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Dr John O’Driscoll is elected President of the IRFU

THE Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) today held its Annual Council meeting where Dr. John O’Driscoll was elected the 136th President of the Union.
John is a former Ireland and British & Irish Lions flanker who represented his country 26 times and made 19 appearances, including six Tests, for the Lions across two tours. He was first capped for Ireland in 1978 and toured South Africa in 1980 with the Lions and New Zealand three years later.
He helped Ireland win a first Triple Crown since 1949 when he played a central role in the 1982 Five Nations competition as it was then. John played for Stonyhurst School in Lancashire before going on to play club rugby Liverpool St Helens and Manchester. At provincial level he represented Connacht for 13 seasons. He captained London Irish from 1979-1981 and led them to the John Player Cup Final in 1980. He was elected as Irish Sportsman of the Year in 1980.
After his playing career John remained deeply involved in rugby. He was coach to the Irish Exiles team which played in the Senior Interprovincial Championship from 1991 to 1995. He was President of the Irish Exiles from 2006 – 2010.
John was a Lions selector in 2001. He has held various administrative roles within the IRFU including as representative to World Rugby and Rugby Europe from 2016 to 2025.
Outside of rugby John’s career was in medicine where he was a Consultant Dermatologist, Clinical Director of Greater Manchester Dermatology and Regional Skin Cancer Network Chair.
Speaking about the honour John O’Driscoll says:
“It is a great honour to be elected as the 136th President of the IRFU. Irish Rugby has given so much to me since an early age — first as a supporter, then through a wonderful playing career with London Irish, Connacht and Ireland. In more recent years, I have been privileged to contribute to the administration of the game alongside people utterly dedicated to its success at every level.
“I look forward to visiting clubs across the country and meeting the volunteers who are the lifeblood of the sport. Their passion, commitment and depth of involvement are vital to Ireland.
“I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my wife Susan and our children Billy, Danny and Gemma for their constant support. I also want to congratulate Declan Madden on an outstanding year as President. The 150th anniversary was an enormous success, and Declan worked tirelessly to be present and supportive at every turn.
“Now, our attention turns to the upcoming Rugby World Cup. This is a moment to unite behind our women’s players and we are extremely excited for what Scott Bemand and his squad can do together.”
The IRFU Financial Statements for 2024/2025 will be published in November. The IRFU has budgeted to report a small deficit in 2024/2025.
Speaking about the past season IRFU Chief Executive Kevin Potts said:
“As we conclude our 150th year celebrations I am really pleased to report that rugby in Ireland is in a strong position, with the game thriving all across the country.
More people are playing, watching, and supporting the game than ever before. The 150th afforded us a fantastic opportunity to showcase the depth of our community, the strength of our teams, and the pride of people across the island of Ireland.
“Our Men’s National Team continue to be one of the best in the world, currently sitting at third in the world rankings. Our players, coaches, and support teams continue to set world-class standards on and off the pitch, and we remain the envy of many rugby nations. Our Women’s National Team continue to build momentum and we are all eagerly awaiting the kick off for the 2025 Rugby World Cup in the weeks ahead.
“Financial sustainability is one of the biggest challenges facing the game. We continue to investigate new sources of revenue to support our ambitious targets for the game, but we are equally mindful of the need to constantly review our cost base. While our cost base is currently outstripping our revenues, we are fortunate to have a strong balance sheet including Cash advances for ten-year tickets and our long-term property and stadia investments. This enables the Union to protect the long-term future of the game and absorb any unexpected shocks such as Covid. We have had to make some difficult decisions in the past 12 months and one such decision was the discontinuation of the Men’s Sevens programme. We have to continue to invest in a financially sustainable manner, which, in turn, will allow us to deliver on our strategic priorities.
“There have been some highs and some lows, but we finish this year in a position of strength, ready for the next chapter. We will continue to work with our fellow Unions, our Provinces and all the stakeholders in our game, on the challenges that face us.”

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