Tiernan O'Halloran (

Irish name A formal Irish name consists of a given name and a surname. In the Irish language, surnames are generally patronymic in etymology but are no longer literal patronyms as, for example, most Icelandic names still are. The form of a surname varies ac ...

: ''Tiernan Ó hAllaráin''; born 26 February 1991) is a professional

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. He primarily plays as a fullback or on the

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is expres ...

. O'Halloran currently plays for Irish provincial side

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 ...

in the

Pro14 The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. The current name was adopted in 2021 when the league expanded to include four South Afr ...

Early life

O'Halloran grew up in

Clifden Clifden (, meaning "stepping stones") is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Cap ...

. O'Halloran played rugby with

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speak ...

at a young age. He attended

Garbally College St. Joseph's College, Garbally Park (Irish: ''Coláiste Sheosaimh Naofa'') is an Irish voluntary Catholic secondary school situated in Garbally Park, the former seat of the Earl of Clancarty, near Ballinasloe in County Galway. It is a single-s ...

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-ce ...

, playing for the side in the Connacht Junior Schools Cup, scoring a try as they beat

Coláiste Iognáid Coláiste Iognáid SJ ( en, link=yes, Ignatius College), a bilingual secondary school, is located on Sea Road in Galway, Ireland. It was founded in 1645 and has had numerous locations over the years before its current home. The college is a co- ...

in the final in 2005. O'Halloran later transferred to Cistercian College in

Roscrea Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...

and played for them in the Leinster Senior Schools Cup. In addition to rugby, O'Halloran played

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

growing up. He played with Clifden at club level and was on the

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

minor panel for two years.

Rugby career

Connacht

O'Halloran was involved with the Connacht youth set up from a young age, and trained with the academy squad at just 16 years old. He made his debut against Olympus Madrid in the 2009–10 Challenge Cup, scoring a try 30 minutes into the game. O'Halloran made his league debut in the same season, starting against Scarlets in a

2009–10 Celtic League The 2009–10 Celtic League (known as the 2009–10 Magners League for sponsorship reasons) was the ninth season of the league now known as Pro12 and the fourth with Magners as title sponsor. The season began in September 2009 and ended with the G ...

match on 25 April 2010. The following season, while still in the academy, O'Halloran made three replacement appearances in the

2010–11 Celtic League The 2010–11 Magners League was the tenth Celtic League season and the fifth with Magners as title sponsor. The regular season began on 3 September 2010 and finished on the weekend of 6–8 May 2011. During these stages, each team played every ot ...

, but didn't feature in the

Challenge Cup The Challenge Cup is a knockout rugby league cup competition organised by the Rugby Football League, held annually since 1896, with the exception of 1915–1919 and 1939–1940, due to World War I and World War II respectively. It involves am ...

. After graduating from the Connacht academy, O'Halloran was signed on a development contract for the 2011–12 season. That 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 ...

, Europe's premier club competition, for the first time. On 11 November 2011, O'Halloran scored Connacht's first ever try in the competition against Harlequins in the opening round. He also featured for Connacht in the 36–10 defeat to

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

in and the 23–19 loss against

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, scoring another try against Gloucester. O'Halloran then played in the 24–3 loss against

but played in the province's first ever

win when Connacht beat Harlequins 9–8. In the

2011–12 Pro12 The 2011–12 Pro12 League (also known as the ''RaboDirect Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the 11th season of the rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, the second with its current 12-team format, and also the first w ...

O'Halloran scored tries in both games against the

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby ( cy, Rygbi Caerdydd) are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby competitions. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms ...

along with tries

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

Glasgow Warriors Glasgow Warriors are a professional rugby union side from Scotland. The team plays in the United Rugby Championship league and in the European Professional Club Rugby tournaments. In the 2014–15 season they won the Pro12 title and became t ...

. In Round 20 of matches, O'Halloran scored a try in a 26–21 victory over

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 ...

to take his tally of tries to five in the Pro12 and seven in all competitions. The Connemara native has also kicked 4 conversions and a drop goal for Connacht, the drop goal being the winning score in Cardiff Arms Park in Feb 2017.

International

O'Halloran has represented Ireland internationally at under-age level. He played for both

Ireland schools The Irish Schoolboys rugby union team is the national team for secondary school students and under-18 school players in Ireland. There is an equivalent Ireland under 18 clubs side that play international rugby. Role The Irish Schoolboys side re ...

and the Ireland under-20s. During the 2011–12 season, he was called up by

Declan Kidney Declan Kidney (born 20 October 1959) is an Irish rugby union coach. He was the head coach of the Ireland national rugby union team from 2008 to 2013, where he won the 2009 Six Nations with a Grand Slam, winning the 2009 IRB Coach of the Year aw ...

to train with the senior team. O'Halloran received his first full international cap against South Africa on 18 June 2016.

Family

He is the son of Aidan O'Halloran, who was a member of the

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

winning

Offaly County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

. In 2012, Aidan O'Halloran became President of the Connacht Branch of the

IRFU The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) ( ga, Cumann Rugbaí na hÉireann) is the body managing rugby union in the island of Ireland (both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland). The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ...

while his son was playing for the senior team.

References

External links

Pro12 ProfileEPCR Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:OHalloran, Tiernan 1991 births Living people Clifden Gaelic footballers Connacht Rugby players Gaelic footballers who switched code Galwegians RFC players Ireland international rugby union players Irish rugby union players People educated at Cistercian College, Roscrea People educated at Garbally College Rugby union players from County Galway Rugby union fullbacks