Donncha O'Callaghan (born 24 March 1979) is an Irish retired

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. He spent most of his career with his home province

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 ...

, spending 17 seasons with the province and winning five major trophies, before finishing his career with

Worcester Warriors Worcester Warriors are a professional rugby union club based in Worcester, England. They most recently played in Premiership Rugby, the top division of English rugby union, before being suspended by the Rugby Football Union, RFU in September 2 ...

in the English Premiership. Internationally, O'Callaghan represented

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and was part of the team that won the Six Nations grand slam in 2009. He also toured with the British & Irish Lions in 2005 and 2009, winning 4 caps. Throughout his career, O'Callaghan played primarily as a

lock Lock(s) or Locked may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainme ...

, though he occasionally provided cover at blindside flanker.

Youth rugby

O'Callaghan began his rugby education in Highfield Rugby Club, on the Model Farm Road in Cork. During the 1997–98 season he won a Munster Schools Senior Cup with Christian Brothers College, Cork, beating St. Munchin's College, Limerick (a team including Jerry Flannery and Jeremy Staunton) in the final at Musgrave Park. The same year, he also played for the Irish Schoolboys team. The following year he was part of the U-19 World Championship winning team, along with

Brian O'Driscoll Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside Centre (rugby union), centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster Rugby, Leinster and for Ireland national rugby union te ...

and Paddy Wallace.

Professional career

Munster

O'Callaghan made his Munster debut on 4 September 1998, starting against

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

in an Irish Inter-Provincial match. O'Callaghan started for Munster in their 37–17 Celtic League

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

victory against

Neath Neath (; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community situated in the Neath Port Talbot, Neath Port Talbot County Borough, Wales. The town had a population of 50,658 in 2011. The community of the parish of Neath had a population of 19,2 ...

on 1 February 2003. O'Callaghan also started for Munster in their 27–16 Celtic Cup Final against Llanelli Scarlets on 14 May 2005. O'Callaghan was part of the Munster team that won the 2005–06 Heineken Cup, scoring a try in the win against Castres Olympique in the pool stage He started for Munster in their 19–23 2006 Heineken Cup Final victory against

Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Iparralde, Basque city of Biarritz in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...

on 20 May 2006, O'Callaghan's and Munster's first European success. O'Callaghan scored a try after a 55m run in the first game of their

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec 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 ...

defence against

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

at Welford Road Stadium. He scored another try against Bourgoin at Thomond Park in their first home game since winning the Heineken Cup. O'Callaghan was also a part of the Munster team which won the 2007–08 Heineken Cup, starting the 16–13 2008 Heineken Cup Final victory against

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

on 24 May 2008. He was also part of the Munster team that won the 2008–09 Celtic League. On 11 November 2010, O'Callaghan committed his future to the province when he signed a new three-year contract, finishing in 2014. He started against

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

in Munster's 19–9 2011 Magners League Grand Final victory on 28 May 2011. O'Callaghan became the ninth Munster player to reach the 200-caps mark in the league game against

Glasgow Warriors The 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 beca ...

on 14 April 2012. O'Callaghan signed a contract extension with Munster in November 2013, which will see him remain with the province until June 2016. On 15 February 2014, O'Callaghan made history when he came off the bench for Munster against Zebre to earn his 241st cap, overtaking the record for Munster appearances previously held by

Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara (born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland's third most-capped player and second highest points scorer. He i ...

. O'Callaghan was nominated for the IRUPA Medal for Excellence 2014 award on 23 April 2014. He missed out on this award, but did win the inaugural Contribution to Society Award for his work with

UNICEF UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...

. O'Callaghan captained Munster in their 13–14 defeat against Edinburgh on 5 September 2014.

Worcester Warriors

On 3 September 2015, it was announced that O'Callaghan had been granted an early release from his Munster contract to join English Aviva Premiership side

on a two-year contract. On 5 December 2015, O'Callaghan received the first

red card A red card is a type of penalty card that is shown in many sports after a rules infraction. Red card may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Red Card'' (album), 1976 release by Streetwalkers * Red card, suit (cards) of hearts or di ...

of his career during Worcester's game against

. In his first season with the club, O'Callaghan played in every Premiership game and was named the Supporters Club Player of the Season for 2016. In January 2017, O'Callaghan captained with Worcester for the first during their 2016–17 European Rugby Challenge Cup fixture against Russian side Enisei-STM. Following that, new Director of Rugby Gary Gold also made O'Callaghan the club's Premiership captain. He signed a one-year contract extension in April 2017. O'Callaghan retired from rugby after captaining Worcester to a 44–13 win Harlequins on 28 April 2018, a result that ensured Worcester remained in the Premiership for the following season.

International career

Ireland

O'Callaghan made his international debut for Ireland on 22 March 2003, coming on as a replacement against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

during the 2003 Six Nations Championship. O’Callaghan made his debut on the 18th anniversary of his Dad’s passing, to make it even more poignant he also wore the number 18 jersey. O'Callaghan was selected in Ireland's squad for the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

, playing against

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

in the pool stage and against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in the 17–16 defeat in the final pool game. O'Callaghan was part of the Ireland team that won the Triple Crown in the 2004 Six Nations Championship, Ireland's first Triple Crown in 19 years. O'Callaghan played in all of Ireland's 2005 Autumn Tests when Paul O'Connell was injured. O'Callaghan scored his first international try in a match against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the 43–31 loss in Paris in the 2006 Six Nations Championship. O'Callaghan was also part of the Ireland team that won further Triple Crowns in 2006 and

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. O'Callaghan was part of the Irish team which won the Grand Slam in the 2009 Six Nations Championship, Ireland's first in 61 years. O'Callaghan featured in all of Ireland's tests in the 2009 November Tests, starting against

, coming on as a replacement against

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and starting the 15–10 victory against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. O'Callaghan missed the first two games of the

2010 Six Nations Championship The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Championship and the 116th international championship, an annual rugby union competition b ...

, but returned against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and went on to start against

. and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. O'Callaghan also started against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

in Ireland's 2010 Summer Tests. He also started against

in Ireland's opening game of the 2010 November Tests, also starting against

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. O'Callaghan started against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in Ireland's first game of the 2011 Six Nations Championship, and went on to start against

and

. O'Callaghan was selected in Ireland's training squad for the

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The World Rugby, International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japa ...

warm-ups in August, starting both tests against

and the test against

. He was selected in the 30-man squad to go to New Zealand, starting the pool stage victories against USA,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

, and also starting the quarter-final defeat to

. O'Callaghan was selected in Ireland's 24-man squad for the 2012 Six Nations Championship. He started against

and

. O'Callaghan featured in all of Ireland's tests in the 2012 tour of New Zealand, coming off the bench in the first, second and third tests. He also featured in the 2012 Autumn Tests against

and

, earning his 90th cap for Ireland in the Argentina test. O'Callaghan was named in Ireland's training squad for the

2013 Six Nations Championship The 2013 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2013 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 14th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship ...

on 17 January 2013, and came off the bench against Wales and England. An injury to

Mike McCarthy Michael John McCarthy (born November 10, 1963) is an American professional American football, football coach who most recently was the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL) from 2020 Dallas Cowboys season, 2020 t ...

meant that O'Callaghan was promoted to the starting XV for Ireland's game against Scotland on 24 February 2013. McCarthy's return from injury relegated O'Callaghan to another bench appearance in the 13–13 draw with France. O'Callaghan was then dropped from the international side, with

's Devin Toner being preferred for the place on the bench against

. O'Callaghan was added to the Ireland squad for the 2013 Autumn Tests on 28 October 2013. He was left out of the squad for the 2014 Six Nations Championship.

British & Irish Lions

O'Callaghan was selected in Sir Clive Woodward's squad for the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand on 11 April 2005. He started for the Lions in a test match against

on 23 May 2005. He started the 48–18 second test defeat alongside Munster and Ireland colleague Paul O'Connell. He continued with O'Connell for the third test defeat as well. O'Callaghan was also selected in Sir Ian McGeechan's squad for the 2009 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa. He captained the mid-week Lions team to victory over Southern Kings on 16 June 2009. He came off the bench in the first test defeat, his only test appearance on the tour.

Barbarians

O'Callaghan was selected in the Barbarians squad to play

on 26 May 2014.

Personal life

O'Callaghan attended Christian Brothers College, Cork. He is the younger brother of Ultan O'Callaghan, former Munster player and coach and now Domestic Rugby Manager at Munster Rugby, and cousin of the former Cork City F.C. footballer George O'Callaghan. On 23 December 2009, O'Callaghan married his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Harte, at St. Columba's Church in

Douglas, Cork Douglas () is a suburb, with a village core, in Cork (city), Cork city, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Douglas is also the name of the townland, Parish (Catholic Church), Roman Catholic parish, Church of Ireland parish and Civil parishes in Irel ...

. In August 2010, O'Callaghan's wife gave birth to their first child, a girl. The couple had a second daughter in September 2012. Their third daughter was born in October 2013. The couple had a fourth child, a son, in September 2015. O'Callaghan has been an ambassador for UNICEF Ireland since July 2009 and has made visits to South Africa,

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

, and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

with

. O'Callaghan released an autobiography in October 2011, called ''Joking Apart: My Autobiography''. In May 2021, he was announced as one of the new presenters of '' The RTÉ 2fm Breakfast Show'' alongside Doireann Garrihy and Carl Mullan, which began on 31 May. On 25 June 2024, O'Callaghan announced that he would leave the ''2FM Breakfast Show'' on 5 July.

Statistics

International analysis by opposition

Correct as of 4 July 2017Donncha O'Callaghan
''ESPN Scrum'', 4 July 2017 * indicates inclusion of caps for British & Irish Lions

Honours

Munster

* European Rugby Champions Cup: **Winner (2): 2005–06, 2007–08 *

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

: **Winner (3): 2002–03, 2008–09, 2010–11 * Celtic Cup: **Winner (1): 2004–05

Ireland

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

: **Winner (1):

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

* Grand Slam: **Winner (1):

* Triple Crown: **Winner (4):

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

British & Irish Lions

*British & Irish Lions tours: **Tourist (2):

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

References

External links

Worcester ProfileMunster ProfileIreland ProfileBritish & Irish Lions ProfilePro14 Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:OCallaghan, Donncha 1979 births Living people People educated at Christian Brothers College, Cork Alumni of Cork Institute of Technology Rugby union players from Cork (city) Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Munster Rugby players Munster Rugby captains Cork Constitution players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Worcester Warriors players Barbarian F.C. players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Rugby union locks 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players