Munster Rugby's Denis Leamy: "Tom Tierney had the ability to light up a room"

MUNSTER Rugby assistant coach Denis Leamy said the late Tom Tierney had 'added so much to the Munster jersey as a player and in their (High Performance Centre) building as a coach'.

Former Munster back-rower Leamy, who played with the late Tom Tierney at the province, said the scrum-half also had 'the ability to light up a room when he came in'.

Warm tributes have continued to pour in over recent days since news of the passing of former Munster and Ireland scrum-half Tom Tierney at the age of 46.

Limerick man Tierney started his rugby career with Richmond and then continued his club rugby playing career with Garryowen, Munster, Leicester Tigers, Connacht and Galwegians before he moved into the world of coaching. 

Tom Tierney also played nine times for Ireland, four of which came at the 1999 World Cup. Following his playing career. Tierney went on to be a top coach with Crescent College Comprehensive, Garryowen, Cork Con and the Ireland Club team. 

In 2014, he started working with the IRFU, taking charge of the Ireland U19s and 20s, before coaching the Ireland Women's 7s and 15-a-side teams, winning the Six Nations in 2015.

Since 2021 he had been working as a National Talent coach, working with Munster Academy players at the High Performance Centre in UL.

Denis Leamy said news of Tom Tierney's death on Friday morning last had come as a great shock to everyone at Munster Rugby. 

“Incredibly sad news filtered into the building on Friday morning and it was with great shock that we learned of the death of Tom," Munster assistant coach Denis Leamy said.

"I played with him here for a couple of years and then he went on to Leicester and to Connacht, and I played against him quite regularly over those years.

"Always a character on and off the pitch and the building is a much lesser place without him. He had the ability to light up a room when he came in and, look, first and foremost our condolences to (wife) Mary, (and daughters) Isobel and Julia, we really are thinking of them at this very sad time and our thoughts and prayers are with them.

"Yeah look, he had forged an incredible relationship with the young players he was dealing with, he was hugely passionate about them, he was hugely passionate about Munster rugby and I suppose the values he was instilling in those young men we were starting to see on the training pitch and in the building, and it's a great pity, it really is, it's unbelievable really.”

Leamy said the Munster players and backroom team planned to turn out in force to attend Tom Tierney's funeral this Thursday.

"We'll all be there on Thursday, absolutely. We're running a slightly different week this week in that we frontloaded our week Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

"Tom is being buried on Thursday and we'll be there, we'll be out in force. It's incredibly important for us to be there and he's part of our history, he added so much to the Munster jersey as a player and in this building as a coach.

"We'll be out in force.”