Aidan McCullen

Aidan McCullen (born 5 January 1977) is a businessman and retired Ireland national rugby union team player. He played as a back rower, principally at blindside flanker but also as an openside, no.8 and occasionally in the second row. He played for the Ireland national rugby sevens team in a number of competitions, including Hong Kong Sevens and the 2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens.

Aidan McCullen
McCullen speaking at a Creative Commons Ireland event
Date of birth (1977-01-05) 5 January 1977
Place of birthDublin, Ireland
Height1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight110 kg (17 st 5 lb)
SchoolCastleknock College
UniversityTrinity College
Rugby union career
Position(s) Back row
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1999–2001 Lansdowne ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1998–1999
2001–2005
2005–2006
2006–2008		 Dax
Leinster
Toulouse
London Irish
57
11
14
(30)
(0)
(0)
Correct as of 31 May 2008
National team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1998
2003		 Ireland U21
Ireland
1
(0)
Correct as of 30 June 2003
National sevens team(s)
Years Team Comps
2001 Ireland 1

Rugby career

McCullen started playing rugby at Castleknock College after moving to Dublin from County Meath. McCullen played for Leinster at schools, under 19s and under 20s before representing Ireland at under 21 level.[1]

In 1998 after playing for Ireland under 21s he played a season for US Dax in the French first division before joining Lansdowne Football Club in the All-Ireland League.[1]

McCullen then joined Leinster Rugby in 2001 as Ireland moved away from the All-Ireland League and towards the Celtic league. That season he also played for Ireland sevens in the 2001 Rugby World Cup Sevens. He had 60 caps for Leinster and gained an international 15s cap for the game between Ireland and Samoa on 20 June 2003.[2] His international career was halted by injury, before he was signed by Toulouse. McCullen was in the starting Toulouse team, but his time at Toulouse was once again thwarted by injury. He then joined London Irish until 2008. McCullen returned to Ireland and coached his club side Lansdowne back to division one as a forwards player/coach.[3]

McCullen commentates for Setanta Sports (now Eir Sports) covering the French Top 14 and schools rugby.

Business career

McCullen set up and developed the digital infrastructure for the Communicorp Group. As "head of digital at Communicorp",[4] he promoted the concept of "Radio You Can Read", which was an iPad magazine for the radio station Newstalk 106-108.[5]

McCullen was recruited by Ireland's national broadcaster RTÉ as "Head of Innovation Partnerships and Funding" in January 2016.[6]

He presents a weekly radio show called "The Innovation Show", which focuses on themes like innovation, digital disruption, social media, virtual reality, and the Internet of Things. The show is published online,[7][8] and was broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1 Extra on Saturday afternoons.[9]

In 2017, McCullen reportedly joined the "business think tank" Katawave.[10]

References
  1. "'My agent was looking at me like I was crazy but I signed on the back of a napkin'". 3 May 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  2. "Samoa (7) 14 - 40 (9) Ireland (FT)". espn.co.uk.
  3. "Aidan McCullen". Retrieved 23 December 2016.
  4. "It's a yes vote for Newstalk fans". Archived from the original on 2013-12-22. Retrieved 2013-09-01.
  5. "Newstalk launches 'radio you can read'". irishtimes.com. 23 May 2013. Archived from the original on 30 May 2013.
  6. "Top RTE role for ex-rugby star". Drogheda Independent. 30 January 2016.
  7. https://soundcloud.com/theinnovationshow
  8. https://itunes.apple.com/ie/podcast/the-innovation-show/id1148455669?mt=2
  9. "The Innovation Show - Saturdays at 3pm on Radio 1 Extra". rte.ie. Archived from the original on 22 August 2017.
  10. "McCullen signs up for Katawave". Drogheda Independent. 28 January 2017.
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