Stuart O’Flanagan
Sports & Exercise Medicine Physician
Contact Details

Dr Stuart O’Flanagan

FFSEM (Ireland) MFSEM (UK) MICGP BMBS MSc (Oxon) BSc Hons Physiotherapy

Dr O’Flanagan is the first Irish trained Consultant in Sports & Exercise Medicine. He has extensive experience in elite sport. He holds the roles of Leinster Rugby Team Doctor and Medical Lead to the IRFU National Rugby Sevens Programme. He joins SSC having returned from the Olympic Games in Tokyo with the Irish Men’s Rugby Sevens Team. He was also appointed as the Ireland Rugby Senior Team Doctor for the 2021 Summer Series.

Dr O’Flanagan initially trained as a Chartered Physiotherapist. He worked for a number of years with a focus on sports injuries and musculoskeletal conditions. He undertook a Sports Medicine Fellowship at the Stellenbosch University Sports Performance Institute (SUSPI), South Africa. He covered a range of elite varsity sports including netball, hockey, tennis, athletics, swimming and soccer. He also worked with the Western Province/Stormers Super Rugby academy. He then read for an MSc in Sports Medicine at the University of Oxford.

Dr O’Flanagan completed his medical studies at the University of Limerick and primary specialist training in General Practice via the Trinity College Dublin/HSE Training Scheme. He subsequently completed Higher Specialist Training in Sports and Exercise Medicine through the FSEM in Ireland. Previous roles in sport include Team Doctor with Dublin GAA (Minor and U21 football teams) and with rugby teams including Ireland Club XV, Ireland U19, Ireland U20 (Junior World Championships 2018 & 2019), Leinster U18, 19, 20’s and A teams. Dr O’Flanagan also acts as an independent match day doctor for concussion and injury recognition at 6 Nations and international rugby games. He regularly consults with individual elite athletes including Major winning golfers on the European and US PGA Tours.

Dr O’Flanagan is passionate about physical activity and is a strong advocate for exercise prescription in all populations. He played rugby at semi-professional level in the English National League and the All Ireland League and was a recipient of the Major Stanley Rugby Scholarship at the University of Oxford.

Dr O’Flanagan specialises in the diagnosis and non-operative management of acute and chronic sports injuries and musculoskeletal conditions in patients at all levels of sport and recreation as well as occupational related issues. Clinical interests include acute soft tissue injuries, concussion, illness and injury prevention in sport and diagnostic and interventional musculoskeletal ultrasound. He takes a particular interest in the medicine of high performance environments and works closely with elite athletes and teams to optimise performance and long term health.

Diploma of Sports and Exercise Medicine (MFSEM Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh)

Member of Faculty of Sports and Exercise Medicine Ireland (MFSEM)

Member of Irish College of General Practitioners (MICGP)

MB BS, University of Limerick

MSc Sports Medicine, Linacre College, University of Oxford

BSc Hons Physiotherapy, Oxford Brookes University

 

Current Appointments
• Team Doctor Leinster Rugby (Consultant in Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation) 2018-Present
• Medical Lead National Rugby Sevens Team (Olympic Games, Tokyo) 2021-Present
• Independent Match Day Doctor (6 Nations & Autumn Internationals, Women’s and Men’s U20’s 6 Nations) 2015-Present

Previous Appointments:
• Team Doctor: Ireland Rugby Team (Summer Series 2021)
• Team Doctor: Ireland U20’s (6 Nations Grand Slam 2019, Junior World Championships 2018, 2019)
• Team Doctor: Ireland Clubs XV (2015-2020)
• Team Doctor: Leinster Schools, U18 Clubs, U19’s, U20’s Interprovincial Series (2015-2018)
• Team Doctor: Dublin GAA (Minor’s and U21’s) 2016
• Sports Medicine International Fellow, Stellenbosch University and Western Province Rugby Institute (2008)
• Physiotherapist: St Mary’s College RFC (Leinster Senior Cup & All Ireland League Winners 2012)
• Physiotherapist: Sport England
• Physiotherapist: Rugby Canada (U19 Junior World Cup, Belfast 2007)

Orthopaedic Surgeons

Ray Moran Medical Director

Owen Brady

Jonathan Bunn

Neil Burke

Ann-Maria Byrne

Stefan Byrne

Noelle Cassidy

Gary Colleary

Denis Collins

Ruth Delaney

Professor Brian M Devitt

Michael Donnelly

Niall Hogan

Mark Jackson

Jim Kennedy

Pat Kiely

Paul Magill

Tom McCarthy

Johnny McKenna

Ronan McKeown

Gavin McHugh

Diarmuid Molony

Professor Cathal J Moran

Paul Moroney

Hannan Mullett

Professor Kevin Mulhall

Jacques Noel

Maurice O'Flaherty

Shea (James) O'Flanagan

Professor Joseph M Queally

Keith Synnott

Mihai Vioreanu

James Walsh

Dan Withers

Neurosurgeons

Michael Kelleher

Jabir Nagaria

Eoin Fenton

Nikolay Peev

Sports & Exercise Medicine Physicians

Ciaran Cosgrave

Philip E Carolan

Paul Dobbelaar

Stuart O'Flanagan

Ronan Kearney

Matthew Cosgrave

Colm McCarthy

Jamie Kearns

Maxillofacial Surgeons

Mr Padraig Ó Ceallaigh

Plastic Aesthetic and Reconstructive Surgeons

Richard Hanson

Patricia Eadie

Colin Riordan

Pain Management Physicians

Philip Hu

Kathir Tamilmani

Rheumatologists

Leah Rooney

Barry J Sheane

Catherine Sullivan

Radiologists

Joe Coyle

Brian Hogan

Mark Logan

Frank McGrath

Dr Oisin Flanagan

Respiratory Physicians

Rosemary O'Brien

Cardiologist

Brendan Doyle