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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Michelle Townsend & Robert Hynes

Paul O'Connell lifts lid on family life with wife Emily and three kids

Paul O'Connell has lifted the lid on his family life with wife Emily and their three kids.

The rugby great says life at home in Limerick is busy - but a lot of fun, reports RSVP Live.

The Ireland and Munster legend retired from the sport in 2016 and now lives in Castletroy with Emily and their young kids Paddy (11), Lola (8) and four-year-old Felix.

It comes as no surprise that Paul's house is sports mad given his incredible career, and the dad-of-three now spends a lot of time bringing his children to different matches and activities.

He tells RSVP Magazine: "In our house we have Gaelic football, camogie, hockey, rugby, golf, swimming, gymnastics and speech and drama too.

"We live in Castletroy in Limerick where there always lots of activities going on. Me and Emily are always in the car driving them around to bring them to training or watch their matches.

"My youngest son Felix is still in Montessori, but Paddy and Lola are in primary school which is always great when GAA season kicks off in the school. So it’s a very busy house, but a lot of fun!"

Paul O'Connell (INPHO/Bryan Keane)

Paul is fondly remembered as one of Ireland's greatest ever rugby players.

And with a love of sport evident at home, are his children aware of the success he enjoyed before retiring?

"The kids are aware, but not overly bothered is probably the right way of putting it," he told us with a laugh.

"They laugh and find it funny when they see old photos of me playing. But it's just the way it's always been for them, they don't know any different."

Paul called time on rugby six years ago and is grateful for the work opportunities he has been given ever since.

While he has pursued different projects, rugby is still his number one love and he admits that he misses being on the pitch.

He said: "I'm enjoying retirement a lot and I'm lucky that I’ve had some amazing opportunities and things that I've been able to do, but I would be lying if I said I didn't miss playing rugby.

"I really enjoyed everything about it - not only playing and training, but all of the meetings, arguments, discussions and debates that went on behind the scenes when we were preparing for big matches.

"I loved being part of a team because there was a mixture of personalities but we all had the same love of the sport."

As much as he misses playing the game, Paul counts his lucky stars for having such a fulfilling career and he is still involved with coaching and analysis.

"I've been kept very busy since and I'm involved in a whole host of things - coaching, commentary, punditry and I've worked with various brands as well," he added.

"I was very lucky in that I turned professional at 21 and retired when I was 36. I really do miss playing but you have to move on, it's part of life."

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