Liam Thomas Mooney (born 18 May 1972) is a former professional rugby union footballer who played at prop. He is now an entrepreneur living in

Guernsey Guernsey (; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; french: Guernesey) is an island in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy that is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependency. It is the second largest of the Channel Islands ...

with his wife and son.

Education

Mooney was educated at St Boniface's Catholic College,

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and graduated from the University of Cambridge (

Hughes Hall Hughes Hall is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. It is the oldest of the University of Cambridge's postgraduate colleges. The college also admits undergraduates, though undergraduates admitted by the college must b ...

) in 1996.

Rugby career

Mooney began his rugby career with London Irish in 1992, making his debut as a

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

against

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

aged 20 years old. He represented London Irish in both premiership and European competitions. Mooney played in the club's biggest premiership win, beating

Harlequin F.C. Harlequins (officially Harlequin Football Club) is a professional rugby union club that plays in Premiership Rugby, the top level of English rugby union. Their home ground is the Twickenham Stoop, located in Twickenham, south-west London. Foun ...

62–14 in April 1998. He was a member of the promotion winning team that took London Irish to the English Premiership in 1996, as well as the semi-final of the Pilkington Cup, under the leadership of

Sir Clive Woodward Sir Clive Ronald Woodward (born 6 January 1956) 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 also coached the 2005 British & Irish Lion ...

. He moved on to play for

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

(1998–1999) and Exeter Chiefs (1999–2001). From 1996 in the professional era, Mooney scored 14 tries and made over 100 appearances for his clubs. While at Exeter, he played for the English National Divisions and scored the winning try against the Springboks on their 2000 tour of the UK. During his career, Mooney represented Ireland XV (vs Leinster 1996), Ireland A, Ireland U21, Ireland Students, the Barbarians and won two Cambridge Blues representing Cambridge University in the winning 1994 and 1995 Varsity matches. He finished his rugby career at Bristol and

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; cy, Caerffili, ) is a town and community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley. It is north of Cardiff and northwest of Newport. It is the largest town in Caerphilly County Borough, and lies wit ...

where he retired with a chronic knee injury.

Business career

Mooney qualified as a solicitor of England & Wales in November 2000, having trained and worked at international law firm

Kennedys The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy be ...

and regional legal 500 law firm, Michelmores. In 2002, Mooney founded Blue Pencil, an international legal executive search and recruitment company, where he is currently the Managing Director. Blue Pencil is mentioned in Sidney Korshak's book "How to Land a Legal Job Overseas". In November 2014, he was named by

Arabian Business ''Arabian Business'' (''AB'') is a weekly business magazine published in Dubai and focusing on global and regional news analysis. The brand is aimed at the English- and Arabic-speaking communities and is published in both languages. Its circula ...

as 'Business Mentor of the Year' and was a finalist at the SME Stars of Business Awards in December 2014. In August 2015, Mooney was named as a finalist in the Gulf Capital SME Awards, as the “Business Leader of the Year”.

Donations and Scholarships

A lifetime member of Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club (CURUFC), and a donor of the CURUFC's Red Lion Foundation, set up to support rugby players through their studies at the university, Mooney made a charitable donation to fund the Lion's Room in 2013. Mooney has also a law scholarship for talented students looking to do an LLM a
Hughes Hall, Cambridge University

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mooney, Liam 1972 births Living people Alumni of Hughes Hall, Cambridge Barbarian F.C. players Blackheath F.C. players British expatriates in Monaco Businesspeople from Dubai Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players English businesspeople English expatriates in Monaco English rugby union players Exeter Chiefs players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Irish Exiles rugby union players London Irish players Rugby union players from Gosport Rugby union props