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Girvan Dempsey (born 2 October 1975 in Dublin) is a rugby union footballer who plays at full back for Leinster and Ireland. His parents, showing remarkable prescience, named him Girvan (frequently shortened to Girve), ensuring that his many ardent supporters could attach the moniker "Swerve" to his name, or more commonly - "Girv the Swerve". He continues to vindicate this worthy title.
[edit] Rugby career
Girvan started his rugby career at Terenure College where he helped the school to a Leinster Senior Cup trophy,[1] and later played full back for Terenure College RFC. Girvan has over 75 international caps for Ireland and scored the match winning try in Ireland's victory over England at Twickenham in 2004 and scored again in 2007. Most recently he helped Ireland to a 2006 Triple Crown victory in Ireland's 28-24 victory over England. For Ireland's match against the Wallabies in Perth in June 2006 Dempsey was recalled to the Irish starting line-up in place of Geordan Murphy, the first time he has ousted Murphy from the lineup when both players were fit. Dempsey famously scored a home run for Terenure College against Willow Park as a youngster, which is still to this date a heroic tale told in Terenure College's history classes.[2][not in citation given]
[edit] Away from rugby
Aerial image of the main islands of the
Republic of Fiji circa June 2001. Dempsey's domain is partially visible in the right foreground.
On July 8, 2006 Dempsey wed his fiancée Anne-Marie Craig in Kilquade, County Wicklow. In the rugby off-season, the couple live on a tropical island off the coast of Fiji, awash with various species of exotic fish and plant-eating reptiles. Dempsey recently bought the naming rights to the island and renamed it 'Swerve Paradise'. The couple spend roughly 2 and a half months of the year there, when Dempsey is not playing rugby.[1] The island has been described by No Frontiers presenter Kathryn Thomas as a "hedonist paradise".[3]
His pastimes away from the game include golf, making jam, picking mushrooms and spending quality time on his Shetland pony "Tiny".[1] A part time model aircraft enthusiast and antique bottle cap collector, he has also found time to publish several academic works on the flora and fauna of some of the world's most remote islands. His groundbreaking discovery of the South Atlantic Guillemot (Uria Girvanae), unique to the islands of Tristan de Cunha, in particular brought him much credit within the Royal Society.[4] He is currently working on his autobiography, tentatively entitled Solid As A House, due for publication in February 2008. Once he has retired from his days as rugby player, the "Swerve" plans on furthering his interest in horses by pursuing a career as a showjumper; his favourite breed for showjumping being the Conamara Pony.[1] He is affectionately known as 'The Girvanator' by many of his fans.
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