18 November-Jonah Lomu

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Jonah Lomu was rugby union player who was a native of New Zealand. He was a remarkable player who became the first rugby player to achieve worldwide fame. In 1994 Lomu became the youngest person to play for the All Blacks, the New Zealand national team.

Jonah Tali Lomu was born in Greenlane, Auckland, New Zealand on May 12^th 1975. He made his debut for the All Blacks against France at Lancaster Park, Christchurch on June 26^th 1994. Playing on the wing, Lomu was capped 63 times for the All Blacks. During his career he scored 37 tries.

In 1995 Lomu was diagnosed with nephrotic syndrome which had a major impact on his career. He played his last test game in 2002 and underwent a kidney transplant in 2004. He returned to playing rugby for a time but retired from the professional game in 2007.

Jonah Lomu, a native of New Zealand who became the first rugby player to achieve worldwide fame, died aged 40 in the year 2015 On This Day.

Photo by Global Sports Forum

Jonah Lomu

02 October-Brian Friel

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Brian Friel was a native of Co Tyrone, Northern Ireland. He was an award winning dramatist and writer of short stories. His play ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’ was adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep.

Brian Patrick Friel was born near Omagh Co Tyrone on January 9^th 1929. He was educated at St Columb’s College, Derry and was awarded a BA degree from St Patrick’s College, Maynooth in 1948. Following qualification as a teacher from St Joseph’s Training College in Belfast, Friel worked for a time as a teacher of mathematics in Derry.

In 1960 following the appearance of his writings in publications such as ‘The New Yorker’, Friel moved to Donegal and began writing full-time. He published 24 plays including ‘Philadelphia, Here I Come!’, ‘Faith Healer’ and ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’.

Brian Friel was a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the British Royal Society of Literature. He received a Tony Award in 1992 for Best Play for ‘Dancing at Lughnasa’. In 2006 he was elected a Saoi of Aosdána.

Brian Friel, award winning dramatist and writer of short stories, died aged 86 in the year 2015 On This Day.

Brian Friel

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15 August-Sean O’Brien

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Sean O’Brien is a Rugby Union player from Tullow, Co Carlow, Ireland. Regarded as one of the most effective back row players in the game, he first played for the Ireland senior team in November 2007. For his speed, powerful runs, ability to carry the ball, counter rucking and defensive tackling, O’Brien has come to be known as the ‘Tullow Tank’.

Sean Kevin O’Brien was born in Tullow, County Carlow on February 14^th 1987. He was educated at Tullow Community School and UCD (University College Dublin). Having played with Tullow Rugby Club and Irish Youths, O’Brien was awarded a Leinster Academy contract in 2005/06. He was a member of the Ireland Under-20 team which won the 2007 Grand Slam.

In 2008 O’Brien made his debut for his home province, Leinster in the Celtic league against Cardiff Blues. In December of the same year he played his first game in the Heineken Cup against French side Castres. He was a member of the Leinster team which beat Northampton Saints to win the Heineken Cup in 2011. He has since made 98 appearances for his province. He continues to play for Leinster and signed a three year contract with the Province in December 2015.

Sean O’Brien made his first appearance for the Ireland team in the Autumn Tests of 2009 when he came on as a substitute first against Fiji on November 21st. A week later he also came on as a substitute against South Africa. He made his first appearance in the Six Nations Championships in 2010, again coming on as a substitute against Italy. In the Six nation Championships of 2011 O’Brien started every game for Ireland and was awarded Man of the Match for his performance against Italy.

For the 2011 World Cup O’Brien travelled to New Zealand as part of the Irish Squad. He played in all of Ireland’s six World Cup games and started against Australia, Russia, Italy and Wales. In 2013 he was selected to tour Australia with the British and Irish Lions squad. The Lions won the test series and O’Brien played in both the second and third test matches. O’Brien was a member of the Ireland team which successfully retained the Six-Nation championship in 2015. In the 2015 Rugby World Cup O’Brien was awarded man-of-the-match for his performance against France.

Sean O’Brien was chosen as captain of the Ireland Rugby Team when Ireland played Scotland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in the year 2015 On This Day.

Photo by WarwickGB

O’Brien with the scrum cap

Rugby World Cup 2015 DSCN4964 by WarwickGB on 2015-09-19 14:41:15

15 August-Sean O’Brien

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Rugby player Sean O’Brien was born in Tullow, County Carlow Ireland on February 14^th 1987. He was educated at Tullow Community School and UCD (University College Dublin). Having played with Tullow Rugby Club and Irish Youths, O’Brien was awarded a Leinster Academy contract in 2005/06. He was a member of the Ireland Under-20 team which won the 2007 Grand Slam.

Sean O’Brien played his first game for his home province, Leinster in the 2008 Celtic league against Cardiff Blues. In December of the same year he made his debut in the Heineken Cup against French side Castres. For his speed, powerful runs, ability to carry the ball, counter rucking and defensive tackling he has come to be known as the ‘Tullow Tank’. He was a member of the Leinster team which beat Northampton Saints to win the Heineken Cup in 2011. He continues to play for Leinster and signed a two year contract with the Province in January 2014.

Sean O’Brien made his first appearance for the Ireland team in the Autumn Tests of 2009 when he came on as a substitute first against Fiji on November 21st. A week later he again came on as a substitute against South Africa. He made his first appearance in the Six Nations Championships in 2010, again coming on as a substitute against Italy. In the Six nation Championships of 2011 O’Brien started every game for Ireland and was awarded Man of the Match for his performance against Italy.

For the 2011 World Cup O’Brien travelled to New Zealand as part of the Irish Squad. He played in all of Ireland’s six World Cup games and started against Australia, Russia, Italy and Wales. In 2013 he was selected to tour Australia with the British and Irish Lions squad. The Lions won the test series and O’Brien played in both the second and third test matches. O’Brien was a member of the Ireland team which successfully retained the Six-Nation championship in 2015. He has been the recipient of many awards in his career to date including Guinness/Rugby Writers of Ireland player of the year 2011

Sean Kevin O’Brien will captain Ireland against Scotland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin in 2015 On This Day.

Aviva Stadium photo

Aviva Stadium

Photo by infomatique

08 March-International Women’s Day

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Today is International Women’s Day 2015.

The theme for this year’s for International Women’s Day is: MAKE IT HAPPEN

The first International Women’s Day was held in 1911. From small beginnings it has become a day set aside when governments, corporations, institutions and women groups have the opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women while calling for greater equality.

In Ireland a series of events are held each year on and around march 8th in celebration of International Women’s Day.

International Women’s Day is celebrated each year On This Day.

JK Rowling photo

Photo by Daniel Ogren