Peter O’Mahony has been named as the new Irish Men’s Rugby Captain, succeeding Jonathan Sexton. Head Coach Andy Farrell confirmed the appointment when naming the 34-player Ireland squad for the upcoming Guinness Men’s Six Nations.
The Ireland squad will assemble at the IRFU High Performance Centre in Dublin on Monday to begin preparations for their opening match of the Championship against France at Stade Velodrome in Marseille on Friday, 2 February. That game will be live on Virgin media with an 8 PM Irish Kick-off time.
O’Mahony, has captained Ireland on 10 previous occasions, the first of which was in 2013 against the United States. He will lead the squad into the Championship, taking over from Jonathan Sexton who called time on his career following last year’s Rugby World Cup. Previous captains have included Rory Best of Ulster, Jamie Heaslip and Brian O’Driscoll of Leinster. Paul O’Connell was the last regular Irish Captain from the province, leading the team on 28 occasions.
O’Mahony stepped down from the Captain’s role in Munster in November after a decade in the role.
He is a brand ambassador for Marks and Spencer, Dove Men+Care, Adidas and Audi. Like Jonathan Sexton his commercial deals are managed by agent Conor Rifhe of Horizon Sports Management.
“Ever since I was a boy starting off in the game, I have always dreamed of captaining Ireland,” he said today.
“I have been asked to lead Ireland on a number of occasions previously, and each of those 10 matches were special days. To be now asked to captain Ireland ahead of the Six Nations is without doubt one of the proudest moments of my life and I would like to thank Andy (Farrell) for this show of faith in me.”
“We have a strong core of leaders who will all play a key role in driving the highest standards for the team over the coming weeks. Competition is red hot across the squad and we’re all hugely motivated to work hard when we meet up next week ahead of the opening game in Marseille.”
“Peter is a born leader and someone who has been an influential figure for Munster and Ireland for many years,” added Andy farrell.
“I am confident that the squad will continue to benefit from his leadership skills, both on and off the field. He is thoroughly deserving of this honour, and I know that he will relish working closely with the wider leadership group and squad over the coming campaign. I would like to congratulate him and his family at this special time.”
Ireland Squad – Guinness Six Nations 2024:
Forwards (19):
Ryan Baird (Leinster/Dublin University)(15)
Finlay Bealham (Connacht/Buccaneers)(36)
Tadhg Beirne (Munster/Lansdowne)(46)
Jack Conan (Leinster/Old Belvedere)(41)
Caelan Doris (Leinster/St Mary’s College)(36)
Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Clontarf)(72)
Cian Healy (Leinster/Clontarf)(125)
Iain Henderson (Ulster/Academy)(79)
Ronan Kelleher (Leinster/Lansdowne)(26)
Jeremy Loughman (Munster/Garryowen)(4)
Joe McCarthy (Leinster/Dublin University)(5)
Peter O’Mahony (Munster/Cork Constitution)(101) CAPTAIN
Tom O’Toole (Ulster/Ballynahinch)(12)
Andrew Porter (Leinster/UCD)(59)
James Ryan (Leinster/UCD)(59)
Dan Sheehan (Leinster/Lansdowne)(21)
Tom Stewart (Ulster/Ballynahinch)(2)
Nick Timoney (Ulster/Banbridge)(3)
Josh van der Flier (Leinster/UCD)(57)
Backs (15):
Bundee Aki (Connacht/Galwegians)(52)
Harry Byrne (Leinster/UCD)(2)
Craig Casey (Munster/Shannon)(13)
Jack Crowley (Munster/Cork Constitution)(9)
Ciaran Frawley (Leinster/UCD)(1)
Jamison Gibson-Park (Leinster)(30)
Robbie Henshaw (Leinster/Buccaneers)
Hugo Keenan (Leinster/UCD)(36)
Jordan Larmour (Leinster/St Mary’s College)(30)
James Lowe (Leinster)(26)
Stuart McCloskey (Ulster/Bangor)(15)
Conor Murray (Munster/Garryowen)(112)
Calvin Nash (Munster/Young Munster)(1)
Garry Ringrose (Leinster/UCD)(57)
Jacob Stockdale (Ulster/Lurgan)(37)
Training Panellists:
Oli Jager (Munster)*
Thomas Ahern (Shannon/Munster)*
Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster)*
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