Dr. John O’Driscoll has been elected the 136th President of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) at their Annual Council meeting held on Friday.
The former Ireland and British and Irish Lions flanker represented his country 26 times and made 19 appearances including six Tests for the Lions between two tours.
O’Driscoll’s first cap for Ireland was in 1978 and toured South Africa in 1980 with the Lions and then New Zealand three years later.
He helped Ireland to a first Triple Crown since 1949 as he played a key role in the 1982 Five Nations. O’Driscoll played for Stonyhurst School in Lancashire before playing club rugby with Liverpool St Helens and Manchester.
O’Driscoll played for Connacht at provincial level making 13 appearances. He captained London Irish from 1979-1981 leading them to the John Player Cup final in 1980. He was named Irish Sportsman of the Year in 1980.
After hanging up his boots, O’Driscoll remained deeply involved in rugby. He coached the Irish Exiles team that played in the Senior Interprovincial Championship from 1991-95 and went on to become President of the Irish Exiles from 2006-10.
In 2001 O’Driscoll was a selector with the Lions. He went on to hold numerous administrative roles within the IRFU including representative to World Rugby and Rugby Europe from 2016-25.
Away from rugby, O’Driscoll’s career was in medicine where he was a Consultant Dermatologist, Clinical Director of Greater Manchester Dermatology and Regional Skin Cancer Network Chair.
Speaking on his new role O’Driscoll said “It is a great honour to be elected as the 136th President of the IRFU.
“Irish Rugby has given so much to me since an early age — first as a supporter, then through a wonderful playing career with London Irish, Connacht and Ireland. In more recent years, I have been privileged to contribute to the administration of the game alongside people utterly dedicated to its success at every level.
“I look forward to visiting clubs across the country and meeting the volunteers who are the lifeblood of the sport. Their passion, commitment and depth of involvement are vital to Ireland.
“I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my wife Susan and our children Billy, Danny and Gemma for their constant support. I also want to congratulate Declan Madden on an outstanding year as President. The 150th anniversary was an enormous success, and Declan worked tirelessly to be present and supportive at every turn.
“Now, our attention turns to the upcoming Rugby World Cup. This is a moment to unite behind our women’s players and we are extremely excited for what Scott Bemand and his squad can do together.”
The IRFU Financial Statements for 2024/25 will be published in November with the IRFU reported to have budgeted for a small deficit for the financial period.
Speaking on the season IRFU Chief Executive Kevin Potts said “As we conclude our 150th year celebrations I am really pleased to report that rugby in Ireland is in a strong position, with the game thriving all across the country.
“More people are playing, watching, and supporting the game than ever before. The 150th afforded us a fantastic opportunity to showcase the depth of our community, the strength of our teams, and the pride of people across the island of Ireland.
“Our Men’s National Team continue to be one of the best in the world, currently sitting at third in the world rankings. Our players, coaches, and support teams continue to set world-class standards on and off the pitch, and we remain the envy of many rugby nations. Our Women’s National Team continue to build momentum and we are all eagerly awaiting the kick off for the 2025 Rugby World Cup in the weeks ahead.
“Financial sustainability is one of the biggest challenges facing the game. We continue to investigate new sources of revenue to support our ambitious targets for the game, but we are equally mindful of the need to constantly review our cost base. While our cost base is currently outstripping our revenues, we are fortunate to have a strong balance sheet including Cash advances for ten-year tickets and our long-term property and stadia investments. This enables the Union to protect the long-term future of the game and absorb any unexpected shocks such as Covid. We have had to make some difficult decisions in the past 12 months and one such decision was the discontinuation of the Men’s Sevens programme. We have to continue to invest in a financially sustainable manner, which, in turn, will allow us to deliver on our strategic priorities.
“There have been some highs and some lows, but we finish this year in a position of strength, ready for the next chapter. We will continue to work with our fellow Unions, our Provinces and all the stakeholders in our game, on the challenges that face us.”
