Brian Anthony Philip O'Brien (5 July 1939 – 28 February 2023) was an Irish

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player, selector, coach and team manager.

Career

In his youth, O'Brien played as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

with Shannon. He was part of the club's first ever Munster Senior Cup success in 1960. O'Brien later became Shannon's first ever international when he was part of the Ireland squad for the 1968 Five Nations. O'Brien spent nearly 15 years playing at senior level with Shannon, before going on to coach them to consecutive Munster Senior Cup titles in 1977 and 1978. He later served as a selector for Ireland and the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

during the latter's 1983 tour to New Zealand. O'Brien's other coaching roles included periods as manager of the Irish U21 team and the Shannon team that won four successive All-Ireland League titles. He also served as team manager of the

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

and Ireland teams.

Death

O'Brien died in Limerick on 28 February 2023, at the age of 83.

References

External links

Brian O'Brien profile
at the ESPN website {{DEFAULTSORT:O'Brien, Brian 1939 births 2023 deaths Irish rugby union players Shannon RFC players Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union players from Limerick (city) Rugby union centres Munster Rugby players Irish rugby union coaches