| Born | Declan Fitzpatrick (1983-07-12)12 July 1983 (age 42) Bromsgrove, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 118 kg (18 st 8 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | University of Ulster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Declan Fitzpatrick (born 12 July 1983) is an Irish formerrugby union player. He played forUlster from 2006 to 2015, and won seven caps forIreland.
Born inBromsgrove,Worcestershire, England to parents from countiesGalway andMayo,[1] he was identified as a prospect by theIrish Exiles programme, and moved toBelfast where he played forBelfast Harlequins, and later forDungannon.[2] while studying quantity surveying at theUniversity of Ulster.[1] He was part of the Irish national academy,[3] and represented Ireland at under-21 level.[4]
He made his debut for Ulster in 2006, and made 98 appearances for the province.[2] He was capped seven times for Ireland,[5] including three test appearances on the2012 tour of New Zealand. His final appearance for Ireland was in a 2013 defeat toNew Zealand.[2]
His final match for Ulster was aChampions Cup defeat away toToulon in January 2015.[2] He announced his retirement in April 2015 for medical reasons,[5] having sustained six concussions in his career.[2] He issued legal proceedings against theIRFU, Ulster andWorld Rugby in March 2023 in relation to head injuries.[6]