Category: Press

To limit Damian Browne to the confinement of any one box would be a disservice. Exuding a calm charisma and undeniable passion for what he has devoted his life to, a sense of adventure is at the very core of his being.

With over sixteen years of professional rugby under his belt, Damian has been using the world’s most extreme environments to test his physical and mental capabilities. Having trekked through the Sahara Desert on a 257km marathon and spent 63-days rowing solo across the Atlantic, Damian has decided to kick it up a notch. Between July 2018 and May 2020, Damian will scale the highest peaks of all seven continents. We caught up with the adventurer to ask the question on everyone’s mind; why?

Having carried out a thorough social media stalk, I saw ‘my life will be my masterpiece’ displayed proudly as Damian’s Instagram bio. “I’ve got one shot at this, and these are the things that feed my soul,” Damian says, delving further into the sentiment. “I want to explore myself and I want to explore the world. Adventures like these give me so much. When I look back, whenever it may be, I want to be very content, happy and fulfilled with what I’ve done. I feel I am on that path and I am very enthused and full of energy for that path, so I don’t see anything stopping me but me – and I will not let that get in my way.”

Leinster are prepared to sign former Connacht lock Damien Browne as a replacement for Nathan Hines, who will leave the province at the end of the season.

Browne (pictured in Northampton colours above), who currently plays for French outfit Brive, is out of contract with the French side in the summer and is set to return to Ireland having left Connacht seven seasons ago to join Aviva Premiership side Northampton Saints.

According to the Irish Independent this morning, Leinster set their sights on Browne once it became clear that former Perpignan second row Hines is to return to France next season to join Joe Schmidt’s former side Clermont Auvergne.

The former Ireland under-21 international, brother of current Connacht forward Andrew, has spent the last three seasons with Brive and although he did not feature in the Amlin Challenge Cup defeat to Munster at the weekend due to a back injury, he is in line to play against Biarritz in the Top 14 this weekend

Former Leinster and Connacht second row Damian Browne has opened up on his experiences rowing solo across the Atlantic Ocean – including the shocking moment where he capsized while asleep.

Browne traversed 4,800KM from the Canary Islands to Antigua, spending 63 days at sea on his own.

Speaking on The Left Wing podcast, Independent.ie’s rugby podcast with Laya Healthcare, Browne told Will Slattery and Luke Fitzgerald everything about the challenge, from the intense training needed to prepare himself to how he braved the elements for nine weeks.

It was ultimately an extremely rewarding experience for Browne, but it wasn’t without its obstacles. Two weeks into the row, Browne was given the mother and father of all wake up calls after smashing his face against the side of the boat after it capsized.

Damian Browne chose adventure after rugby and this month was supposed to see him scale his greatest height by taking on the world’s highest peak. Grounded by Covid-19, he tells Rúaidhrí O’Connor about how his life in sport set him up to take on the life of challenge he has chosen and also reveals what drives him to keep attempting the extraordinary. This interview was set up in different times, with different things in mind. On March 12, the day the first of the Government restrictions were announced by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar from Washington DC, Damian Browne arrived at the Library Bar in Dublin to talk about his latest adventure.Over an espresso, the former Connacht, Leinster and Ireland U-21 lock talked about the life-and-death decisions he would be forced to make when he was attempting to summit Mount Everest, the mountain that has dominated his thoughts for months.

Damian Browne still cannot swim. Rowed the Atlantic on his lonesome, keeps time with Olympians, did a 251km ultra-marathon across the Sahara and the big Galway man was geared to scale Everest when the pandemic took hold of planet Earth, his playground these past five years.

No problem. Browne simply replaced the experience of a lifetime with another. Plans are afoot to recreate Shackleton’s 800 nautical mile voyage from the Antarctic ice shelf to the South Georgia islands – with a unique twist.

But not so much as a doggy paddle.

“I don’t think you want to know how to swim in the Southern Ocean,” he laughs, “you want it over as quickly as possible.”

Browne used to be a rugby player. Sixteen seasons as a heavyweight lock for hire, leaving Connacht to join Northampton in 2004, with Leinster under Joe Schmidt sandwiched between two stints in France: come 2015 he cut the umbilical cord to his professional sport.

Since then he has covered more ground than the great explorers of the early 20th century.

Damian Browne has completed his incredible solo row across the Atlantic Ocean after 64 days and more than 4,800 kilometres at sea, describing the adventure as an unforgettable journey.

The former Connacht and Leinster lock arrived in Antigua on Thursday evening (7.40pm Irish time) after a gruelling journey that included capsizing on a number of occasions, battling high winds, blisters, head lacerations and a near miss with a cargo ship.

Last year fellow Galway man Gavan Hennigan completed the trek in an incredible 49 days and Browne set sail from the Canary Islands in December as part of the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge.

Browne came into this as a novice, preparing for the journey by rowing up and down the west coast of Ireland and has had to overcome huge hurdles on his way to completing the mammoth challenge.

One of the world’s foremost extreme adventurers, former professional rugby player Damian Browne from Renmore, along with lifelong friend Athenry’s Fergus Farrell are embarking on a journey that will take them across the Atlantic in 2022. In an unsupported row across the Atlantic, their row will see them take on 4,937 km across some of the wildest, most unforgiving ocean on the planet.The campaign entitled Project Empower was officially launched on Tuesday in Galway. The launch saw the two men rowing in a traditional Currach from Inis Óirr to Galway city to launch their 24-month studied endeavour in human empowerment. Project Empower is Learning Through Doing, Doing Through Living and Living Through Sharing. On Tuesday morning the 29th of September 29 we set off to row a traditional currach from the smallest Aran Island, Inish Oirr, 25 miles to Galway city to launch Project EMPOWER’s crowdfunding campaign.This traditional voyage symbolises what will be the last, triumphant leg of their Atlantic crossing in 2022, while promoting and respecting the seafaring heritage of Irish coastal communities.

Sixty-three days, six hours and 25 minutes. That is how long Galway man Damian Browne (37) spent alone at sea as he completed the 4800 km Talisker Whiskey Atlantic Challenge rowing race. His story from the boat perfectly encapsulates the grit and determination of extreme challenges like these. The highs, the lows, the struggles, the joy and the mental strength it takes to row across an entire ocean alone. To this day more people have summited Everest and been into space than have successfully rowed the Atlantic Ocean. And after reading this, you will understand why.

Former Irish rugby player Damian Browne proclaimed ‘never give up’ after completing his epic solo row across the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday evening.

Once a second row with Leinster and Connacht, Browne spent 64 days at sea and rowed an incredible 4,800 kilometres before he crossed the finishing line in Antigua at 7.40pm Irish time.

Damian Browne is a former rugby player with Connacht, Leinster, Northampton and French sides Oyonnax and Brive and since his retirement, he admits he lives an adventurous lifestyle.

Browne was a guest on The Hard Yards rugby podcast this week following his truly amazing solo row across the Atlantic.

It took him just 63 days to make the trek across to arrive into English Harbour (Antigua) in strong winds and on a choppy sea, to finish off his 4,800km journey which began in the Canary Islands.