Donnacha "The Don" O'Dea (born 30 August 1948) is an Irish professional

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

player. In his youth, he was a

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, and represented Ireland in the 1968

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. He was also the first Irish swimmer to swim 100m in less than one minute. His parents were actors Denis O'Dea and Siobhán McKenna.

Early life

O'Dea's parents were Siobhan McKenna and Denis O'Dea, both notable actors. He attended

Synge Street CBS Synge Street CBS (colloquially Synger) is a boys' non-fee-paying state school, under the auspices of the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, located in the Dublin 8 area of Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1864 by Canon ...

and went on to study at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

Poker career

O'Dea came close to winning a WSOP bracelet in 1983 in the $1,000 Limit Hold'em event, finishing runner-up to Tom McEvoy. He made the final table of the WSOP Main Event in 1983 when he finished 6th, which was eventually won by McEvoy, and again when he finished 9th in 1991 in the event won by Brad Daugherty. O'Dea also cashed in the Main Event in 1990 (32nd), 1994 (27th), 1996 (25th), and 2007 (171st). In 1998, O'Dea won a WSOP bracelet in Pot Limit

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

with rebuys event, defeating two-time WSOP Main Event champion, Johnny Chan in heads-up play. Donnacha first appeared in the Late Night Poker television programme in series 4, finishing 5th in a heat won by Robin Keston. He returned to the show in series 6, winning his heat and going on to finish 4th in the Grand Final. In 2004, he won the Poker Million tournament, overcoming Dave "The Devilfish" Ulliott in the eventual heads-up confrontation. The following year, he made the final table again and finished in 5th place. O'Dea was the first member of the European Poker Players Hall of Fame. As of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,000,000. His 23 cashes as the WSOP account for $471,687 of those winnings. His son, Eoghan O'Dea, is also a poker player who competes primarily online under the moniker 'intruder123'. In December 2008, he followed up a $300,000 online win with a 2nd-place finish in the Poker Million for $260,000. In 2011, he made a deep run at the Main Event of WSOP 2011 earning his place in The November Nine. He eventually finished in 6th place

References

External links

Card Player profile

Hendon Mob profileWSOP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Odea, Donnacha 1948 births Living people Sportspeople from County Dublin People educated at Synge Street CBS Irish poker players Irish male freestyle swimmers World Series of Poker bracelet winners Olympic swimmers for Ireland Swimmers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish male butterfly swimmers 20th-century Irish sportsmen