It’s not often that one person can make such an impact in a short space of time when joining a new organisation. But from the minute that Rory O’Reilly joined Munster Cricket Union as School and Club Engagement Officer for Cork, Kerry and Waterford, he started to make things happen.
Originally from Perth, Western Australia, Rory’s passion for cricket started from age 5 when he joined Belmont cricket club. At age 8 he moved to Cork and quickly joined Cork County cricket club where he was an underage player. Rory is also an accomplished rugby player, having represented Dolphin rugby club and Garryowen rugby at AIL senior level.
Rory moved to Limerick in 2019 to take up a degree in sports development and performance in TUS during which he was a student representative and won the limerick sports award for excellence in 2022. Rory held various coaching roles throughout his time in Limerick, including the TUS rugby men’s head coach, Shannon women’s senior & under 18s head coach, and forwards coach for Castletroy college senior cup rugby team.
Upon joining the MCU in 2024, Rory immediately set about building relationships with the clubs in his area of remit. He became a regular feature at training sessions, and was always happy to share his high-performance and analysis skills to players at clubs, especially in the youth section context. One of his visions was to see the underage MCU Interprovincial teams continue their journey to become more competitive with their northern counterparts.
As well as being heavily involved with club development, Rory also became a staple in schools across the region, bringing cricket to a new generation of children who may have never experienced the sport before. He always conducted school sessions with a great attitude that naturally drew the children to enjoy their cricket.
In less than a year, Rory made a significant contribution to cricket in Munster, and we are all grateful for his energy, passions, and professionalism.
On behalf of everyone involved with Munster Cricket, we wish Rory and his lovely wife Nicole all the very best in Australia- you will be missed.
an t-ádh leat!
