Liam Mooney

Liam Mooney

Full name	Liam Thomas Mooney
Date of birth	18 May 1972
Place of birth	Gosport, Hampshire, England
Notable relative(s)	Fred Tiedt
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur
Rugby union career
Playing career
Position	Prop
Amateur clubs
Years	Club / team
1992–1996 1994–1995	London Irish Cambridge University
Professional / senior clubs
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1996–1998 1998–1999 1999–2001	London Irish Blackheath Exeter Chiefs	39 20 55	0 0 70
National team(s)
Years	Club / team	Caps	(points)
1996– 2000	Represented:- Ireland XV, Ireland A, Barbarians & English National Divisions XV	4	10

Liam Thomas Mooney (born 18 May 1972) is a former professional rugby union footballer who played at prop. He is now an entrepreneur living in Monaco.

Education

Mooney was educated at St Boniface's Catholic College, Plymouth^[1] and graduated from the University of Cambridge (Hughes Hall) in 1996.^[2][3]

Rugby career

Mooney began his rugby career with London Irish in 1992, making his debut as a prop against Bath aged 20 years old.^[4][5] He represented London Irish in both premiership and European competitions.^[6] Mooney played in the club's biggest premiership win, beating Harlequin F.C. 62–14 in April 1998.^[7] He was a member of the promotion winning team that took London Irish to the English Premiership in 1996,^[8] as well as the semi-final of the Pilkington Cup, under the leadership of Sir Clive Woodward. He moved on to play for Blackheath (1998–1999)^[9] and Exeter Chiefs (1999–2001).^[10] From 1996 in the professional era, Mooney scored 14 tries and made over 100 appearances for his clubs.^[11] While at Exeter, he played for the English National Divisions and scored the winning try against the Springboks on their 2000 tour of the UK.^[12] During his career, Mooney represented Ireland XV (vs Leinster 1996), Ireland A, Ireland U21, Ireland Students, the Barbarians^[13] and won two Cambridge Blues representing Cambridge University in the winning 1994 and 1995 Varsity matches.^[14][15] He finished his rugby career at Bristol and Caerphilly where he retired with a chronic knee injury.^[16]

Business career

Mooney qualified as a solicitor of England & Wales in November 2000, having trained and worked at international law firm Kennedys and regional legal 500 law firm, Michelmores. In 2002, Mooney founded Blue Pencil, an international legal executive search and recruitment company, where he is currently the Managing Director.^[17] Blue Pencil is mentioned in Sidney Korshak's book "How to Land a Legal Job Overseas".^[18]

In 2013, Mooney founded Club Fit For Business, a non-profit global sports business community.^[19][20] In November 2014, he was named by Arabian Business as 'Business Mentor of the Year'^[21][22][23] and was a finalist at the SME Stars of Business Awards in December 2014.^[24][25] Mooney currently serves as a non executive director to several companies in the SME sector as well as mentoring a number of retired professional athletes.^[26]

In August 2015, Mooney was named as a finalist in the Gulf Capital SME Awards, as the “Business Leader of the Year”.^[27]

Volunteer work and causes

A lifetime member of Cambridge University Rugby Union Football Club (CURUFC), and a donor of the CURUFC's Red Lion Foundation, set up to support rugby players through their studies at the university, Mooney made a charitable donation to fund the Lion's Room in 2013.^[28] As an alumnus of Hughes Hall, Mooney supports Hughes Hall's Enterprise Scheme, which promotes entrepreneurship in young students at Cambridge University.^[29] Mooney also served as a committee member of the Oxford & Cambridge Society in the UAE, overseeing international relations with Oxford and Cambridge University alumni worldwide.

Mooney is a keen supporter of animal conservation charities and in 2012 he organised a team of ten amateur runners to run the Dubai Marathon, to raise money for Tiger Awareness, a tiger conservation charity.^[30][31]

Mooney also supports a number of local and international charities through Club Fit For Business, that have a focus on social inclusion for children through sport.^[32]

References

1. St Boniface's Catholic College, Old Boys, 1983–1989
2. University of Cambridge graduation list, 1996
3. Hughes Hall website list of Notable Alumni, 1996
4. The Independent, Club Guide, 1992
5. London Irish Old Boys Database
6. European Professional Club Rugby Player Archive
7. Talk Rugby Union, London Irish Rugby Union Club Records
8. 1995–96 Courage League National Division Two
9. The Independent, Rugby Union Division 2 Teams, Sept 1998
10. Rugby Statbunker, RFU Championship Exeter Chiefs All time leading scorers
11. StatBunker, Rugby Stats – Liam Mooney, 1996–2001
12. The Telegraph, Divisions make point, Nov 2000
13. Official Home of the Barbarians, Player Archive, 1998
14. Media Store House, Liam Mooney on the charge for Cambridge – 1994 Varsity Match, 1994
15. EPCRugby, Match Report, Oct 1996
16. BBC Sport, Tough task for Caerphilly, Dec 2001
17. Blue Pencil Legal, an international legal executive search and recruitment consultancy, Founded 2002
18. Amazon.com – How to Land a Legal Job Overseas by Sidney Korshak, 2014
19. Club Fit For Business, a non profit global sports business community, Founded 2013
20. Capital Business, From Entrepreneurship to Leadership, 2013
21. Arabian Business, Winners of 2nd Arabian Business StartUp Awards, Nov 2014
22. Arabian Business, 2014's richest, most powerful and those destined to be the stars of the future, Dec 2014
23. Winners of Arabian Business StartUp Awards, Nov 2014
24. Stars of Business Awards, Dec 2014
25. Arabian Business Startup and Rising Stars of Business Awards, Dec 2014
26. Arabian Business, SME support with Fit For Business, 2013
27. 2015 Gulf Capital SME Awards finalists announced, August 2015
28. CURUFC, Donations, 2013
29. Hughes Hall, 2016
30. Gulf News Article – Tiger Feet – Running for a cause, 2012
31. Sports 360 Article – Running For A Cause, Dec 2013
32. Arabian Business article on the partnership with UK charity, June 2015