Dan Patrick Sheehan (born 17 September 1998) is an Irish professional

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who plays as a hooker for

United Rugby Championship The United Rugby Championship (URC) is an annual rugby union competition involving professional teams from Ireland, Italy, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales. For sponsorship reasons the league is known as the Vodacom United Rugby Championship in ...

club

Leinster Leinster ( ; or ) is one of the four provinces of Ireland, in the southeast of Ireland. The modern province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige, which existed during Gaelic Ireland. Following the 12th-century ...

and the Ireland national team.

Club career

Before playing professionally, Sheehan was a

Leinster Schools Senior Cup The Leinster Schools Senior Challenge Cup is the premier rugby union competition for secondary schools affiliated to the Leinster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU), and was first held in 1887. Attendances are high for a schoolboy ...

semi-finalist with

Clongowes Wood College Clongowes Wood College SJ is a Catholic voluntary boarding school for boys near Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, founded by the Jesuits in 1814. It features prominently in James Joyce's semi-autobiographical novel '' A Portrait of the Artist ...

in 2016. He then went to

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

and played on their rugby team in the All-Ireland League. He has also played in the All-Ireland League for Lansdowne. Sheehan signed his first professional contract for Leinster in June 2020. He made his Leinster debut in October 2020 in Round 3 of the

2020–21 Pro14 The 2020–21 PRO14 (also known as the ''Guinness PRO14'' for sponsorship reasons) was the twentieth season of the professional rugby union competition originally known as the Celtic League. It was the fourth season to be referred to as the ''P ...

against

Zebre Zebre Parma (, meaning " Zebras") are an Italian professional rugby union team competing in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR competitions from the 2012–13 season. They are based in Parma (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. They are operated by t ...

, scoring two tries. In June 2022, he was named Leinster's 2021–22 Men's Young Player of the Year. Sheehan was named to the 2022–23 URC Elite XV of the year. In January 2025, returned from a six month injury to score two tries on first appearance back for Leinster in a 36–12 win over the

Stormers The Stormers (known for sponsorship reasons as the DHL Stormers) and the academic team DHL Stormers is a South African professional rugby union team based in Cape Town in the Western Cape that competes in the United Rugby Championship, a tra ...

in the URC.

International career

Ireland

Sheehan made his senior international test debut on 6 November 2021 against

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

at the

Aviva Stadium Aviva Stadium, also known as Lansdowne Road (, ) or Dublin Arena (during UEFA competitions), is a List of stadiums in Ireland by capacity, sports stadium located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a capacity for 51,711 spectators ...

. In the

2022 Six Nations The 2022 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 23rd Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, ...

, Sheehan came off the bench in Ireland's win vs

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and played the majority of the defeat to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

after

Rónan Kelleher Rónan Kelleher (born 24 January 1998) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a hooker for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team. Early life Kelleher was initially an outside back and then a ...

came off injured in the 26th minute. Sheehan earned his first start for Ireland in the February 2022 Six Nations match against Italy. In the final match of the 2022 Six Nations, he scored a try and won the player-of-the-match award in Ireland's 26–5 victory over Scotland, clinching their 12th triple crown. Sheehan was nominated for the 2022 World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year. On 18 March 2023, Sheehan scored two tries in a player-of-the-match performance against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

which clinched the

2023 Six Nations The men's 2023 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was the 24th Six Nations Championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the men's national teams of England national rugby union te ...

and Ireland's fourth ever Grand slam. In January 2025, despite just returning from a six month long injury and only one appearance in the URC that season, he was named on the bench for the opening round of the

2025 Six Nations The 2025 Men's Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Men's Six Nations for sponsorship reasons and branded as M6N) was a rugby union competition that took place from late January to mid-March 2025, featuring the men's national teams of E ...

against England. He went on to score a try as they won 27–22. In February 2025, he was named in the starting lineup for the first time during the tournament against

and in the absence of

Caelan Doris Caelan Doris (born 2 April 1998) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a number eight for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team. Early life Doris was born in Lacken, County Mayo. Doris's f ...

through injury, he also captained the team for the first time. Ireland won the Triple Crown after a 27–18 victory with Sheehan lifting the trophy alongside Doris. On March 15th, Sheehan scored a hat-trick at the

Stadio Olimpico Stadio Olimpico (; ), colloquially known as l'Olimpico (The Olympic), is an Italian multi-purpose sports venue located in Rome. Seating over 70,000 spectators, it is the largest sports facility in Rome and the second-largest in Italy, after ...

in Rome, resulting in Ireland beating Italy 22-17.

British & Irish Lions

In May 2025, he was selected for the

2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia The 2025 British & Irish Lions tour to Australia, also known as the Qatar Airways Lions Men's Tour to Australia 2025, is an international rugby union tour scheduled to take place in Australia between June and August 2025. The British & Irish Lion ...

Career statistics

List of international tries

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheehan, Dan 1998 births Living people Irish rugby union players Leinster Rugby players Rugby union hookers Rugby union players from Dublin (city) Ireland international rugby union players 2023 Rugby World Cup players People educated at Clongowes Wood College