It started with a salad: A Limerick rugby legend's unlikely path to love

A WELL-KNOWN Limerick rugby star has revealed how an unexpected Instagram comment on a simple salad photo sparked the beginning of a now-happy marriage.

Speaking to Ryan Tubridy on The Bookshelf with Ryan Tubridy podcast, Conor Murray recounted the story of his first interaction with his now wife, Joanna Cooper. 

Murray told Ryan that he had been following Joanna for a few months on Instagram when he saw Joanna had posted a photo of a salad and, feeling confident, he replied to it. 

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“You probably think you’re unstoppable in those moments,” he laughed as he explained she was not too impressed with his approach. 

Still, the Limerick native persisted. Murray told Tubridy that he continued messaging Cooper after the initial attempt, even going so far as to pretend he had a photoshoot with Adidas in London so he could ask her out on a date.

During the interview, Murray also reflected on the disappointment of losing a World Cup quarter-final, his young family’s upcoming move to Derry, and the public reaction to the release of his autobiography, Cloud Nine: My Life in Rugby.