| Birth name | David Shanahan | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 20 June 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Dublin, Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 77 kg (12 st 2 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Belvedere College | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| University | Queen's University Belfast | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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David Shanahan (born 20 June 1993) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays scrum-half for Ulster.
He attended Belvedere College in Dublin,[1] and played for Ireland at U18, U19 and U20 level, but did not win a place in the Leinster academy. Ulster's then forwards coach Allen Clarke, who had coached him at under-age international level, persuaded him to join Ulster's academy, and he was assigned to club side Ballymena[2] while studying at Queen's University Belfast.[3]
He made his debut for Ulster while still in the academy in 2013,[4] and his first start in 2017, in place of the injured Ruan Pienaar.[5] Under coach Dan McFarland, he has mainly acted as backup to John Cooney.[6]
Ulster describe him as "a livewire scrum-half known for his speed, excellent support lines, and try-scoring ability".[7] Out-half Ian Madigan calls him "Ulster's unsung hero".[8]