Irish rugby writers "player of the year" award for the season 1989/1990 and won the Texaco rugby sportsperson of the year award for the same year.
He is Sales Director of Architectural and metal systems based in Cork, a company that he helped establish in 1990.