Peter Clohessy (born 22 March 1966) is an Irish former

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 played for

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team based in Brisbane for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He played as a

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

and was known by his fans as "The Claw". He played most of his career at tighthead prop but later switched to loosehead.

Munster

Clohessy made his Munster debut against

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

in 1987. He was part of the Munster team that lost 9-8 to

Northampton Saints Northampton Saints (officially Northampton Rugby Football Club) is a professional rugby union club from Northampton, England. The club plays in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby union. It was formed in 1880 as "Northampton St. ...

in the 2000 Heineken Cup Final, and he was again on the losing side when Munster lost 15-9 to

Leicester Tigers Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby. The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its home ...

in the 2002 Final. This was also Clohessy's last game for Munster, as he retired at the end of the 2001–02 season.

Ireland

Clohessy made his Ireland debut against

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 ...

in February 1993, during the 1993 Five Nations Championship. His first try for Ireland came against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in June 1994. Clohessy missed the 1995 World Cup, but was selected in Ireland's squad for the 1999 Tournament. He was desperately unlucky not to be selected for the 1993 British Lions tour to New Zealand and had to withdraw from the 1997 tour to South Africa due to injury . His last appearance for Ireland was against France in the

2002 Six Nations Championship The 2002 Six Nations Championship was the third series of rugby union's Six Nations Championship, the 108th international championship overall. The annual tournament was won by France national rugby union team, France, who completed a Grand Slam ( ...

. He gained notoriety for a 26-week ban he was given in 1996 for a stamp to the head of Olivier Roumat during a 1996 Five Nations Championship match in Paris. He had previously served a 10 week ban for stamping at club level.

Personal life

Clohessy formerly owned a pub in Limerick called 'Clohessy's' and an adjoining night club called 'The Sin Bin'. He opened a pub and restaurant Crokers Bar & Restaurant in Murroe, east Limerick. The menu has a Limerick/rugby theme. On 12th February 2025, Clohessy's daughter, Jane Clohessy, was named as part of a 40 woman Ireland squad for the 2025 Women's 6 Nations.

References

External links

Clohessy profile
Munster Rugby
Clohessy profile
IRFU * * Living people 1966 births Rugby union players from County Limerick People educated at Crescent College Irish rugby union players Young Munster players Munster Rugby players Queensland Reds players Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union props 1999 Rugby World Cup players {{Ireland-rugbyunion-bio-stub