Peter James O'Mahony (born 17 September 1989) is an Irish former

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 who played as a flanker. O'Mahony played as a flanker. During his career, O'Mahony has captained Presentation Brothers College, Ireland U18, Ireland U20,

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 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 ...

. He formerly represented Cork Constitution in the All-Ireland League.

Early career

O'Mahony was born in

Cork "Cork" or "CORK" may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Stopper (plug), or "cork", a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container *** Wine cork an item to seal or reseal wine Places Ireland * ...

, where he attended Presentation Brothers College. He went on to enter the Munster academy in 2008 and captained the Ireland under-20s in the 2009 Six Nations Under-20s Championship and 2009 IRB Junior World Championship. O'Mahony won the 2009–10 All-Ireland Cup with Cork Constitution and was named

player 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 ...

in the final. He was also part of the Cork Constitution team that won the 2009–10 All-Ireland League alongside current Munster teammates Stephen Archer and Simon Zebo and former teammates Duncan Williams,

Ian Nagle Ian William Nagle (born 17 October 1988) is a retired Irish rugby union player, who last played for Italian United Rugby Championship side Zebre. Nagle began his career with home province Munster, before stints abroad with English sides Newcast ...

Tom Gleeson Thomas Francis Gleeson (born 2 June 1974) is an Australian stand-up comedian, writer, television and radio presenter. Gleeson currently hosts '' Hard Quiz'' and '' Taskmaster Australia'' and previously co-hosted ''The Weekly with Charlie Picker ...

and Brian Hayes.

Munster

2010–2015

O'Mahony made his Munster debut 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 ...

on 2 January 2010, coming on as a replacement for James Coughlan. He captained Munster A to the final of the inaugural

British and Irish Cup The British and Irish Cup was an annual rugby union competition for second tier, semi-professional clubs and the reserves or developing teams from professional clubs from Great Britain and Ireland. It took place for the first time in the 2009� ...

in the 2009–10 season. O'Mahony was promoted to a full development contract with

for the 2010–11 season. He was an integral part of the team when the internationals were away for the 2010 November Tests, putting in a big performance in Munster's historic 15–6 victory 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 ...

, a game which was also O'Mahony's first start for Munster. O'Mahony captained Munster in their opening

Pro12 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 ...

match against

Dragons A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depict ...

in September 2011, and continued to captain Munster whilst their international contingent were away at 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 ...

. He made 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 Munster against

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

on 12 November 2011, a game in which he won the Man-of-the-Match award. He scored his first try for Munster on 19 November 2011, in Munster's second Heinken Cup Pool One game against

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (adminis ...

. O'Mahony won the Munster Young Player of the Year for the 2011–12 season. He captained Munster in their

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 firs ...

away play-off semi-final against Ospreys on 11 May 2012, which Munster lost 45–10. O'Mahony started for Munster in their 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 ...

on 13 October 2012, a 22–17 defeat at the hands of

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French professional rugby union club based in the Hauts-de-Seine department, Paris' western inner Banlieue, suburbs that competes in Top 14. The club plays its home matches at the 30,681-capacity Stadium#Types, domed stadium Pa ...

. He scored a try in their 33–0 win 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 ...

in round 2 on 21 October 2012. He started in the 15–9 win against

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

on 8 December 2012, and also in the reverse fixture a week later, which Munster lost 19–13. O'Mahony started against Edinburgh in the 26–17 round 5 victory, and also started in the crucial 29–6 win against

that secured Munster a place in the quarter-finals. He signed a new two-year contract with the IRFU in January 2013. O'Mahony continued to start for Munster in the knockout-stage of the 2012–13 tournament, playing a crucial role in their 18–12 away quarter-final victory against Harlequins on 7 April 2013. He also started the semi-final against Clermont Auvergne on 27 April 2013, which Munster lost 16–10. O'Mahony was named as the new Munster captain on 30 July 2013, replacing former All Black

Doug Howlett Douglas Charles Howlett (born 21 September 1978) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He was primarily a wing, but he also sometimes played as a fullback. He played for Auckland, and the Highlanders, Hurricanes and Blues ...

, who retired at the end of the 2012–13 season. He started for Munster against

in the opening round of the

2013–14 Heineken Cup The 2013–14 Heineken Cup was the 19th and final season of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby. The pool stage began on 11 October 2013 and ran through to 17� ...

on 12 October 2013, captaining the side during their 29–23 defeat. He moved to number 8 for Munster's second-round game against

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

on 19 October 2013, which Munster won 26–10. He started against

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ; ) is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales departments of France, department in Southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the Me ...

on 8 December 2013, captaining the side to a 36–8 win. O'Mahony started the reverse fixture away to Perpignan on 14 December 2013. O'Mahony started the 20–7 away win against

on 11 January 2014, scoring a try in a win that secured quarter-final qualification. O'Mahony started against

on 19 January 2014, scoring a try in the 38–6 round 6 win that secured a home quarter-final. O'Mahony started in Munster's 47–23 Heineken Cup quarter-final win 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 5 April 2014, but went off with a shoulder injury in the 18th minute. The injury meant O'Mahony was ruled out of the remainder of the season as he had to have reconstructive surgery on his shoulder. He also had surgery on his right shoulder to repair a long-standing issue. O'Mahony was nominated for the IRUPA Players' Player of the Year 2014 award on 23 April 2014. O'Mahony returned from injury on 4 October 2014, coming on as a replacement 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 ...

. He started in Munster's first

European Rugby Champions 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 pr ...

game 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 ...

on 18 October 2014. O'Mahony started against

in round 2 of the Champions Cup on 24 October 2014. He started against Clermont Auvergne on 6 December 2014. O'Mahony also started in the reverse fixture against Clermont on 14 December 2014. O'Mahony started against Saracens on 17 January 2015. O'Mahony started at Number 8 against

on 25 January 2015. O'Mahony signed a new three-year contract with Munster and the IRFU in February 2015.

2015–2021

O'Mahony made his comeback from the knee injury he suffered with Ireland during the 2015 Rugby World Cup on 1 October 2016, coming on as a replacement for Billy Holland in the

2016–17 Pro12 The 2016–17 Pro12 (also known as the ''Guinness Pro12'' for sponsorship reasons) was the sixteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League, and the seventh with a four-country format. It was t ...

fixture against

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning " Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by t ...

. On 1 April 2017, O'Mahony was captain in Munster's 41–16 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup quarter-final victory against

, though he went off during the second-half with a leg injury. Fortunately, the injury wasn't serious and O'Mahony was able to lead Munster in their Champions Cup semi-final against

on 22 April 2017, which the defending champions won 26–10 in 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 ...

, ending Munster's European season. On 27 May 2017, O'Mahony captained Munster against

Scarlets The Scarlets () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams and are based in Llanelli, Wales. Their home ground is the Parc y Scarlets stadium. They play in the United Rugby Championship and in European Professional Club Rugby c ...

in the

2017 Pro12 Grand Final The 2017 Pro12 Grand Final was the final match of the 2016–17 Pro12 season. The 2016–17 season was the third with Guinness as the title sponsor and the eighth ever League Grand Final. The final was played at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. The ...

, which the Welsh side won 46–22. O'Mahony signed a new three-year contract with the IRFU in December 2017. He was Man-of-the-Match in Munster's 25–16 away win 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 ...

in the

2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup The 2017–18 European Rugby Champions Cup was the fourth European Rugby Champions Cup championship (23rd overall), the annual rugby union club competition for teams from the top six nations in European rugby and was the twenty-third season of pa ...

on 17 December 2017. O'Mahony won his 100th cap for Munster on 26 December 2017, doing so when he started against

in a

2017–18 Pro14 The 2017–18 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the seventeenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Pro14, Celtic League. It is the first season to be referred to as t ...

fixture. O'Mahony was Man-of-the-Match in Munster's 20–19 Champions Cup quarter-final win against

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 ...

on 31 March 2018. For his performances throughout the 2018–19 season, O'Mahony was presented with the ''Munster Men's Player of the Year'' award in late April 2019, adding to the ''Young Player of the Year'' award he won in 2012. He was also named in the

2018–19 Pro14 The 2018–19 Pro14 (also known as the '' Guinness Pro14'' for sponsorship reasons) is the eighteenth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the second season to be referred to as the '' ...

Dream Team in May 2019. O'Mahony was sent off in Munster's opening

2020–21 Pro14 The 2020–21 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the twentieth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the fourth season to be referred to as the ''P ...

fixture against

on 3 October 2020 after receiving two yellow cards. Despite this, Munster won the game 30–27, and a Pro14 judicial officer subsequently ruled that the two yellow cards were sufficient and no ban was necessary. He signed a two-year contract extension with the IRFU in March 2021, a deal that will see O'Mahony remain with Munster until at least June 2023. O'Mahony won his 150th cap for Munster in their 20–18 win against provincial rivals

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 ...

in round 4 of the

2021–22 United Rugby Championship The 2021–22 United Rugby Championship was the twenty-first season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the first season that the competition is referred to as the United Rugby Championship ...

on 16 October 2021, which also marked the fifth anniversary of former Munster player and coach Anthony Foley's passing.

2022–present

Having missed the first leg of Munster's 2021–22 Champions Cup round of 16 fixture away to English club

Exeter Chiefs Exeter Chiefs (officially Exeter Rugby Club) is an England, English professional rugby union club based in Exeter, Devon. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1871 and since 2006 has played i ...

due to injury, which the hosts won 13–8, O'Mahony returned for the second leg one week later on 16 April 2022 to lead from the front and earn the

award in the province's 26–10 home win, which secured a 34–23 aggregate win and a record-equallinging 19th Champions Cup quarter-final for Munster. O'Mahony won the

award in Munster's Champions Cup quarter-final defeat against defending champions

on 7 May 2022. The match was tied 24–24 after

extra-time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only if the game is required t ...

, and Toulouse won the penalty shootout 4–2, but O'Mahony's performance during the match, which included four turnovers and a huge defensive effort, garnered widespread praise, with both Munster head coach Johann van Graan and O'Mahony's former

teammate

Sam Warburton Sam Kennedy Warburton (born 5 October 1988), is a Wales, Welsh former international rugby union player. Warburton played rugby for Cardiff Rugby and was first capped for Wales national rugby union team, Wales in 2009. He usually played as an F ...

calling him a ''"warrior"''. O'Mahony signed a one-year contract extension with the IRFU and Munster in February 2023, meaning he will remain with the province for the 2023–24 season. He captained Munster in their 19–14 win against the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...

in the

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 ...

of the

2022–23 United Rugby Championship The 2022–23 United Rugby Championship was the 22nd season of the professional rugby union competition United Rugby Championship. It began on 16 September 2022 and ended on 27 May 2023. For sponsorship reasons it was known in South Africa as Vod ...

on 27 May 2023. In February 2025, he announced he would retire from professional rugby following the conclusion of the 2024–25 season.

Ireland

O'Mahony captained

at under-18 and under-20 levels, before being called up to the senior side in 2012. He made his full debut 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 ...

on 25 February 2012, coming on as a replacement for Seán O'Brien. He made his first start for Ireland 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 10 March 2012, after an injury to Seán O'Brien. By the end of Ireland's tour of New Zealand in 2012, he had played in all three back-row positions. O'Mahony won the IRUPA Young Player of the Year award for the 2011–12 season. He also played in the 2012 November Tests 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 ...

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 ...

. In 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 ...

O'Mahony played in all five games as Ireland finished fifth. He also featured in the 2013 Ireland tour to North America, and was made captain after

Rory Best Rory David Best (born 15 August 1982) is an Irish former rugby union player who was the captain of the Ireland national team from 2016 to 2019. He played hooker for Ulster and was registered for Banbridge RFC. Best earned 124 caps for Irelan ...

was called up to the 2013 British & Irish Lions squad. In the 2013 Autumn Tests he scored his first try for Ireland, in a game 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 ...

. O'Mahony featured in four of Ireland's games, picking up a Man-of-the-Match award 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 their championship-winning 2014 Six Nations. After playing against

and

in the 2014 Guinness Series O'Mahony started every game in the

2015 Six Nations Championship The 2015 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2015 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 16th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union tournament. It was contested by E ...

as Ireland retained their title, the first time Ireland had won back-to-back championships since 1948–49. O'Mahony was selected in the final 31-man squad for the

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 ...

, and started pool games 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 ...

, and

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 ...

, but went off with a knee injury during the second-half against France and was ruled out for the remainder of the World Cup. On 26 October 2016, O'Mahony was named in Ireland's squad for the

2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals The 2016 end-of-year rugby union internationals, also known as the ''2016 Autumn Internationals'' in the Northern Hemisphere, were a series of international rugby union matches predominantly played between the visiting Southern Hemisphere countries ...

. On 12 November 2016, O'Mahony made his return to the senior Ireland team, captaining them in the 52–21 win against

. On 23 January 2017, O'Mahony was named in the Ireland squad for the opening two rounds 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 ...

. On 18 March 2017, O'Mahony was Man-of-the-Match in Ireland's 13–9 win 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 ...

, a victory that denied England consecutive Grand Slams in the Six Nations. O'Mahony started in Ireland's wins against

and

during the 2017 Autumn Internationals. O'Mahony started every game for Ireland as they won a Grand Slam in the

2018 Six Nations Championship The 2018 Six Nations Championship (known as the Natwest 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 19th Six Nations Championship, the annual international rugby union tournament for the six major European rugby union nations. The championship wa ...

. At the end of the game against England, O'Mahony gave his winner's medal to an Irish supporter with Down syndrome. In the absence of the injured

, O'Mahony captained Ireland to a historic 2–1 series victory against

in June 2018, Ireland's first since

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, with O'Mahony also winning his 50th test cap for Ireland in the third test. During the 2018 Autumn Tests, O'Mahony started in Ireland's 28–17 win against

on 10 November, and was Man-of-the-Match in Ireland's 16–9 win 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 ...

on 17 November, a win that was O'Mahony's first against the All Blacks and Ireland's first ever win in Dublin against New Zealand. O'Mahony was ever-present for Ireland during the

2019 Six Nations Championship The 2019 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 20th Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England national rugby union team, England ...

, starting in the 32–20 opening defeat against

, the 22–13 win against

, the 26–16 win against

, the 26–14 win against

and the 25–7 defeat against

in the final round, a victory that saw the Welsh win the grand slam. He was selected in the 31-man Ireland squad for the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup () was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening matc ...

, having featured in the warm-up matches against

and

, captaining Ireland in the latter. During the World Cup itself, O'Mahony started in Ireland's opening 27–3 win against

their shock 19–12 defeat against hosts

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and in the 35–0 win against

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 ...

, before featuring off the bench in Ireland's 47–5 win against

in their final pool game, and starting in the comprehensive 46–14 defeat against

in the quarter-finals, which brought an end to Ireland's 2019 World Cup. Retained by new head coach

Andy Farrell Andrew David Farrell (born 30 May 1975) is an English professional rugby union coach and former rugby league and rugby union player. Farrell has been head coach of the Ireland national team since 2019. Farrell earned 34 caps for Great Britai ...

in his squad for the

2020 Six Nations Championship The 2020 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 21st Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England national rugby union team, England ...

, O'Mahony featured off the bench in Ireland's 19–12 opening win against Scotland on 1 February 2020, then started in their 24–14 win against defending champions Wales on 8 February, and their 24–12 defeat against England, before the tournament was suspended due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The tournament eventually resumed in October 2020, with O'Mahony featuring off the bench in Ireland's 50–17 win against Italy and the 35–27 defeat against France in their final fixture of the tournament. With the usual format of end-of-year international tests not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ireland instead participated in the

Autumn Nations Cup The Autumn Nations Cup was a rugby union competition held in November and December 2020 in place of the usual Autumn rugby union internationals, Autumn internationals series typically held in the same period each year, as many teams were avoidin ...

. O'Mahony started in the 32–9 opening win against Wales on 13 November and in the 18–7 defeat against England on 21 November, featured off the bench in the 23–10 win against

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 ...

on 29 November, and returned to the starting line-up for the 31–16 win against Scotland on 5 December, which secured a third-place finish for Ireland in the tournament. In Ireland's opening

2021 Six Nations The 2021 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 22nd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, ...

game away to

on 7 February 2021, O'Mahony was sent-off in the 14th minute for making contact with the head of Wales prop Tomas Francis when attempting to clear him (Francis) out in a ruck. He was subsequently banned until 14 March 2021. The red card was the first received by an Ireland player in a Five/Six Nations match since

Willie Duggan William Patrick Duggan (12 March 1950 – 28 August 2017) was an Irish international rugby union player. He won 41 Irish caps, the first in 1975 and finished his international career in 1984 as captain. He toured New Zealand in 1977 with the ...

's in

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

. He returned from the ban to feature as a replacement in the 32–18 win against

in the final round. During the 2021 July rugby union tests, O'Mahony started in Ireland's 39–31 win against

before commencing his off-season. During the 2021 Autumn Nations Series, O'Mahony featured off the bench in Ireland's 60–5 win against

on 6 November and in the famous 29–20 win against

on 13 November, before replacing the injured Jack Conan to start in the 53–7 win against

in Ireland's final fixture of the series on 21 November. O'Mahony featured as a replacement in Ireland's 29–7 win against

in their opening fixture of the

2022 Six Nations Championship The 2022 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, ...

on 5 February, and in their 30–24 defeat away to

on 12 February, though he left the field with a head injury shortly after coming on. With regular captain

Johnny Sexton Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton (born 11 July 1985) is an Irish former professional rugby union player who played as a Fly-half (rugby union), fly-half and Captain (sports), captained the Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland national team from ...

on the bench and vice-captain James Ryan injured, O'Mahony captained Ireland in their 57–6 home win against

on 27 February, and he retained his place in the starting XV in the 32–15 away win against

on 12 March, before being used as a replacement again in the 26–5 home win against

on 19 March that secured the Triple Crown for Ireland. O'Mahony was selected in the squad for the

2022 Ireland rugby union tour of New Zealand In July 2022, Ireland played a 3 match test series against New Zealand as part of the 2022 mid-year rugby union internationals. Ireland also played two matches against the Māori All Blacks. This was Ireland's first tour since their tour to Au ...

, and started in the 42–19 defeat against

in the first test on 2 July. O'Mahony also started in Ireland's historic 23–12 win in the second test on 9 July, in what was Ireland's first ever away win against New Zealand, and in the 32–22 third test win against New Zealand on 16 July that secured Ireland's historic first ever series win in New Zealand. During the 2022 Autumn Nations Series, O'Mahony started for Ireland in their 19–16 win against world champions

on 5 November. Following a pre-match injury to regular captain

, O'Mahony captained Ireland in their 13–10 win against

on 19 November. O'Mahony continued to start for Ireland in their opening fixture of the

2023 Six Nations Championship The men's 2023 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the men's national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy ...

against

on 4 February, being replaced by Leinster's Jack Conan during the second-half of Ireland's 34–10 away win, before also starting in the 32–19 win against

in round two on 11 February. O'Mahony featured as a replacement in Ireland's 34–20 away win against

in round three on 25 February, before returning to the starting XV for the 22–7 away win against

on 12 March and the 29–16 home win against

on 18 March, the latter of which secured the grand slam for Ireland. O'Mahony was one of ten Ireland players selected in the ''2023 Six Nations Team of the Championship''. During the 2023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches, O'Mahony started for Ireland in their 29–10 win against

on 19 August and featured as a replacement in their 17–13 against

on 26 August before being selected in Ireland's 33-man squad for the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...

. He started in Ireland's opening fixture of the tournament 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 ...

on 9 September, scoring two tries and earning the

award in their 82–8 win, the 59–16 win against

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

on 16 September, the 13–8 win against

on 23 September, the 36–14 win against

on 7 October, in which O'Mahony made his 100th appearance for Ireland, and the 28–24 defeat against

in the quarter-finals on 14 October.. On 17 January 2024, it was announced that O'Mahony would be the new captain of Ireland for that year’s

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 ...

. Ireland went on to win the tournament after achieving four wins. O'Mahony said in a post-match interview amid speculation of his international retirement, "If it was my last one, it wasn't a bad one to go out on," he said. "I can hang the jersey in a good place, if it was." He did not retire but in October 2024, but relinquished the captaincy to

Caelan Doris Caelan Doris (born 2 April 1998) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a number eight for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team. Early life Doris was born in Lacken, County Mayo. Doris's f ...

. In February 2025, he made his first appearance in the

2025 Six Nations The 2025 Men's Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Men's Six Nations for sponsorship reasons and branded as M6N) was a rugby union competition that took place from late January to mid-March 2025, featuring the men's national teams of E ...

starting in a 32–18 away victory over Scotland. After the game, he recalled being booed off the pitch by Scottish fans as being "one of the biggest compliments" of his career. Later that month, he announced he would be retiring from international duty alongside teammates

Conor Murray Gerard Conor Murray (born 20 April 1989) is an Irish rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for United Rugby Championship club Munster. He is set to leave at the end of the season. Early life Murray was born in Limerick, where he atten ...

and

Cian Healy Cian Eoin James Healy (born 7 October 1987) is a former Irish people, Irish professional rugby union player who played as a Prop (rugby union), prop for Leinster Rugby, Leinster and for the Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland national tea ...

following the end of the tournament. In his final game for Ireland, he came off the bench during a 22–17 victory over Italy in the final round of the tournament.

British & Irish Lions

In April 2017, O'Mahony was selected in

Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and the former head coach of the Wales national rugby union team, Wales national team. As a player, he was a Hooker (rugby union), hooker and was one of ...

's 41-man squad for the

2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand The British & Irish Lions toured New Zealand during June and July 2017. The Lions, a rugby union team selected from players eligible to represent England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland na ...

. On 7 June 2017, O'Mahony made his non-test debut for the Lions when he came off the bench against the

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

. On 10 June, O'Mahony made his first start for the Lions, doing so in the match against the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

in AMI Stadium. On 17 June, O'Mahony captained the Lions in their game against the

Māori All Blacks The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing is ...

Rotorua International Stadium Rotorua International Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located on Devon Street West in the Westbrook suburb of Rotorua, New Zealand. It is currently used mostly for rugby union and rugby league matches, being one of three home stadiums for th ...

. In doing so, he became the first Munster player since

Paul O'Connell Paul Jeremiah O'Connell (born 20 October 1979) is an Irish rugby union 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. Duri ...

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 ...

to captain a Lions team. O'Mahony played for 64 minutes, before being replaced by tour captain

, and led the side to a record 32–10 victory against the Māori. On 24 June, O'Mahony captained the Lions in their 30–15 first test defeat against

. He became the 11th Irishman to captain a British & Irish Lions test team and the first Cork Constitution player to do the same since

Tom Kiernan Thomas Joseph Kiernan (7 January 1939 – 3 February 2022) was an Ireland international rugby union player. He won 54 caps for Ireland as a full-back between 1960 and 1973 and captained his country 24 times. At the time of his retirement he w ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

. However, O'Mahony was dropped from the squad altogether for the second and third tests, with O'Mahony's former Ireland teammate

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 ...

, himself dropped by Gatland before the third Lions test in

, remarking that there "has to be someone to point the finger at in defeat".

Statistics

International analysis by opposition

''Correct as of 24 February 2025''Peter O'Mahony
''ESPN Scrum'', 5 July 2017 * indicates inclusion of caps for

Honours

Presentation Brothers College

* Munster Schools Rugby Senior Cup: **Winner (1): 2007

Cork Constitution

* All-Ireland Cup: **Winner (1): 2009–10 * All-Ireland League: **Winner (1): 2009–10

Munster

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 (2):

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, 2022–23

Ireland

: **Winner (5):

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 ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

* Grand Slam: **Winner (2):

* Triple Crown: ** Winner (4):

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

British & Irish Lions

*British & Irish Lions tours: **Tourist (1):

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Individual

*Munster Rugby Young Player of the Year: **Winner (1):

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

*Munster Rugby Men's Player of the Year: **Winner (1):

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

References

External links

Munster ProfileIreland ProfileBritish & Irish Lions ProfileURC Profile
*
U20 Six Nations Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:OMahony, Peter 1989 births Living people Rugby union players from Cork (city) People educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork Irish rugby union players Cork Constitution players Munster Rugby players Munster Rugby captains Ireland international rugby union players Ireland national rugby union team captains British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland 2015 Rugby World Cup players 2019 Rugby World Cup players 2023 Rugby World Cup players Rugby union flankers Rugby union number eights