Paul Jeremiah O'Connell (born 20 October 1979) is 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 ...

coach and former player. When he retired, he was Ireland's third most-capped player (108) and the eighteenth most-capped international player in rugby union history. During his career, O'Connell captained

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 ...

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 the British & Irish Lions. He is now the forwards coach for the Ireland national men's team.

Early life

O'Connell was born in

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

to Mick and Sheila O'Connell. He attended the Model School and Ardscoil Rís, Limerick where he initially excelled at swimming and only started playing rugby at the age of 16, playing for the school in the Munster Schools Senior Cup and representing Irish Schools in 1997–98 along with international teammate Gordon D'Arcy. He also played five consecutive games with the Ireland U21s with Donncha O'Callaghan as his second-row partner. O'Connell completed 3 out of 4 years of a Computer Engineering degree at the

University of Limerick University of Limerick (UL) () is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972, as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in Septemb ...

, before deferring the remainder of the degree to concentrate on rugby.

Playing career

2001–2003

O'Connell made his debut for Munster on 17 August 2001, in a Celtic League fixture against

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. His

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 ...

debut for the club came in a home fixture against Castres Olympique which Munster won 28-23. He started for Munster in their 2002 Heineken Cup Final defeat to

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 ...

on 25 May 2002. O'Connell made his debut for

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 ...

in the

2002 Six Nations Championship The 2002 Six Nations Championship was the third series of rugby union's Six Nations Championship, the 108th international championship overall. The annual tournament was won by France national rugby union team, France, who completed a Grand Slam ( ...

, starting alongside

Mick Galwey Michael Joseph Galwey (born 8 October 1966) won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship with the Kerry GAA, Kerry Gaelic football team in 1986, as a 19-year-old, before turning to rugby union. He is thus the only winner of an "All-Ireland" i ...

and scoring a try. Despite scoring this try, O'Connell has no recollection of the first half, recalling: "I scored a try but I don't remember it. I went to tackle Craig Quinnell and he knocked me clean unconscious with his elbow. I played on for another 25 minutes, scored a try and then, eventually, with seven minutes left in the first half, I came around. I didn't really know what was going on and so I walked off the pitch." O'Connell was part of the Munster squad that won the 2003 Celtic League, beating

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 ...

37–17 in the final. He scored two tries in a 35-12 victory over Wales in a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

warm-up game against Wales in August 2003 and was rewarded with a place on the Ireland 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 ...

. He played 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 ...

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

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 ...

and

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 pool stage, and the 43–21 quarter-final defeat to

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 ...

2004–2006

In Ireland's opening game of the 2004 Six Nations Championship, O'Connell captained the side in the absence of

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 ...

. He also played in the game against

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 ...

on 27 March 2004, in which Ireland won their first Triple Crown for 19 years. O'Connell also gained silverware on the club front when Munster won the last final of the Celtic Cup, defeating Llanelli Scarlets 27–16 in

Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Stadium (, ) was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) that was primarily used for rugby union and association football matches. The stadium was demolished in 2007 to make way for the Aviva Stadium on ...

on May 14, 2005. He was also part of the Ireland team that won a Triple Crown in the

2006 Six Nations Championship The 2006 Six Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy national rugby union team, Italy. Including the previous incarnations as the Ho ...

, playing in a dramatic 24-28 victory over England to clinch the Crown. He scored the last International try at the Old

before it was demolished and rebuilt as the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...

, in a 61-17 victory over the Pacific Islanders. O'Connell was selected in the squad for the 2005 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. He won his first Test cap for the Lions on 25 June 2005, starting in the first test defeat to

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 ...

. O'Connell also started the second and third tests. O'Connell was shortlisted for the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

player of the year in 2006 and was the only Northern Hemisphere nominee. The other four nominees were Dan Carter,

Richie McCaw Richard Hugh McCaw (born 31 December 1980) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He captain (sports), captained the New Zealand national rugby union team, New Zealand national team, the All Blacks, in 110 out of his 148 t ...

, Chris Latham and Fourie du Preez, with McCaw being named the eventual winner. O'Connell was an integral member of the Munster team that won the 2005–06 Heineken Cup, scoring a try in the 19-10 quarter-final victory over USA Perpignan and playing a crucial role in defeating

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 ...

30-6 in the semi-final and

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 ...

19–23 in the 2006 Heineken Cup Final.

2007–2009

O'Connell again took over from an injured O'Driscoll as Ireland captain in their historic match against France in the 2007 Six Nations Championship, the first rugby match ever played at

Croke Park Croke Park (, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and headquarters of the Gaelic At ...

. O'Connell was awarded the

Man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

accolade following Ireland's historic 43–13 win over

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 ...

a week later. He was named in Ireland's squad for the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

on 12 August 2007. His campaign started against Namibia, who, despite being the lowest ranked team in the competition, only lost 32-17 to Ireland. After the game, O'Connell admitted: "A few of the more experienced guys need to start performing better and start leading the team a bit more." O'Connell lined out for another disappointing Irish performance six days later when

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

came embarrassingly close to beating Ireland, eventually only losing 14-10. O'Connell's world cup ended after Ireland recorded two defeats against France and Argentina, meaning Ireland crashed out in the pool stage of the tournament in one of the lowest points in Irish rugby history. O'Connell became Munster captain in July 2007, succeeding Anthony Foley. He led Munster to their second

triumph in the 2007–08 season, playing a crucial role in the lead up to Munster's sole try in their 16–13 defeat of

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 ...

in the 2008 Heineken Cup Final. He also led the side to victory in the 2008–09 Celtic League. O'Connell's ability to steal Welsh line-out ball played a key role in Ireland's 17-15 victory over Wales which granted Ireland the 2009 Six Nations Championship and a first Grand Slam in 61 years. He played in all of Ireland's 2009 November Test matches, with Ireland claiming a draw against

, and two wins over

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

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 ...

. On 21 April 2009, O'Connell was named as the British & Irish Lions captain for the 2009 tour to South Africa. He commented at the time: "I looked at the squad last night and it will be a privilege to lead them. It's a great honour considering the captains that have gone before me, some of them legends of the game." He started the first test defeat alongside Alun Wyn Jones on 20 June 2009. He led the Lions in the second test with a new second-row partner in the form Simon Shaw as the Lions lost the match and with it, the series. O'Connell started in the last test of the series where the Lions managed a consolation victory to avoid the first whitewash by South Africa in 118 years.

2010–2013

O'Connell missed Ireland's first two matches 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 ...

due to a hip injury but returned to play England, Wales and Scotland. He missed Ireland's 2010 Summer Tests due to a groin injury that became infected, and also missed the 2010 Autumn Tests. After being out through injury for nine months, O'Connell made his comeback for Munster against

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...

in December 2010. He made his Heineken Cup comeback against Ospreys a week later, only to be sent off and banned for four weeks. His return was not enough to stop Munster losing 32-16 to

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

in a result that meant Munster failed to advance past the pool stages of the competition for the first time in 13 years. O'Connell was selected in Ireland's 2011 Six Nations Championship squad, playing 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 ...

, France, Scotland, Wales and England. He was selected in Ireland's

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 ...

training squad for the warm-up tests in August 2011. He played in both tests against France, captained Ireland in their final warm-up Test against England and was selected in Ireland's 30-man squad to go to New Zealand. Ireland won their opening pool game against the USA, with O'Connell being awarded Man of the Match. He started in Ireland's historic 6–15 victory against Australia, their first win against Australia at a World Cup. O'Connell also started against Italy in Ireland's final pool game. His World Cup ended when Ireland were defeated 22–10 against Wales in the quarter-final. It was announced on 30 December 2011 that O'Connell would captain Ireland in the absence of

during the 2012 Six Nations Championship. The Ireland squad for the 2012 Six Nations was named on 18 January 2012. He was ruled out for the remainder of the 2012 Six Nations after a knee injury sustained in the game against France, which required a recovery period of 3–6 weeks. O'Connell injured ligaments in his ankle during a Celtic League match against

on 2 April 2011, and was out for four weeks. He made his comeback against Harlequins on 30 April 2011, in the 12–20 Amlin Challenge Cup defeat. He captained Munster to victory over Leinster in the 2011 Magners League Grand Final. O'Connell signed a new two-year contract on 3 January 2012 that would see him continuing to play his rugby for Munster and Ireland until the end of the 2013–14 season. He made his comeback from the knee injury suffered in the 2012 Six Nations 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 the Heineken Cup quarter-final on 8 April 2012. O'Connell suffered another knee injury in Munster's Pro12 league game against Ulster, which ruled him out for 4–6 weeks and made him a doubt for Ireland's 3-Test series against

in June 2012. Having missed the series, O'Connell declared himself fit in August 2012. He also stood down as Munster squad captain, making way for teammate Doug Howlett on 24 August 2012, having been captain for just over five years. A back injury prolonged O'Connell's injury-enforced absence at the beginning of the 2012–13 season. He made his comeback on 13 October 2012, in Munster's opening fixture of the

2012–13 Heineken Cup The 2012–13 Heineken Cup was the 18th season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The tournament began with two pool matches on 12 October 2012 and ended with t ...

away to Racing Métro 92. O'Connell suffered a recurrence of his back injury in October 2012 and had to undergo surgery on New Year's Eve, which ruled him out of rugby until early April 2013. However, O'Connell returned early from the injury, having made a quicker-than-expected recovery, and played 40 minutes for Munster A on 12 March 2013. Having come through a full 80 minutes for

Young Munster Young Munster is a rugby union club based in Limerick, Ireland, playing in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. It was founded in 1895 and plays its games at Tom Clifford Park in Rosbrien, Limerick. The club has won the Munster Senior Rugb ...

, O'Connell then lined out for the senior Munster side in their league fixture against

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

on 23 March 2013, again playing the full 80 minutes. He captained Munster in the absence of Doug Howlett in the 12–18 Heineken Cup quarter-final victory over Harlequins on 7 April 2013, a game in which he won the Man-of-the-Match award. He also captained Munster in the 16–10 semi-final defeat to ASM Clermont Auvergne on 27 April 2013. O'Connell was selected for his third Lions tour on 30 April 2013, named in the squad for the

2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia The 2013 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia was a rugby union tour during June and July 2013. The British & Irish Lions played ten matches - a three-Test match (rugby union), test series against Australia national rugby union team, Austra ...

. He captained the side in their opening tour fixture against the

Barbarians A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice. A "barbarian" may ...

on 1 June 2013 in the absence of the injured Sam Warburton, scoring a try in the 59–8 win. O'Connell came off the bench in the 12–22 win against the Reds on 8 June 2013. O'Connell started against Waratahs on 15 June 2013. He started in the Lions first Test 21–23 victory against

on 22 June 2013. O'Connell was ruled out of the remainder of the 2013 tour after suffering a fractured arm in the first Test against Australia. It was announced on 26 June 2013 that O'Connell would be staying on for the remainder of tour in a coaching role.

2014–2016

In January 2014, O'Connell signed a new two-year contract to remain at Munster until June 2016. He scored a try in Munster's 47-23 win against

in the Heineken Cup quarter-final on 5 April 2014. O'Connell started for Munster in their 26-27 away win against

Sale Sharks Sale Sharks are a professional rugby union club from Greater Manchester, England, United Kingdom. Its team play in Premiership Rugby, and have been in England's top division of rugby union continuously since 1995. Originally founded in 1861 as ...

in the European Rugby Champions Cup on 18 October 2014. He also started in the 14-3 win against Saracens F.C. in Round 2 on 24 October 2014. On 27 January 2014, O'Connell was named in Ireland's 34-man squad for the opening two fixtures of the 2014 Six Nations Championship. He missed Ireland's opening 28-6 win against

on 2 February 2014 with a chest infection. He returned to captain Ireland against

on 8 February 2014. O'Connell started in the 13-10 loss to

on 22 February 2014. He started against

on 8 March 2014. O'Connell started the 20-22 win away to

on 15 March 2014, a win that secured the 2014 Championship for Ireland. O'Connell was named as captain of the Ireland squad for the 2014 Tour to Argentina on 19 May 2014. He started the first test against

on 7 June 2014. O'Connell also started the second test against Argentina on 14 June 2014. He was named in the Ireland squad for the 2014 Guinness Series on 21 October 2014, continuing as captain. O'Connell started in the 29-15 win against

on 8 November 2014. He also started in the 26-23 win against

on 22 November 2014, earning the Man-of-the-Match award. O'Connell was named as captain in the Ireland squad for the 2015 Six Nations Championship on 1 February 2015. He started in all three of Ireland's opening victories against

and

O'Connell won his 100th cap for Ireland in a 23–16 defeat to Wales on 14 March 2015, meaning Ireland could not obtain a grand slam. He started in Ireland's final match against

on 21 March 2015, scoring his seventh international try in the 10-40 win and leading Ireland to a second Six Nations Championship, the first time Ireland have won back-to-back championships since

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

- 49. O'Connell also won the Player of the Championship award for the 2015 Six Nations. He won the IRUPA Players' Player of the Year 2015 Award in May 2015. O'Connell scored a try in Munster's 50-27 win against Newport Gwent Dragons on 16 May 2015. He started in Munster's 13-31 2015 Pro12 Grand Final defeat 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 30 May 2015. On 2 June 2015, it was announced that O'Connell had been granted an early release from his contract with Munster and the IRFU. The contract, which had been due to end in June 2016, would instead end upon the conclusion of Ireland's

2015 Rugby World Cup The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was ...

campaign, after which O'Connell will retire from international rugby. On 16 June 2015, it was confirmed that O'Connell had joined

on a two-year contract. He was named in the 45-man training squad for the

on 24 June 2015. O'Connell won the 2015 Guinness Rugby Writers Player of the Year award in August 2015. He came off the bench for Ireland in their second Rugby World Cup warm-up against

on 15 August 2015. O'Connell started the third warm-up game against

on 29 August 2015, his final home game for Ireland. He was named as captain of the final 31-man squad for the World Cup when it was announced on 1 September 2015. O'Connell started in the final warm-up game against

on 5 September 2015. He started the opening pool game against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

on 19 September 2015. O'Connell came off the bench in the second pool game against

on 27 September 2015. He started the third pool game against

on 4 October 2015. O'Connell started Ireland's 24-9 win against

on 11 October 2015, but went off with a hamstring injury at the end of the first-half. The injury required surgery, ruling O'Connell out of the remainder of the World Cup and ending his international career. In December 2015, O'Connell joined the Toulon squad. On 9 February 2016, O'Connell announced that he'd had to retire from all professional rugby based on medical advice, following the injury he suffered during the 2015 Rugby World Cup with Ireland. Due to the injury, O'Connell never played a game for Toulon. In July 2016, it was confirmed that O'Connell had re-joined Munster in an advisory role with the club's academy.

Coaching career

O'Connell left his role as an advisor with the Munster Academy to become an assistant coach with the Ireland Under-20s team in December 2017. He joined French

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

club

Stade Français Stade Français Paris (known commonly as Stade Français, ) is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French ...

, where O'Connell's former Young Munster and Munster teammate Mike Prendergast was also a coach, as their new forwards coach in August 2018, but left after just one season. O'Connell joined the Ireland national men's team coaching setup as the new forwards' coach in January 2021, replacing his former international teammate Simon Easterby, who changed roles within the setup to become the defence coach.

Media career

O'Connell joined

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

as a pundit and commentator ahead of their coverage of the

2017 Six Nations Championship The 2017 Six Nations Championship was the 18th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship. The tournament was also known as the RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by NatWest ...

and has worked for

since then during their coverage of Wales' and Scotland's Autumn Internationals in November 2017 and throughout the 2018 Six Nations Championship. In 2019 he joined ITV Sport for their coverage of the

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

Honours and achievements

International tries

International career by opposition

Correct as of 1 May 2021 * indicates inclusion of caps for British & Irish Lions

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 (3):

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 ...

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

* 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 ...

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 ...

British & Irish Lions

* British & Irish Lions tours: ** Tourist (3):

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 ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

** Series Winner (1):

Personal life

O'Connell announced on '' The Late Late Show'' on 29 January 2010 that his girlfriend Emily O'Leary was six months pregnant with their first child. The baby was born on 15 April 2010 at the Mid-Western Regional Maternity Hospital in Limerick. He has been named Paddy O'Connell. O'Connell and O'Leary became engaged in June 2012 and married on 27 July 2013 in Auch Cathedral,

. Their second child, daughter Lola, was born in November 2014. Their third child, a son named Felix, was born in November 2017. O'Connell was awarded the Freedom of Limerick City in a ceremony in April 2012. In November 2015, O'Connell was conferred with an honorary doctorate from the

. He supports English

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

football team Everton F.C. O'Connell is also a single figure handicap golfer and is a member of Limerick Golf Club. In September 2016, O'Connell gave a speech to the European players preparing to compete against America in the 2016 Ryder Cup, having been invited to do so by

Darren Clarke Darren Christopher Clarke (born 14 August 1968) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and has previously played on the European Tour and PGA Tour. He has won 21 tournaments worldwide on ...

, Europe's captain. O'Connell released his autobiography in October 2016 called ''The Battle''. It was named as the Irish Sports Book of the Year for 2016 at the

Irish Book Awards The Irish Book Awards are Irish literary awards given annually to books and authors in various categories. It is the only literary award supported by all-Irish bookstores. The primary sponsor is An Post, the state owned postal service in Ireland ...

References

External links

Munster Profile

Ireland Profile

British & Irish Lions Profile

Pro14 Profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:OConnell, Paul 1979 births Living people Rugby union players from Limerick (city) People educated at Ardscoil Rís, Limerick Irish rugby union coaches Irish rugby union players Munster Rugby players Munster Rugby captains Young Munster players Ireland international rugby union players Ireland national rugby union team captains Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Stade Français Paris coaches Rugby union locks 2003 Rugby World Cup players 2007 Rugby World Cup players 2011 Rugby World Cup players 2015 Rugby World Cup players Expatriate rugby union coaches