Bryn Cunningham (born 30 March 1978) is an Irish

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

administrator and former player. He played fullback for

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, making 150 appearances between 1997 and 2010, and was the team's Player of the Year in 2002–2003. Since 2014 he has been responsible for player recruitment at Ulster, initially as Team Manager, later as Operations Director. Cunningham grew up in

Bangor, County Down Bangor ( ; ) is a city and seaside resort in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to which it is linked ...

, where he played soccer, golf, squash and hockey, and aspired to be a professional tennis player. He played rugby at

Bangor Grammar School (Maintain justice) , established = 1856 , type = Voluntary grammar school , religious_affiliation = Interdenominational , head_label = Principal , head = E P Huddleson , r_head_label = Chaplains , r_head = Nig ...

,David Kelly
"Cunningham is the final link in the new Ulster revolution"
''Belfast Telegraph'', 1 December 2014. and represented Ireland at schools level on an unbeaten tour of Australia in 1996.Gavin Cummiskey
"Bryn Cunningham guiding Ulster revival after tumultous start"
''The Irish Times'', 11 January 2020 His rugby career continued at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, where he studied economics, and Dublin club

Bective Rangers Bective Rangers Football Club is a rugby union club in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1881. The Club is affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union and play in Division 1A of the Leinster League. The club plays its games a ...

.Steaven Beacom
"Bryn Cunningham: ‘I kissed the emblem and felt 10 foot tall’"
''Belfast Telegraph'', 15 October 2010 He made his debut for Ulster against

Wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. T ...

in 1997, aged 19."Bryn Cunningham Announces Retirement"
Ulster Rugby, 4 October 2010 Alongside his brother Jan, he was part of the team that won the

1998–99 Heineken Cup The 1998–99 Heineken Cup was the fourth edition of the Heineken Cup. Competing teams from France, Ireland, Italy, Wales, and Scotland, were divided into four pools of four, in which teams played home and away matches against each other. Cardiff a ...

, and was an unused substitute in the final. He missed four months of college to be part of the campaign, later catching up from fellow-students' notes. He completed his studies, but failed to get a contract with Ulster and joined

Dungannon RFC Dungannon RFC (Dungannon Football Club) is a rugby union club from Dungannon, Northern Ireland, playing in Division 2B of the All-Ireland League. History The 5th Earl of Ranfurly, who was President of Dungannon Football Club for 24 years an ...

. After Dungannon won the All-Ireland League in 2001, he signed a full-time contract with Ulster.Shane Murray
"Ulster announce two signings"
RTÉ, 25 April 2001 He was Ulster's Player of the Year in 2002–03. He was part of the team that won the 2003–04 Celtic Cup and the

2005–06 Celtic League The 2005–06 Celtic League was the fifth Celtic League season, and the third following the introduction of regional rugby in Wales. Eleven teams, from three countries participated. The final table was dominated by the Irish, with the top three ...

. He retired after a series of injuries in October 2010 as the last remaining player from the 1999 Heineken Cup-winning team, having made 150 appearances for the province. After retiring as a player, Cunningham worked as a players' agent, first with Cornerflag,Michael Sadlier
"Bryn Cunningham out to deliver on a three-year blueprint"
''Belfast Telegraph'', 30 October 2014 then with Esportif International."Cunningham appointed new team manager", ''News Letter, 31 October 2014 and presented

BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland ( ga, BBC Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ''BBC Norlin Airlan'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ire ...

's rugby coverage. In 2014 he was appointed Ulster's Team Manager, responsible for player recruitment and contract negotiations. The following season, he was upgraded to Operations Director.Richard Mulligan, "Ulster management happy with progression across all fronts", ''News Letter'', 15 December 2015

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Bryn 1978 births Living people Irish rugby union players Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Ulster Rugby non-playing staff Ulster Rugby players People educated at Bangor Grammar School Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Dungannon RFC players Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from County Down Irish sports executives and administrators Rugby union executives People from Bangor, County Down