- The 24-year-old Limerick native, who is working on becoming a lawyer, has a Hong Kong grandfather
- O’Shea, who recently helped Ireland down Hong Kong at the qualifying finals at this year’s 2019 Hong Kong Sevens, entered the show on day 44
Greg O'Shea is having quite the year.
In April he was part of the Irish sevens squad who downed Hong Kong in the final of the qualifying tournament at the 2019 Hong Kong Sevens. The win booked Ireland a coveted spot in next year's World Rugby Sevens Series. O'Shea's grandfather actually hails from Hong Kong, and emigrated to Limerick some 70 years ago to start up a Chinese restaurant.
According to a piece in the Irish Mirror, O'Shea, 24, who lives in Dublin, played for Ireland in France during the Rugby Europe Sevens Grand Prix Series on June 14, and then zipped off to the Love Island Villa in Majorca after finding out he would not be playing against Poland in a group match. The squad are currently set to take on Portugal on Sunday in the Cup quarter-final.
The rugby star is currently living in the famed villa used in the hit British reality dating show, "Love Island", which is filmed on the Spanish island. The show puts together single men and women who have to couple up with one another and win votes from fans. His sister noted in the Irish Mirror piece he was able to join the cast as he does not have any more rugby commitments until December when the World Rugby Sevens Series kicks off in Dubai.
O'Shea made waves when he joined the cast on day 44 and coupled up with Amber Gill of Newcastle, who has been in the villa since day one and was previously coupled with Michael Griffiths. Love Island has been on since 2015 and is in its fifth season, and will conclude on July 29.
The show is a revival of a previous iteration that started in 2005 and was called Celebrity Love Island. O'Shea, who now has 153,000 followers on Instagram, visited Hong Kong for the first timeduring the Sevens tournament earlier this year and spoke to the South China Morning Post about his grandfather, who still lives in Limerick.
Ireland have now qualified for an Olympic Repechage tournament that will take place in 2020 in an as yet to be decided place and time. Hong Kong will also get a chance to qualify for the Olympics this November 23-24 in Incheon, South Korea, in the Asian qualifying tournament.
On O'Shea's official Love Island profile, he states that he has been single for a year and a half after two long-term relationships and likes a girl who is confident but not cocky and does not take too many selfies.
Love Island is one of the UK's most popular and well-known reality TV shows. It came under fire recently as two former contestants committed suicide after appearing on the show.
Copyright (c) 2019. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.