Anthony Joseph Francis O'Reilly was born in Dublin on 7 May 1936 and educated at Belvedere College and University College, Dublin. He first played for the Barbarians at the age of 18 in the centre against Cardiff in 1955. He later switched to the wing and by 1963 had played 30 games and scored 38 tries for the Barbarians - both individual Club records that are unlikely to be surpassed. His try-scoring feats included a hat-trick against Leicester in 1957, five tries against Ontario and four against British Columbia on that year's tour of Canada, and in 1958 seven tries against East Africa. He also played in the Barbarian victories over Australia in 1958 and South Africa in 1961 and captained the Club against Cardiff in 1961. Further afield Tony O'Reilly won 29 caps for Ireland between 1955 and 1970 (when he returned for one international after an eight-year interval) and set new scoring records on two British Isles tours: in 1955 in South Africa he scored 15 tries in 16 games (including four tests) and in 1959 in Australia and New Zealand he scored 22 tries in 23 games (six tests). Away from rugby, he qualified as a solicitor, then became a global businessman and newspaper proprietor.