The former Ireland international centre, Irish team manager and Munster stalwart Brian O’Brien has passed away at the age of 83.
The hugely popular O’Brien played an integral role across the Munster and Irish rugby landscape as a former player, selector, coach and manager.
He played in Shannon’s first Munster Senior Cup Final in 1959 and following provincial representation went on to become the club’s first ever international player, winning his first cap in 1968.
‘Briano’ spent almost 15 years playing with Shannon’s senior team, and following his retirement from playing, coached Shannon to Munster Senior Cup titles in 1977 and 1978. Serving on the IRFU senior selection committee, he was also part of the 1983 British and Irish Lions selection committee.
After serving as manager of the Irish under-21 team and the Shannon team that won the four-in-a-row, he went on to become team manager of the Munster men’s team before being appointed manager of the Ireland men’s team in 2000.
It was during his time as a Munster selector and team manager in the 1990s that O’Brien led a rendition of “Stand Up and Fight” after a long-awaited win away to Ulster, on foot of which the song became a Munster anthem. He was inducted into the Munster Rugby Hall of Fame in 2014.
