Big Red blazes his own trail by turning pro

Geesala is not an area known for its strong rugby tradition. However, Fiachna Barrett has paved his way from that corner of the Erris barony to a senior contract with Connacht Rugby.

Fiachna started playing rugby as a young boy with Ballina Rugby Club, his parents making the commitment of a 90 minute return journey from their home after some encouragement from his grandmother.

“I was always kind of a big enough lad growing up and I think when I was about four or five my gran was always hinting to my dad, because no one had ever played rugby in my family. And then I think when I was six, the nearest club was Ballina so my dad eventually bit the bullet and started bringing me out.

“From the first day, I kind of loved it. It was obviously a very big commitment because it's 45 minutes odd each way of a journey, it was a very big commitment for my parents.

“But yeah, I've loved it ever since. So, I started off playing under 7s with Harry West, we've been all the way up together.” 

Fiachna’s granny saw the potential he had to be a rugby player and how right her instincts were. He was big for his age as a young lad and now stands at six foot four inches and 131kg.

The 23-year-old wasn’t always a front row prop and made the transition to tighthead with the help of former Connacht player and current Ireland U20 head coach Andrew Browne, with the under-20s also helping with his transition into the professional gig. With no U20 team in Ballina, Fiachna had to make the move to Corinthians to get time under his belt in his new role.

“My first year I was literally just trying to learn scrummage with Brownie, who put a lot of work into me. But then second year there was 20s and stuff, so that kind of helps you out a bit. You kind of got a bit of a taste of all the detail and all that kind of stuff.

“As soon as 20s was done, we were kind of straight in with the pros full-time. I know I've only signed the contract now and I'll be starting next season but have basically been a pro rugby player for the last two years.

“It was literally from zero, I was as raw as you could get. To be fair to Brownie, we were out on the old astro, the side astro back in the day. It was literally doing bear crawls and stuff for hours, for months and there wasn’t even many props here in the academy so I couldn’t even go up against anyone.

“I wouldn’t have been good enough for a senior scrum so that’s when I asked to join Corinthians U20s because Ballina didn’t have an U20s team. I had to join Corinthians U20s and learn the ropes there. I enjoyed learning. Even today, you learn something new every that’s scrummaging, so it’s nice.” 

Fiachna, also known as Big Red, has just signed his first pro contract ahead of the 2026/27 season and has quickly become a fan favourite around Dexcom Stadium. The senior lads within the Connacht camp have been helping Fiachna with his journey.

“To be fair all the lads here have been so good. As soon as I came in, Jack Aungier, Dominic Roberston McCoy when he was here, Sam [Illo] is still really good to me, and Finlay [Bealham] obviously, when they see me doing well, they are happy. They help me as much as they can.” 

Rugby was not the only sport that Fiachna took part in during his younger years. He also rowed, boxed and played Gaelic football, but didn’t follow his first cousin, Mayo’s Ryan O’Donoghue, down the football route. It was Ryan who became the first in the family to take on sport at the next level while they are joined by another cousin Clara Barrett who is finding her own way in rugby as well, playing for Connacht and Ireland.

“Ryan is probably the first to break the glass ceiling, but my cousin Clara Barrett is on the women’s [rugby] team.

“There was no one playing rugby when I started, there was no one from Erris, even the whole place. I am not saying that I am the reason, but she kinda started because I was doing it and look how far she has gotten.”