Peter McKenna (born 24 November 1974) is a former Irish Rugby International, author, broadcaster and

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

Early life

McKenna was educated at

C.B.C. Monkstown Christian Brothers College, Monkstown Park (or CBC Monkstown Park) is a private fee-paying Catholic school and Independent Junior school, founded in 1856 in Monkstown, Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland. The college arrived at Monkstown Par ...

where he played rugby for the school, representing Leinster Schools in 1991 and 1992. He went on to study law in

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 began playing club rugby in the AIL for Old Belvedere rugby club. In between his time studying and playing in Ireland, McKenna played for North Canterbury in New Zealand in 1994. Upon completion his college work, McKenna qualified as a solicitor.

Rugby career

In 1999, McKenna put his legal career on hold and resumed top level rugby in the now professional game for

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...

. McKenna played at both wing, full back during his spell with Leinster. Highlights during this period for the province included winning the inaugural Celtic League (then Celtic League) in 2001 and reaching the semi finals of 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 ...

in 2003. McKenna also earned international honours in 2000, playing for Ireland against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. He was also a founding member of the Irish Rugby Union Players Union (IRUPA) in 2001, serving as secretary in the union's early days. In 2003, McKenna retired from professional rugby in order to continue his legal career.

Professional career

Since retiring from rugby, McKenna has been a practicing solicitor through his firm McKenna Durcan Solicitors. He continues his association with the professional game by providing legal advice for members of

IRUPA The Rugby Players Ireland is the representative body for professional rugby players in Ireland. Founded in October 2001, its aims are to promote and protect the welfare of professional rugby players in Ireland. The Chief Executive Officer is Sim ...

Media work

He also works as a pundit and commentator for

Setanta Sports Setanta Sports is a sports television company based in Dublin, Ireland broadcasting throughout select Eurasian. The company was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events to international audiences. The company previo ...

with their Magners League and

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

coverage. In addition to his work as a broadcaster and solicitor, McKenna also wrote a book prior to the 2007 RWC entitled ''Rugby Explained'', which aimed to inform amateurs and rugby novices about the intrinsics of the game.

References

McKenna launches 'Rugby Explained' bookBenefits of IRUPABackground of IRUPAMcKenna was joined in Dublin today by Micheal O'Muircheartaigh and Brent Pope for the launch of his new book 'Rugby Explained'
*http://www.scrum.com/ireland/rugby/player/13420.html {{DEFAULTSORT:McKenna, Peter Living people Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union fullbacks University College Dublin R.F.C. players Old Belvedere R.F.C. players Leinster Rugby players Alumni of University College Dublin 1974 births Expatriate rugby union players in New Zealand Rugby union players from County Dublin People educated at C.B.C. Monkstown