Alan Quinlan

BROADCASTER, INTERNATIONAL SPEAKER, MC, MEDIA PUNDIT & JOURNALIST

Alan Quinlan is one of sport’s most engaging, intelligent and motivating personalities. Former rugby international and popular guest speaker.

Since retiring from an extended playing career for both Munster and Ireland, Alan has forged a very successful career as a media analyst, MC and Journalist.  In addition, his speaking work on the Motivational, Leadership and Wellness circuit has seen him quickly develop into one of the most sought after speakers both in Ireland and the UK.

As an ambassador, he partners with Aramark, Ulster Bank and RBS.  In addition Alan writes for the Irish Independent and also works with RTE, Sky Sports and Newstalk.  He was part of ITV’s Rugby World Coverage in 2011 & 2015.

Alan is an excellent communicator and is one of our most popular sports and mental health speakers. He is available for after-dinner, keynote, MC, or awards host.

Themes and Topics

Alan’s personal experience of being an elite athlete and the pressure that entails:

• High performance = High pressure
• Building Resilience
• Coping strategies and positive mental health
• Anecdotal stories from his international playing career
• Rugby Analysis
• The importance of exercise and healthy lifestyle

Playing Career

Alan was educated at Abbey CBS in Tipperary and worked for a motor dealer after leaving school. He began his rugby career with Clanwilliam FC where he captained the Irish Youth Team against Scotland in 1993.  Alan moved from Clanwilliam to join Shannon U20s in 1994.  

He began playing for Munster in 1996 and captained the youths’ team before becoming a regular in the first team. In May 2006 he made a comeback from a cruciate ligament injury earlier in the season to win both the AIB League Division 1 title with Shannon and the Heineken Cup with Munster after a late appearance from the bench in the Heineken Cup Final win over Biarritz in Cardiff. He captained the side from Number Eight in Munster’s upset victory over Ulster in Ravenhill in the 2007 Magner’s League.  He was voted Man of the Match as Munster beat Toulouse 16–13 on 24 May 2008 to win the Heineken Cup for a second time.  He was part of the Squad that won the 2008 – 2009 Magners League.  

In total he holds six All Ireland League medals with Shannon, as well as two Heineken Cup medals and two Celtic League Medals with Munster.  Alan won his 201st cap against Leinster, equalling Anthony Foley’s club record for caps, on 2 October 2010. He became Munster’s most capped player ever on 16 October 2010, against RC Toulon in the Heineken Cup.

Alan represented Ireland ‘A’ between 1998 and 2001 and made his senior debut for the Irish national team in October 1999 as a replacement in a Test against Romania.  He played his first Six Nations match against Italy in 2001.  He was a part of Ireland’s squad at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia and scored two tries in the tournament before dislocating his shoulder scoring a vital try against Argentina in the pool stages, which ended his involvement.   He took his caps to a total of 27 by playing in the Autumn Internationals of 2008 against Canada and the All Blacks.

Testimonials

“For our inaugural Marketing Age seminar, we were looking for an engaging and charismatic speaker, who could offer new insights to a sophisticated audience of marketing and business leaders in the area of customer loyalty.”

Ann O’Dea, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, MARKETING AGE MAGAZINE

I just want to say thanks again for a fantastic talk on Thursday. We have had such a phenomenal response. I have never seen such terrific feedback to any event we have held.  People seem to have really connected with everything you said.

My only regret is not having enough time (totally my fault) for a Q&A at the end but it gives me a great reason to push to get you back in for that motivational speech!!

I thought I would share with you a sample of some we received to date for your positivity wall. If you ever have any self-doubt about the influence of your talks just refer to these. Keep up the fantastic work you are doing as it is making a real impact on people’s lives!

Damien Mara, Vice President, BNY Mellon, Corporate Trust

“Alan was a pleasure to work with; he was so sound, has a lovely way with words and nothing was too much to ask. He expertly managed the panel of 4 which wasn’t an easy feat given the time constraints. Members who attended the lunch were also full of praise for him. Delighted! Please pass on our thanks to him.”

• Chartered Accountants Ireland, 2024

Delegate Comments:

• Alan really engaged with the audience. It was an excellent presentation and one that has really motivated me to look after my mental health.
• Alan was amazing, very inspirational. I really enjoyed the talk and will definitely take things away from this. No need for any changes this event was a huge success
• Everyone should attend a talk around mental health awareness at least once every 3 years.  It is a very important topic and it is unfortunately much stigmatised in Ireland.  Alan is a fantastic ambassador.
• Excellent topic, very practical and useful advice that everyone can relate to.
• I really enjoyed today’s event and gave useful but simple tips that people can use day to day.
• It is just good to know that even people like Alan can go through this and it shows it affects people in all walks of life and it is good how you use Alan to portray this as it should help people realise it is ok to be feeling like this and it is ok to ask for help.  I think it is a great thing and I really do hope it makes more people aware that things can be fixed no matter how big.
• Very easy to listen to but shared practical insights into how to change focus from the negative to positive
• Very good to have the topic and Alan was very likeable with an interesting story.
• Very interesting talk.  Alan was an excellent speaker and I liked that it was too the point and easy to understand.  His message was very effective.  Thank you!