Dave Gannon (born 11 February 1983) is a

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 ...

player from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He primarily plays as a

lock Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

, but has also played in the back row. Gannon currently plays with

Rugby United New York Rugby New York, formerly known as Rugby United New York and now officially nicknamed the Ironworkers, are a professional rugby union team based in New York City that is a member of Major League Rugby (MLR). The team played an exhibition season in ...

(RUNY) in

Major League Rugby Major League Rugby (MLR or USMLR) is a professional rugby union competition and the top-level championship for clubs in North America. In the 2022 season it was contested by thirteen teams: twelve from the United States and one from Canada. Off ...

(MLR). Gannon started his career with his native province of

Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...

, and spent the bulk of his career with

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

across two spells with the side. He also spent a season with

Southland Stags Rugby Southland (formerly the Southland Rugby Football Union) is the provincial rugby union who govern the Southland region of New Zealand. Their headquarters are at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, which is also the home ground of the unio ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and two seasons with English side

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

Early life

Born in Dublin, Gannon went to school in

Blackrock College Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary secondary school, voluntary day school, day and boarding school, boarding Catholicism, Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, Dublin, Bl ...

, graduating in 2001. At Blackrock, Gannon played for the school's rugby sides. He won the Leinster Junior Cup in 1998 and the Senior Seconds Cup in 1999. In 2001, he was part of the Blackrock squad that finished as runners-up in Leinster Senior Cup, losing to

Terenure College Terenure College is a Carmelite-run secondary school located in the suburb of Terenure, Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1860 and had an associated primary school until 2017. It is one of the "big six" Leinster Schools Rugby-playing ...

in the final. Gannon later studied at

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

and played for the university rugby team. Gannon is a cousin of international player

AJ MacGinty Alan "AJ" MacGinty is an Irish-born professional rugby player, who represents the United States in international competition. He primarily plays as a fly-half. MacGinty plays club rugby for Premiership Rugby team Bristol Bears. Early life A gra ...

, who also played for

Club career

Gannon was part of Leinster's under-age system, but struggled to break through to the first team. He made a single appearance for the province, coming on as a replacement against

Border Reivers Border reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border ...

in the

2004–05 Celtic League The 2004–05 Celtic League was the fourth Celtic League season, and the second following the introduction of regional rugby in Wales. It involved Irish, Scottish and Welsh rugby union clubs. The restructured Celtic League saw the Welsh regiona ...

. In 2005, he signed for rival province

. In his first season, he made 12 league appearances and scored one try. He also featured from the bench against

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also by ...

in the group stage of the

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

and started in the quarter-final defeat to

Newcastle Falcons Newcastle Falcons is a rugby union team that play in Premiership Rugby, England's highest division of rugby union. The club was established in 1877 as the Gosforth Football Club. Around 1882 the club merged with the Northumberland Football Cl ...

. In the following season, Gannon became a fixture in the starting team. He featured in 18 of the side's 20 games in the

2006–07 Celtic League The 2006–07 Celtic League (known as the 2006–07 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the sixth Celtic League season and the first with Magners as title sponsor. The season commenced on 1 September and was completed on 12 May. The team ...

and four of their six 2006–07 Challenge Cup games, starting on every occasion that he played. In the 2007–08 season, he played 16 times in the Celtic League and 4 times in the Challenge Cup. Gannon's final season in this spell with Connacht saw him feature less regularly. He played nine times in the league, starting just once, and played three times in the Challenge Cup. Gannon left Connacht in 2009, having played 67 times for the side in three seasons. After leaving Connacht, Gannon went six months without a club before signing with

National Provincial Championship The National Provincial Championship may refer to: * National Provincial Championship (1976–2005), original competition before reform into 14 sides * National Provincial Championship (2006–present) The National Provincial Championship, o ...

side

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

. He was signed as backup to first choice locks

Josh Bekhuis Joshua Bekhuis (born 26 April 1986) is a professional rugby union player who plays at lock for Honda Heat in the Japanese Top League competition. Playing career Provincial Rugby Bekhuis began his career with Southland in 2006 after a success ...

and

Joe Tuineau Joseph Mark Laifone Tuineau (born 18 August 1981) is a Tonga international rugby union footballer. He plays in the lock position for the France based Pro D2 side, Dax. Tuineau also represents Tonga at international level. Tuineau is a former Am ...

. During his time there, the team won the country's most prestigious rugby trophy, the

Ranfurly Shield The Ranfurly Shield, colloquially known as the Log o' Wood, is a trophy in New Zealand's domestic rugby union competition. First played for in 1904, the Shield is based on a challenge system. The holding union must defend the shield in challeng ...

, for the first time in 50 years. After a successful season with Southland, he joined

in the

English Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

in December 2009. The Chiefs were promoted in his first season there, and he played one season with the side in the Premiership before leaving in 2011. Gannon made a total of 34 appearances over his time with the Chiefs, starting in just seven of these. Gannon rejoined Connacht on a one-year deal in September 2011, as injury cover for Dave Nolan. In his return season, he played nine times in the league, starting on five occasions. The 2011–12 season saw Connacht qualify for the

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

for the first time, and Gannon started three of their six games. He signed a further one-year contract extension in March 2012. However, the 2012–13 season saw Connacht play less frequently for Connacht than ever, featuring seven times in the Pro12 and once from the bench in the Heineken Cup. The lack of gametime saw him released to play with

Blackrock BlackRock, Inc. is an American Multinational corporation, multi-national investment company based in New York City. Founded in 1988, initially as a Enterprise risk management, risk management and fixed income institutional asset manager, BlackR ...

in the All-Ireland League, where he played alongside his cousin

for a brief period. At the end of the season, Gannon was released by Connacht, having made 20 appearances in his second spell with the team and earned 87 caps overall. As he had done the first time he left Connacht, Gannon travelled overseas, this time joining MacGinty in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. He moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

in early 2014, studying coaching and playing at

Life University Life University is a private university focused on training chiropractors and located in Marietta, Georgia, USA. It was established in 1974 by a chiropractor, Sid E. Williams. History The university was founded in 1974 by Williams as "Life C ...

where MacGinty had been based since 2012. In 2018, Gannon was announced as part of the playing squad for

, the first ever professional rugby side in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

International career

Gannon represented Ireland internationally at under-age level. In 2004, he captained the Ireland under-21 team in the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. The side made the final before losing to the New Zealand team 47–19. Gannon also played for Ireland's second tier side Ireland A, now known as the

Ireland Wolfhounds The Ireland Wolfhounds (formerly Ireland A and Ireland B) are the second national rugby union team of Ireland, behind the Ireland national team. They previously competed in the Churchill Cup together with the England Saxons, the national teams ...

. He played for the team three times, first facing New Zealand Māori in 2007, before playing against Canada A and the

England Saxons England A is England's men's second national rugby union team. The team has previously been known by a number of names, such as England B, Emerging England and, most recently, England Saxons. England A play a key role in the development of emer ...

in the same year. He scored one try for the side, with that coming in his debut.

References

External links

Connacht Pro12 profileEPCR profileIreland A profileLeinster Pro12 profileLife University profileStatBunker profileSouthland profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gannon, David 1983 births Living people Connacht Rugby players Exeter Chiefs players Irish rugby union players Leinster Rugby players Rugby union locks Southland rugby union players People educated at Blackrock College Irish expatriate rugby union players Irish expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Irish expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate rugby union players in the United States Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand Rugby union players from Dublin (city) Life University alumni Alumni of University College Dublin University College Dublin R.F.C. players Rugby New York players