Jeremiah Paul Flannery (born 17 October 1978) is a former Irish rugby union player and current coach. During his playing career, Flannery, a hooker, played for Munster and Ireland, before being forced to retire in March 2012 due to injury problems. He joined Munster as a coach before leaving in 2019, and, in 2020, joined English Premiership club Harlequins as their lineout coach. Playing career Early career Although capped at Ireland Schools level while attending St Munchin's College (Limerick), and with a fine underage pedigree, Flannery had to wait patiently for his opportunities, but made the most of those that eventually came his way. He began his professional career with Connacht, where he spent two seasons vying for the hooker's jersey with Marnus Uijs. Munster Flannery then moved to Munster, where he initially found his opportunities severely restricted by the consistent form of Frankie Sheahan, a regular Ireland international. He did, however, make his Heineken Cup debut as a replacement against Stade Français at Thomond Park in the quarter final in April 2004, which Munster won 37–32. Following a serious neck injury to Sheahan in 2005, Flannery made the Munster Number 2 jersey his own. Voted Man-of-the-Match on his first try-scoring Heineken Cup start against Castres, Flannery's outstanding form and obvious ability to compete at the highest level meant that he was promptly called into the Ireland squad, and made his international debut against Romania in November 2005 where he came on as a replacement. He played a key part in Munster's Heineken Cup winning teams of 2005/06 and 2007/08. He missed the majority of the 2009/10 season through injury, playing only 6 matches, and also missed much of the 2010/11 season, again through injury, featuring only against Toulon in October and Ulster in January. His most recent injury occurred during the Ulster game. His last game for Munster was the above-mentioned fixture against Ulster in January 2011, a game which Munster won 35–10 in front of the Thomond Park crowd. Ireland By January 2006, Flannery was installed as Ireland's first-choice hooker, and played his first full international game against Italy in the RBS 6 Nations. He retained his place in the side that claimed the Triple crown in 2006, and was unanimously chosen as the Six Nations' best hooker of that season. In the 2006 mid year test series Flannery played all the matches against New Zealand and Australia