We discovered recently that David Hickey, Dublin GAA icon, played for two seasons in La Rochelle in the French League. In the wake of this discovery, we present some well known GAA players who have dabbled in rugby.
These are GAA players who have dabbled in rugby rather than the other way around.
Jarlath Fallon
In the spring of 1998, Ja was torn between Connacht rugby and Galway football. He didn't play in that year's National League and was inching towards rugby.
The IRFU contracts were being handed out that year. Ja was hoping for a professional contract. He ended up getting a semi-professional one.
He declined it and returned to the Galway setup shortly before the first round championship match with Mayo.
Rest is history and all that.
David Hickey
The Dublin 1970s legend after surgeon gave an interesting interview to the Star a couple of years ago. Once the 70s team started to break up and Offaly began to have it all their own way in Leinster, Hickey headed to off to France on the advice of Ollie Campbell to play 'professional rugby' with La Rochelle in the French First Divison.
'Professional rugby' in 1981.
Either he misspoke (as politicians put it) or the age of shamateurism started much earlier than we thought in France in the 1980s. No wonder we could never beat them.
Ollie Campbell has told us that he reckons he did indeed 'misspeak'. He used 'professional' as a synonym for 'high level', we presume.
David Beggy
A reverse Shane Horgan, he went from rugby to the GAA, having never played underage for Meath. He played a good few years for Leinster in the 1980s. Remains most famous for kicking the winning point in the four game saga with Dublin in 1991.
Diarmuid O'Sullivan
O'Sullivan quit hurling abruptly over the 'helmet' rule and opted to focus on playing rugby with Cork side Highfield. So outraged was O'Sullivan about the prospect of having to wear a helmet, he quit very immediately at the age of 30.
Sean Armstrong
One of the classy crew of Galway forwards who has soldiered during the barren years of the late noughties and early 2010s, Armstrong played AIL for Shannon during 2010 while a student in UL.
He even scored a try on his debut against Cork Con. Shannon still appear a bit peeved at losing him to an assertive county board.
Galway's No.13,Sean Armstrong is a former AIL player with us..a great rugby prospect until County Board put the pressure on...nice guy too..
— Shannon RFC (@shannonrfc) May 19, 2013
Ollie Moran
Limerick's Ollie Moran played twelve years with the hurlers but also won a Division 4 AIL title with UL Bohs. He also played full back with the Irish U18s and Munster U18s.
Graham Geraghty
Graham Geraghty has been the victim of some notable rugby tackles over the years, some of which even occurred while he was playing rugby.
A virtuoso sportsman, Geraghty was in Highbury for a trial with Arsenal during his teens. It remains to be seen whether there is a sport Geraghty hasn't tried.
Following his initial retirement from Gaelic football and after his disappointing run in the 2007 general election, he played rugby for Buccaneers between '08 and 2011.
Following his initial retirement from Gaelic football and after his disappointing run in the 2007 general election, he played rugby for Buccaneers between '08 and 2011.
While playing for Buccs, he won a Junior Cup medal and played usually on the wing or full back.
