Seamus McCallion (born 10 April 1964) is an Irish former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at club level for Halifax,

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

and Bramley, as a .

Playing career

Early career

McCallion started his career with

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

-based amateur club Moldgreen, and was selected for the 1983

BARLA The British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA) is an association for social and recreational rugby league. It works jointly with the Rugby Football League through the RFL Community Board. History BARLA was created on 3 March 1973 at t ...

Young Lions tour of New Zealand. After playing a few games on trial at

Kent Invicta Kent Invicta is a defunct rugby league team that were based in Maidstone, Kent and later Southend in Essex. History Kent Invicta RLFC and Southend Invicta RLFC ''Kent Invicta RLFC'' was formed by a local businessman, Paul Faires, and Jim Thompso ...

during the 1983–84 season, he was signed by Halifax in March 1984.

Halifax

McCallion played in all 37-matches in Halifax's victory in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

during the 1985–86 season, scoring 7-tries in 30 League matches and 2 in Cup competitions. McCallion played , and scored a try in Halifax's 19-18 victory over St. Helens in the

1987 Challenge Cup Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader Mohammad Najibu ...

Final during the 1986–87 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on Saturday 2 May 1987, and played in the 12-32 defeat by Wigan in the 1988 Challenge Cup Final during the 1987–88 season at

on Saturday 30 April 1988. McCallion played in Halifax' 12-24 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in the

1989–90 Regal Trophy The 1989–90 Regal Trophy was a British rugby league knockout tournament. It was the 19th season that the competition was held, and was the first staging of the competition since it was re-named the Regal Trophy. Wigan Warriors, Wigan won the fin ...

Final during the 1989–90 season at

Headingley Headingley is a suburb of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, approximately two miles out of the city centre, to the north west along the A660 road. Headingley is the location of the Beckett Park campus of Leeds Beckett University and Headingley ...

on Saturday 13 January 1990. In 1992, McCallion was sold to

as part of an exchange deal, but never made an appearance for the first team.

International honours

Seamus McCallion won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s for

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 ...

while Unattached, and at Bramley in 1995 and 1996 gaining 3-caps.

Post-playing career

In 2003, McCallion was appointed as head coach of Gateshead Thunder. He was replaced by Dean Thomas a year later. In November 2022, he was appointed as Head Physio at

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

Personal life

McCallion's daughter, Orla, plays

for

Leeds Rhinos Women Leeds Rhinos Women are a rugby league team based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team is part of the Leeds Rhinos club and plays in the Women's Super League (rugby league), Women's Super League. They were the RFL Women's Super League c ...

Honoured by Rugby League Ireland

On 25 March 2004 six footballers were inducted into

Rugby League Ireland Rugby League Ireland (RLI) is the internationally recognised governing body for the development of rugby league football in Ireland, having secured official recognition from the RLIF in 2000. It is recognised within the Irish Sports Council ...

's inaugural Hall of Fame at the Rugby League Heritage Centre in

, they were; John "Jack" Daly (

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

), Robert "Bob" Kelly (

Keighley Keighley ( ) is a market town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Bradford Borough of West Yorkshire, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the borough, after Bradford. Keighley is north-west of Bradford, n ...

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...

Batley Batley is a market town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England, south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield, in the Heavy Woollen District. In 2011, the popu ...

), Seamus McCallion ( Halifax/

/ Bramley), Thomas "Tom" McKinney, (

Salford Salford ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Greater Manchester, England, on the western bank of the River Irwell which forms its boundary with Manchester city centre. Landmarks include the former Salford Town Hall, town hall, ...

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

/ St. Helens), Terry O'Connor (

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the RFL Championship, Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at DCBL Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twe ...

), Patrick "Paddy" Reid (

/ Halifax).

References

External links

*(archived by web.archive.org
Crooks in trouble
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCallion, Seamus 1964 births Living people 20th-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland 21st-century sportsmen from Northern Ireland Bramley R.L.F.C. players Halifax Panthers players Ireland national rugby league team players Irish expatriate rugby league players in England Irish expatriate rugby league players Irish rugby league coaches Irish rugby league players Kent Invicta players Leeds Rhinos players Lindley Swifts players Newcastle Thunder coaches Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from County Antrim