Prof. Éanna Falvey

Professor Éanna Falvey has worked full-time in Sports & Exercise Medicine in Ireland for more than 20 years. He is a widely published international clinician-researcher with a particular interest in tendon overload injury, groin pain and concussion.

A graduate of University College Cork, Éanna worked clinically and researched at the Department of Rheumatology, Sports and Exercise Medicine in Cork University Hospital, before completing a Fellowship in Sports Medicine at the University of Melbourne and a PhD at University College Cork.

Éanna is a native of Cloyne in Cork, where he played hurling and football, later playing hurling and joining the cross-country programme at school with the North Monastery. At a young age, he joined St Colman’s boxing club in Shanagarry, cycling to train and learn at the famous club. When injury made hurling difficult, he re-started his boxing career at UCC. He again teamed up with Maurice Walsh at St Colman’s to win a National intermediate Heavyweight Boxing title in 1997 and a National Senior Super-Heavyweight Boxing title in 2002. He boxed internationally against France, Canada, the USA and Russia and represented Ireland at the 2001 AIBA Amateur World Championships.

Injury was a constant throughout his sporting career, and Sports Medicine provided an ideal platform to combine Medicine and sporting endeavour. Starting with Cloyne and gaining experience with the Cork hurling team and at the National Boxing stadium. In 2003 Éanna began to work with Munster Rugby and was with the team when Munster won their inaugural Heineken European Cup in 2006; he rapidly moved through the ranks and became Irish Senior team doctor in 2009 for two Rugby World Cups (2011, 2015). He was team doctor with the British & Irish Lions for two tours in 2013 and 2017. While completing a fellowship in Australia, Éanna covered the Geelong VFL Aussie Rules team and travelled to Bangkok as team doctor with the Australian Universities team.

Research and evidence-based medicine has always been the first principle in Professor Falvey’s practice. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and co-written Clinical Sports Anatomy. This work has been recognised internationally in invites to join IOC and international consensus collaborations, NFL Head Neck & Spine and MSK committees and advise the US Department of Defence and World Health Organisation. Locally he has been director of training for the FSEM Higher Specialist training programme and a Senior Lecturer for the UCC Masters in Sports & Exercise Medicine Programme. He continues to teach and to mentor trainees and supervise PhD projects.

In 2020 Professor Falvey was named Chief Medical Officer for World Rugby, the governing body for rugby union in 120 countries worldwide. Éanna works with a dedicated group in the World Rugby Research Unit to investigate the evidence base for injury prevention and management initiatives in the sport, working to ensure safe participation at all levels.