‘Memories To Last A Lifetime’ As Ireland Sevens Captain McNulty Retires

Harry McNulty said that his Ireland Sevens career was ‘a pretty wild ride and one that I will cherish forever’, as he announced his decision to hang up his boots following on from his second Olympic Games.

McNulty’s retirement announcement comes just as a fresh new HSBC SVNS season is launched in Dubai this weekend, with five Series debutants hoping to make their mark with James Topping’s men.

Captain of the national team for the last two years, he bows out as most-capped Ireland Men’s Sevens player of all-time with 181 SVNS Series appearances and 31 tries having helped the team to achieve core status for the first time in 2019.

Taking to Instagram, he wrote: “Nine years. Little did I know in 2015 when my mom signed me up to an open day for the Sevens programme, it would all turn out like this. From Bosnia to Paris, it’s been a pretty wild ride and one that I will cherish forever.

“I’ve travelled the world and have made friends in every corner of the planet. Core status qualification, two World Cups, two Olympics, captaincy, and memories to last a lifetime. What a ride!

“For now the boots may hang but the door remains open, and I’m excited for what the future holds. It’s the right time to put my energy into the next stage of my life.

“I won’t be far from the game I love as I am starting a media role with the HSBC SVNS Series for this coming season. Thank you to Mom, Dad, Ella, Sean, Ciara, Olivia, my family and friends, my clubs, my coaches, team-mates and opponents. You made this journey possible. Cheers, Harry.”

McNulty was one of the ‘Originals’ that played in the Bosnian city of Zenica back in 2015, the starting point for the relaunch of the Ireland Men’s Sevens programme as they won the Rugby Europe Men’s Sevens Division C title to begin their climb up the ladder.

Born in Bahrain to Irish parents with a move to New York for 10 years during his childhood, the 31-year-old first came to the attention playing for Rockwell College before joining the Munster Academy in 2012.

A Bachelor of Science (Food Technology) graduate from UCD, he has played Energia All-Ireland League rugby for Garryowen, UCD, and Old Belvedere, as well as lining out for the LA Giltinis alongside his young brother, Sean.

His love of Sevens rugby started when he played for Dublin University under Tony Smeeth, as they retained the All-Ireland Club Sevens trophy in 2012. His mother Sandra signed him up for the Ireland Sevens trials two years later, and the rest is history.

With David Nucifora and Anthony Eddy overseeing their progress, the newly-formed Ireland Men’s Sevens squad quickly rose through the ranks in Europe, and McNulty, now with that famous ponytail and facial hair, was making a name for himself as a forward of high quality.

While combining his infectious love of travel, photography, and videography with high performance sport, the man affectionately known as ‘H, Salty, or McNuts’ shone as the team booked that all-important World Series berth in 2019, and achieved Olympic qualification two years later.

A dynamic player with a huge engine, he often started and finished every game of a tournament for Ireland, and grew more prominent as a vocal leader and a feared opponent. He also married this with a charismatic presence on social media, and his videos on TikTok during the recent Olympics proved particularly popular.

His aerial ability was a huge asset to Topping’s charges at restarts and lineouts, and his physicality around the pitch saw him excel as a ball carrier and tackler, as well as bringing plenty of impact at the breakdown.

He came up with some important tries too, including the match winner against France in Monaco to secure Ireland’s Olympic debut in 2021, and a decisive late score to earn bronze at the Rugby World Cup Sevens the following year.

He retires having played in two World Cup Sevens tournaments, including that outstanding team effort in Cape Town in 2022, and finished out his career at his second Olympics in Paris this past summer, captaining the side to their highest finish so far of sixth.

On the World Sevens circuit, the biggest high came with their League runners-up finish just behind Argentina last season, amid an ultra-consistent run which saw McNulty and his team-mates feature regularly at the business end of tournaments.

Along with that there was the breakthrough bronze medal success in London in 2018 as an invitational team, and silvers in Toulouse and Dubai (both 2022), and Singapore (2024), and bronzes in Perth and Hong Kong earlier this year.

McNulty was a two-time winner of the Rugby Europe Men’s Sevens Championship, most recently in the summer of 2023 when Ireland were crowned champions just a few short weeks after winning the European Games crown to qualify for Paris 2024.

Taking over the captaincy from fellow ‘OG’ Billy Dardis in 2022, he made sure to sign off at the top of his game, deservedly winning the Guinness Rugby Writers of Ireland Men’s Sevens Player of the Year award for 2023, as well as making HSBC Dream Team selections in Dubai, Vancouver, and LA across the last two campaigns.

He made the most tackles of any player on the HSBC SVNS circuit last season with 77. His dogged defensive work also saw him make the joint-second most steals with six, alongside France duo Antoine Dupont and Stephen Parez-Edo Martin.

His final tournament with Ireland, fittingly on the Olympic stage at the Stade de France in July, saw the team fall short in their medal bid, but he left the game with six more starts – playing almost every minute – and scored a memorable intercept try against Japan.