Watch: Munster captain Peter O'Mahony visits daughter's Cork school with URC trophy
Munster Rugby players Alex Kendellen and Peter O'Mahony bring the URC trophy to Scoil Bhríde Eglantine. Picture: Larry Cummins
A national school in Cork was a sea of red this morning when Munster rugby players Peter O’Mahony and Alex Kendellen made a visit with the URC trophy, with their team having become the the first ever Irish side to win the championships in South Africa last month.
Munster and Ireland rugby player Peter O’Mahony is used to being grilled by the media. However, he had to watch his step at Scoil Bhríde Eglantine NS in Douglas in the city where his daughter Indie is a pupil.
He might have expected a few soft questions but it was a tricky morning as he fielded queries from the niece and daughter respectively of retired rugby players Anthony Horgan and Frankie Sheahan.
O’Mahony was keeping tight lipped on who was his favourite of the two former Munster and Ireland players. However, he admitted that he could “tell a few stories” about both men.
He laughed as he recalled that as a youngster he used to cut grass at the home of Frankie Sheahan. He jokingly informed Mr Sheahan’s daughter, Taylah, that Frankie never gave him a cash payment for his work.
“He only gave me gear. I hope you get a few quid out of him!”
The 33-year-old, who has won the Six Nations four times and the Triple Crown twice, encouraged the young girls at the school to participate in sport, stressing that it was important for their health.
It was established that he knew the grandfather of one pupil as his grandmother bought meat from his butcher shop. Another little girl told O’Mahony that her mother once spoke to him and he chuckled, jesting that she was “a very lucky woman".
He said that it really was “a small world” as every second pupil had relatives who knew him or his family.
O’Mahony was asked which team he hated the least. It was his toughest question of all from the young pupils as he said that it was hard to find a team he liked.
“I hate them all to be honest with you. It is very hard to play against a team you like!”
The visit was extra special for O’Mahony as his daughter Indie, 7, was cheering him on alongside her classmates. His little boy Theo, 4, was also side of stage for the celebrations.
Meanwhile, Alex Kendellen, 22, said winning the URC trophy was “pretty special".
He said to finish off with the trophy in the sixth game was a dream come true.
Principal of the school Ger O’Brien encouraged all of the pupils to get involved in tag rugby. She said that the dedication of the players would serve as an inspiration to the youngsters assembled.
“I hope you will be inspired. We have a huge array of sports represented in the school," she said.
"As Peter said, it doesn’t matter what sport you play and you don’t have to play to compete. It is about the enjoyment of finding something you like and taking part. Some of you might not even know what your sport is. But it is important to give everything a try.
"Do you know that the fastest-growing sport in the world is women’s rugby? So if it is something you like, the chances and the potential for you is through the roof.”
Munster beat DHL Stormers with a scoreline of 19-14 in Cape Town last month to win the URC Championships. O’Mahony has been captain of Munster for a decade. The win ended the province’s 11-year trophy drought.
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