Born in February 1984 I am an Irish rugby union player from County Monaghan, Ireland. I was the first Monaghan man to play for Ulster in 80 years when I made my debut against Connacht in 2004, scoring a try to mark the occasion. A feat I repeated on my Irish debut as a 20 year old against the USA in November 2004 and again on my Lions debut against the Royal XV in 2009.
I have a degree in Construction Engineering from the University of Ulster and a post graduate diploma in Business Management from the University of London.
Following my 14-year professional rugby career representing the British & Irish Lions, Ireland, Ulster and Ospreys, I turned to broadcasting with Eir Sports immediately following my retirement, anchoring the Guinness PRO14 coverage in Ireland. I similarly led a roster of internationally recognised names for Ireland’s coverage of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan and have featured with the BBC and BT Sport as a pundit as well as RTE and other platforms for a number of programmes outside of rugby.
Having travelled to all corners of the world with Rugby, I first jumped into the world of television presenting by co-hosting the travel show 'Getaways' for BBC NI and RTE, alongside Vogue Williams, Mairead Ronan and Joe Lindsay. This has led to travel features for Aer Lingus around the 6 Nations and much more in the pipeline. In the run up to retirement, I co-produced a documentary focused on the challenges experienced by athletes transitioning out of sport. This has also allowed me to gain lead roles with Aer Lingus, the GAA and for promotional OTT campaigns.
I’m a huge fan of all sports and in the run up to my retirement, I co-produced a documentary focused on the challenges experienced by athletes transitioning out of sport, interviewing sports people like AP McCoy, Derval O’Rourke, Clare Hurler, Conor Ryan and Paul McGrath. In a recent YouTube Series, #ThatOneDay for Eir, I went behind the scenes in the GAA and this 8 part series received over 7 million views on YouTube alone with millions of followers on various social media platforms.
During my rugby career I dedicated a lot of my time to work with and support many local charities. Since retiring I have been able to dedicate more time to a number of charities close to my heart, including Active Communities Network in Ireland and the UK, Bothar Ireland and the NI Children to Lapland Trust.
Away from the pitch and cameras I run my own successful footwear and clothing brands. Lloyd&Pryce footwear is into its 10th year and is well known as one of the best selling shoe brands in Ireland. My passion to create high quality shoes with premium leather and a hand-crafted finish have been pivotal to its success.
XV Kings is my clothing brand that sits alongside Llyod&Pryce and outsells major international brands right throughout Ireland. We currently sell to over 200 stores across Ireland as well as overseas via online distribution.