Irish players have played for the British and Irish Lions since the tours began in 1910. The first captain was an Irishman, and eleven in total have led the Lions into a test match.
This article has a comprehensive list of all Irish Lions players.
We haven’t listed players who were included in the original squad but had to withdraw before the tour started. Only players who tour are officially capped.
Irish Players On The 2021 Lions Tour To South Africa
Eight Irish players were originally named on the 2021 tour to South Africa.
Prop Andrew Porter had to withdraw drew to injury before the tour deparated, which meant that seven Irish players were capped for touring.
List of Irish Lions in 2021
| Year | First Name | Last Name | Position |
| 2021 | Bundee | Aki | Centre |
| 2021 | Tadhg | Beirne | Lock |
| 2021 | Jack | Conan | Backrow |
| 2021 | Tadhg | Furlong | Prop |
| 2021 | Iain | Henderson | Lock |
| 2021 | Robbie | Henshaw | Centre |
| 2021 | Conor | Murray | Scrumhalf |
Irish Players On The 2017 Lions Tour To New Zealand
Robbie Henshaw was injured in a provincial game and was ruled out of playing in the main tests.
Jared Payne sustained a concussion and also didn’t play in a full test
Irishman Peter O’Mahony captained the lions in the opening test against the All Blacks. Sam Warburton took over as captain in the subsequent tests.
List of Irish Lions in 2017
| Year | First Name | Last Name | Position |
| 2017 | Rory | Best | Hooker |
| 2017 | Tadhg | Furlong | Prop |
| 2017 | Iain | Henderson | Lock |
| 2017 | Robbie | Henshaw | Centre |
| 2017 | Jack | McGrath | Prop |
| 2017 | Conor | Murray | Scrumhalf |
| 2017 | Sean | O’Brien | Backrow |
| 2017 | Peter | O’Mahony | Backrow |
| 2017 | Jared | Payne | Centre |
| 2017 | Jonathan | Sexton | Outhalf |
| 2017 | CJ | Stander | Backrow |
Irish Players On The 2013 Lions Tour To Australia
Ulster prop Tom Court and Munster winger Tom Court weren’t in the original squad selection. Both were called up as injury replacements
List of Irish Lions in 2013
| Year | First Name | Last Name | Position |
| 2013 | Tommy | Bowe | Wing |
| 2013 | Tom | Court | Prop |
| 2013 | Cian | Healy | Prop |
| 2013 | Jamie | Heaslip | Backrow |
| 2013 | Conor | Murray | Scrumhalf |
| 2013 | Seán | O’Brien | Backrow |
| 2013 | Brian | O’Driscoll | Centre |
| 2013 | Paul | O’Connell | Lock |
| 2013 | Jonathan | Sexton | Outhalf |
| 2013 | Simon | Zebo | Wing |
Irish Players On The 2009 Lions Tour To South Africa
A record number of fourteen Irish players were included in the original Lions squad.
This was after a successful year for Irish rugby. Ireland had won the Grand Slam and Leinster had won the European Championship.
In an exceptionally unlucky outcome, four Munster players had to withdraw before the tour.
Hooker Jerry Flannery, flanker David Wallace and scrumhalf Tomas O’Leary withdrew with injury. Flanker Alan O’Quinlan missed the tour due to a disciplinary sanction in a European match.
To counter this, Munster prop John Hayes joined the tour as an injury replacement.
List of Irish Lions in 2009
| Year | First Name | Last Name | Position |
| 2009 | Tommy | Bowe | Wing |
| 2009 | Keith | Earls | Wing |
| 2009 | Stephen | Ferris | Backrow |
| 2009 | Luke | Fitzgerald | Wing |
| 2009 | John | Hayes | Prop |
| 2009 | Jamie | Heaslip | Backrow |
| 2009 | Rob | Kearney | Fullback |
| 2009 | Brian | O’Driscoll | Centre |
| 2009 | Ronan | O’Gara | Outhalf |
| 2009 | David | Walllace | Backrow |
Irish Players On The 2005 Lions Tour To South Africa
Brian O’Driscoll was named as the tour captain. He was infamously injured in the first minutes of the opening test and could not play another match.
Leinster’s Malcolm O’Kelly had to withdraw before the first provincial match in New Zealand.
| Year | First Name | Last Name | Position |
| 2005 | Shane | Byrne | Hooker |
| 2005 | Gordon | D’Arcy | Centre |
| 2005 | Simon | Easterby | Backrow |
| 2005 | John | Hayes | Prop |
| 2005 | Denis | Hickie | Wing |
| 2005 | Shane | Horgan | Wing |
| 2005 | Malcom | O’Kelly | Lock |
| 2005 | Geordan | Murphy | Fullback |
| 2005 | Donncha | O’Callaghan | Lock |
| 2005 | Paul | O’Connell | Lock |
| 2005 | Brian | O’Driscoll | Centre |
| 2005 | Ronan | O’Gara | Outhalf |
Irish Captains Of The British And Irish Lions
The first captain of a British and Irish Lions tour was Irishman Tommy Smyth.
Ten more have captained the Lions in a test match since then.
List of Irish captains of the Lions
| Year | First Name | Last Name | Position |
| 2017 | Peter | O’Mahony | Backrow |
| 2005 | Paul | O’Connell | Lock |
| 2001 | Brian | O’Driscoll | Centre |
| 1983 | Ciaran | Fitzgerald | Hooker |
| 1962 | Tom | Kiernan | Fullback |
| 1962 | Willie | McBride | Lock |
| 1959 | Ronnie | Dawson | Hooker |
| 1955 | Robin | Thompson | Lock |
| 1950 | Karl | Mullen | Hooker |
| 1938 | Sam | Walker | Prop |
| 1910 | Tommy | Smyth | Prop |
Full List Of Irish Lions And their First Caps
This is the full list of Irish players who toured with the British and Irish Lions since 1910.
| First Lions Cap | First Name | Last Name |
| 2021 | Bundee | Aki |
| 2021 | Tadhg | Beirne |
| 2021 | Jack | Conan |
| 2017 | Tadhg | Furlong |
| 2017 | Iain | Henderson |
| 2017 | Robbie | Henshaw |
| 2017 | Jack | McGrath |
| 2017 | Peter | O’Mahony |
| 2017 | Jared | Payne |
| 2017 | CJ | Stander |
| 2013 | Rory | Best |
| 2013 | Tom | Court |
| 2013 | Cian | Healy |
| 2013 | Conor | Murray |
| 2013 | Seán | O’Brien |
| 2013 | Jonathan | Sexton |
| 2013 | Simon | Zebo |
| 2009 | Tommy | Bowe |
| 2009 | Keith | Earls |
| 2009 | Stephen | Ferris |
| 2009 | Luke | Fitzgerald |
| 2009 | Jamie | Heaslip |
| 2009 | Rob | Kearney |
| 2005 | Shane | Byrne |
| 2005 | Gordon | D’Arcy |
| 2005 | Simon | Easterby |
| 2005 | John | Hayes |
| 2005 | Denis | Hickie |
| 2005 | Shane | Horgan |
| 2005 | Geordan | Murphy |
| 2005 | Donncha | O’Callaghan |
| 2005 | Paul | O’Connell |
| 2001 | Rob | Henderson |
| 2001 | Tyrone | Howe |
| 2001 | Brian | O’Driscoll |
| 2001 | Ronan | O’Gara |
| 2001 | Malcolm | O’Kelly |
| 2001 | David | Wallace |
| 1997 | Jeremy | Davidson |
| 1997 | Eric | Miller |
| 1997 | Paul | Wallace |
| 1997 | Keith | Wood |
| 1993 | Vince | Cunningham |
| 1993 | Mick | Galwey |
| 1993 | Nick | Popplewell |
| 1993 | Richard | Wallace |
| 1989 | Paul | Dean |
| 1989 | Phillip | Matthews |
| 1989 | Steve | Smith |
| 1986 | Nigel | Carr |
| 1986 | Des | Fitzgerald |
| 1986 | Brendan | Mullin |
| 1983 | Ciaran | Fitzgerald |
| 1983 | David | Irwin |
| 1983 | Mike | Kiernan |
| 1983 | Donal | Lenihan |
| 1983 | Hugo | MacNeill |
| 1983 | Gerry | McLoughlin |
| 1983 | Trevor | Ringland |
| 1980 | Ollie | Campbell |
| 1980 | Rodney | O’Donnell |
| 1980 | John | O’Driscoll |
| 1980 | Colin | Patterson |
| 1980 | John | Robbie |
| 1980 | Colm | Tucker |
| 1980 | Tony | Ward |
| 1977 | Willie | Duggan |
| 1977 | Moss | Keane |
| 1977 | Philip | Orr |
| 1974 | Tom | Grace |
| 1974 | Stewart | McKinney |
| 1974 | Richard | Milliken |
| 1974 | John | Moloney |
| 1971 | Mike | Hipwell |
| 1971 | Sean | Lynch |
| 1971 | Fergus | Slattery |
| 1968 | Mick | Doyle |
| 1968 | Ken | Goodall |
| 1966 | Barry | Bresnihan |
| 1966 | Mike | Gibson |
| 1966 | Ken | Kennedy |
| 1966 | Ronnie | Lamont |
| 1966 | Ray | McLoughlin |
| 1966 | Jerry | Walsh |
| 1966 | Roger | Young |
| 1962 | Raymond | Hunter |
| 1962 | Tom | Kiernan |
| 1962 | Willie | McBride |
| 1959 | Niall | Brophy |
| 1959 | Ronnie | Dawson |
| 1959 | Mick | English |
| 1959 | David | Hewitt |
| 1959 | Syd | Millar |
| 1959 | Bill | Mulcahy |
| 1959 | Andy | Mulligan |
| 1959 | Noel | Murphy |
| 1959 | Gordon | Wood |
| 1955 | Tony | O’Reilly |
| 1955 | Cecil | Pedlow |
| 1955 | Tom | Reid |
| 1955 | Robin | Roe |
| 1955 | Robin | Thompson |
| 1950 | Tom | Clifford |
| 1950 | Noel | Henderson |
| 1950 | Jack | Kyle |
| 1950 | Mick | Lane |
| 1950 | Jim | McCarthy |
| 1950 | Bill | McKay |
| 1950 | Karl | Mullen |
| 1950 | Jimmy | Nelson |
| 1950 | George | Norton |
| 1938 | Robert | Alexander |
| 1938 | George | Cromey |
| 1938 | Bob | Graves |
| 1938 | Paddy | Mayne |
| 1938 | Harry | McKibbin |
| 1938 | George | Morgan |
| 1938 | Sam | Walker |
| 1936 | Charles | Beamish |
| 1936 | Vesey | Boyle |
| 1930 | George | Beamish |
| 1930 | Mike | Dunne |
| 1930 | Paul | Murray |
| 1930 | Henry | O’Neill |
| 1927 | James | Farrell |
| 1927 | Theodore | Pike |
| 1924 | Michael | Bradley |
| 1924 | Norman | Brand |
| 1924 | Jamie | Clinch |
| 1924 | Bill | Cunningham |
| 1924 | Jim | McVicker |
| 1924 | William | Roche |
| 1910 | Alexander | Foster |
| 1910 | Arthur | McClinton |
| 1910 | Oliver | Piper |
| 1910 | Tommy | Smyth |
| 1910 | William | Tyrell |
Related Articles
We’ve compiled a list of all players capped for Ireland during the professional era from 1996 to 2021.
Check out our list of Irish rugby player names.