JORDAN CONROY didn't want to retire from rugby sevens but decisions made elsewhere forced his hand.
A year ago, he and his Ireland teammates were in Paris competing at their second Olympic Games in a row and finishing sixth.
Jordan Conroy retired from professional rugby sevens Credit: Sportsfile - Subscription 
He represented Ireland at two Olympic Games Credit: Sportsfile - Subscription 
He starred on Dancing With The Stars Credit: RTE Fast forward 10 months to May this year, however, and the IRFU cancelled the men's sevens programme altogether, citing "long-term financial sustainability".
The move forced their all-time top try scorer to contemplate his own future, ultimately retiring from a sport through which he had made his name.
Conroy's last act was to come second in the GMR Premier League with Delhi Redz in India at the end of June.
And the 31-year-old told the Irish Sun: "I always try and take the high road and not badmouth people who have employed me for years.
"I didn't say it at the time but I'll say it now, I felt disrespected and very embarrassed.
"I felt embarrassed and disrespected because they've taken away about 20 to 25 livelihoods there on the grounds that I felt were unjust.
"I don't know but this is what I think, I just don't feel they were sorry at all with the way the news was spread in the meetings.
"If it wasn't for David Nucifora (former IRFU High Performance Director) up there, they would have never really cared much for the programme."
It was a sorry final chapter to a distinguished career that spanned ten years, two Olympic Games, and a burgeoning public persona off the pitch.
After making his Ireland 7s debut in 2016, Conroy has gone on to become the nation's all-time highest try scorer.
When Ireland qualified for the HSBC World Seven Series via a tournament in Hong Kong in 2019, Conroy was top try scorer and named Player of the Tournament.
In the 2019/20 World Series, meanwhile, the Offaly speedster top scored with 30 tries and was named on the Dream Team.
Conroy was a key cog in the Ireland team that made its Olympics debut in Tokyo in 2021 and came tenth, a final position upon which they improved in Paris three years later.
Their final World Series campaign earlier this year ended with them coming 11th and suffering relegation.
But despite the sad end to his time in the green jersey, Conroy looks back with pride at the memories and friendships made.
He beamed: "It was literally a bunch of lads that did it for the love of the game.
"I'm really glad it was the way it was because we really worked hard and put our sweat, grit, and tears into that, to be finally rewarded with such a prestigious title of being double Olympians.
"I think it was worth every every damn minute, putting every minute of training and travelling to this place and travelling to that place to do training matches and everything without getting the recognition.
"That's what I love, and I'd do it again and I think it's a real true testament to the lads that came together at the very beginning.
"I made the comment, 'when no one believed in us, we did'. That's a true statement."
While a household name through rugby, Jordan Conroy was late to the game.
He initially excelled in athletics and soccer before prioritising rugby at 18 and joining Tullamore RFC and, in 2016, Buccaneers.
It was through Tullamore that he was first introduced to rugby sevens when it hosted a Midnight Sevens tournament in 2015.
And it was through this tournament that he first got to know future teammates Mark Roche and Foster Horan.
He explained: "Me and a couple of the U20s lads decided to put in a team together, and we were coached by one of our junior coaches.
"We put in together and got a quick rundown of the rules but, sure, I was just thrown on the wing, and all I did was catch and run around people.
"The following year, a team came down called Victoria's Secret, which actually Mark Roche was on.
"It was the Kilkenny College lads who all came together who played 15s and just said let's go play sevens.
"Foster Horan was there that year, too, who was also just beginning the sevens programme, and I played against him."
Jordan Conroy - top row, second from left - with Victoria's Secret And about that team name?
Conroy continued: "It was Kilkenny College first and then, the year after, we were called Victoria's Secret.
"We had all these blue and pink jerseys and I still have that picture actually. We were called Victoria's Secret, all playing in ankle socks and short shorts.
"They were all finished school, so they couldn't really go under the Kilkenny College name.
"I genuinely don't know why it was Victoria's Secret. I really don't know, but it was a nice name."
"I threw a tantrum, a hissy fit and didn't train and had my phone out in meetings and didn't get picked."
Jordan Conroy
Having made his debut in 2016, Conroy was called into the Ireland 7s team for the 2017 European Grand Prix.
By that stage, Conroy had already established himself as a talented 15s player with Buccaneers, while he was part of the Connacht Academy.
Prior to his call-up, the then-23-year-old scored 19 tries for the club and was named Ulster Bank League Division 1Bs Player of the Year.
And he carried that form into the Grand Prix, top scoring for Ireland with 17 tries - five more than a certain Hugo Keenan - as they finished second.
That earned them a place at a World Sevens Series qualifying tournament in Hong Kong the following year.
However, he was left out of the squad for that competition as Anthony Eddy's men lost to Japan in the semi-finals.
Conroy lamented: "I came back from an MCL injury and a torn quad and I remember it was the first time being in a professional environment.
"I got dropped from the Connacht 15s academy to continue in the sevens and I just wasn't happy with that decision.
"Then they wanted me to play and I was injured and I just really was such a child. I threw a tantrum, a hissy fit and didn't train and had my phone out in meetings and didn't get picked.
"We lost in the semi-final in Hong Kong against Japan and I remember feeling so, so bad for the way I behaved and acted and I had to go apologise."
Conroy had his chance at redemption one year later.
In April 2019, Ireland were back in Hong Kong for another World Series qualifying tournament, this time with the Tullamore native in tow.
And after promising himself that he would put his best foot forward, Conroy did just that with ten tries as Ireland sealed their place as a core team for the 2019/20 HSBC World Sevens Series.
After coming tenth and sixth in their first two years in the World Series, qualified for their first Olympics in June 2021.
They failed to get out of a group that also included South Africa, the United States of America, and Kenya and went home early from a Games constrained by Covid-19 restrictions.
It meant that, when they got to the Olympics in Paris three years later, they - and their female counterparts making their first appearance - could enjoy it for what it was meant to be.
They won two of three pool games before losing to Fiji in the knockout stages, but Conroy and co had made memories to last a lifetime.
Jordan Conroy after Ireland qualified for the Tokyo Olympics Credit: Getty Images - Getty He reasoned: "Running out for the first game against South Africa, the first game of the tournament competition, and I remember hearing the roars and the crowds and the vibration.
"It put me back a couple of steps because I was actually a little bit jittery and nervous.
"The first one just felt like prison. It just felt so pressurised.
"With Paris, being able to relax and having qualified so long before, it was just a dream and being able to relax and soak up what it is to be in an Olympics and around other athletes and being able just to relax, being in the city and taking it all in. That was really nice.
"The biggest difference was being able to have the family there to cheer us on for one last time as that team was changing after that."
With every passing tournament and show-stealing performance, Conroy's reputation grew off the pitch.
In 2022, he was a contestant on Dancing With The Stars and was paired with dancer Salome Chachua.
Despite initial struggles, they got to the final and ultimately came second to Nina Carberry and Pasquale La Rocca.
It was during this chapter that he got a glimpse into how his public profile can influence people in every day life.
"I've experienced toxic masculinity in my own family and what it did and the violence and everything so because I've had that experience, it's the only reason I felt comfortable talking about it."
Jordan Conroy
He revealed: "I think for about three, four months, people came up to me saying you should have won and you were brilliant.
"They said they saw a big masculine rugby dude in tight trousers and just dancing and having fun.
"Parents came up to me and were like, 'my young fella does dancing and when he saw you. It was so refreshing for him and gave him so much confidence.'
"That's the most fulfilling part when I hear things back like that."
Jordan takes his role as a role model off the pitch seriously, keen to be the positive male influence he lacked as a child.
While a proud Irishman, he spent the first ten years of his life living in Germany.
His mum Jennie was in a physically abusive marriage which came to a head when her then-husband threatened her with a knife.
Her son managed to flee and get help, potentially saving his mum's life and paving the way for them to return to safety in Ireland.
That experience has informed his actions on and off the field as he strives to be the kind of male role model he never had.
It is a legacy he wants to leave behind now that his rugby career is over.
He explained: "At first I really felt a little bit out of my depth because it's like, 'who am I to say what masculinity is?'
"I always wanted to have a positive impact.
"Because of such a huge young male audience and older men and dads, it's the perfect opportunity to use this platform to be able to talk about these things.
"I've experienced toxic masculinity in my own family and what it did and the violence and everything so because I've had that experience, it's the only reason I felt comfortable talking about it."
Harry McNulty and Jordan Conroy with supporters during the Team Ireland Paris 2024 team training before the Olympics Credit: Sportsfile - Subscription Throughout the conversation, one question feels needed to be asked.
Rugby is full of examples of players who have gone from rugby sevens to the more mainstream 15s.
A glance at the Ireland squad for the 2017 European Grand Prix featuring Conroy and you will see names such as Hugo Keenan, Nick Timoney, and Jimmy O'Brien.
After winning four Pro14 titles with Leinster and two Six Nations with Ireland - including the 2023 Grand Slam - Keenan returned to the sevens for the 2024 Olympics.
Given his own record with the Buccaneers and Tullamore, it is worth asking Jordan if a similar pathway was a possibility for him.
Not one for regrets, however, the Offaly man is not interested in looking back at what might have been.
He said: "I was taken out of 15s to be put into the sevens. Now that I'm older and realise the business that is involved in making decisions, I understand it.
"When I was 20/21, I really wanted to go off into the 15s route because I remember speaking to Nigel Owens at Connacht at the time.
"He said, 'if you really work hard, I can see you starting for the first team'. And that's what really got me excited.
"I needed to be up in Dublin doing the sevens and that really upset me at the time.
"It was all go, go, go, trying to hit goals and targets for this programme in order to make it a thing.
"The sevens route I did take, I think I'm happy. I was able to build a brand outside rugby going into TV, into media in that sense.
"I would rather be a double Olympian than a Lions tour."
And he's more focused on what's still to come.
He revealed: "I really want to pursue television and media. I'm really going to go hard at that.
"I also think I will do some public speaking about my experiences and talk about my life and how it helped me in performing in high pressure environments.
"I want to do some TED talks to the youth and I really want to work with kids."
With a laugh, he concluded: "I don't see myself working in an office job anytime soon."
Conory said he's happy with the rugby route he ended up taking Credit: Sportsfile - Subscription
