Pro rugby playing Limerick Uni law grad prepares to enter Love Island villa

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By Aishah Hussain on

Love-seeking lawyer-hopeful among three new contestants hoping to shake things up

Greg O’Shea (Credit: ITV)

A University of Limerick law graduate is among three new Love Island contestants joining the cast of the hit ITV show tonight.

Greg O’Shea, 24, a professional rugby player from Limerick, Ireland, studied law at the University of Limerick, graduating in 2017. A Twitter account bearing his name (since deleted) described O’Shea as a “law student”, while his Instagram features “Law?” in the bio. He has even shared a snap (below) of him clad in graduation robes and tagged “#Law” with his 24,000 followers. O’Shea, who represents Ireland’s national rugby sevens team (but is currently off-season), revealed plans to pass the Irish bar and become a lawyer in a recent interview with the South China Morning Post.

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Degree ✅ #HappyMomma #UL #Law #EasyOne

A post shared by Greg O’Shea (@gregoshea) on

For now it looks as if the Irish winger’s lawyerly ambitions are on hold as he prepares to spruce things up in the Spanish villa shortly after Joanna Chimonides’ shock departure.

The summer dating show is now in its sixth week, and with just a couple more weeks to go before the much-anticipated final, who does O’Shea plan to couple-up with? Speaking ahead of his arrival, O’Shea, who has been single for over a year, revealed he has his eyes set on fellow Irish Islander, model and grid girl, Maura Higgins. “Me and Maura will hit it off straight away,” he tells producers, adding “when I have a goal in my life, nothing really gets in the way.” We can’t wait to see how that plays out with Higgins having only just hooked up with professional ballroom dancer Curtis Pritchard in last night’s episode.

The athlete goes on to claim one of his worst traits is that he has an argumentative side that could come out in the villa: “I struggle to bite my tongue,” he admits.

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Smugglin’ ??‍♂️

A post shared by Greg O’Shea (@gregoshea) on

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O’Shea isn’t the first legally-minded Love Island contestant to appear on the show. Last month we revealed Leeds Beckett law grad Lavena Back entered the villa as part of a twist which saw 12 new singletons attempt to couple-up with the existing Islanders to keep their place on the reality show. Back was sent back home after failing to find a suitable match. Last series saw Rosie Williams, a newly qualified solicitor at Manchester-based law firm Just Costs Solicitors, appear on the show. She is yet to return to the law after claiming she earned her year’s salary in a single month since leaving the villa.

You can catch Love Island, which is narrated by University of Edinburgh law grad Iain Stirling, on weekdays and Sundays on ITV2 from 9pm.

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