Declan Fitzpatrick (born 12 July 1983) is an Irish former rugby union player. He played for Ulster from 2006 to 2015, and won seven caps for Ireland.
| Birth name | Declan Fitzpatrick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 12 July 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Bromsgrove, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 118 kg (18 st 8 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Ulster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England to parents from counties Galway and Mayo,[1] he was identified as a prospect by the Irish Exiles programme, and moved to Belfast where he played for Belfast Harlequins, and later for Dungannon.[2] while studying quantity surveying at the University of Ulster.[1] He was part of the Irish national academy,[3] and represented Ireland at under-21 level.[4]
He made his debut for Ulster in 2006, and made 98 appearances for the province.[2] He was capped seven times for Ireland,[5] including three test appearances on the 2012 tour of New Zealand. His final appearance for Ireland was in a 2013 defeat to New Zealand.[2]
His final match for Ulster was a Champions Cup defeat away to Toulon in January 2015.[2] He announced his retirement in April 2015 for medical reasons,[5] having sustained six concussions in his career.[2] He issued legal proceedings against the IRFU, Ulster and World Rugby in March 2023 in relation to head injuries.[6]
References
edit- ^ a b Jonathan Bradley, "We were so close, it's still hard to take: Fitzpatrick", Belfast Telegraph, 5 November 2016
- ^ a b c d e Patrick McCarry, "REVEALED: The inside story of Declan Fitzpatrick's decision to quit rugby due to concussion", SportsJoe
- ^ Gavin Mairs, "The way forward is back home", Belfast Telegraph, 29 August 2002
- ^ Edward Newman, "Ulster give Fitzpatrick and Jackson Cup call-ups", Irish Examiner, 1 October 2004
- ^ a b Ruaidhri O'Connor, "'My family life suffered and I became depressed' - Ireland international Declan Fitzpatrick on his concussion-enforced retirement", Belfast Telegraph, 16 April 2015
- ^ Jonathan Bradley, "Former Irish prop Declan Fitzpatrick to sue Ulster Rugby and IRFU over alleged concussion injuries", Belfast Telegraph, 29 September 2022