Paddy McAllister (born 20 July 1989) is an Irish rugby union player and coach who played professionally as a prop for Ulster, Aurillac, Gloucester and Connacht.
Born in Lisburn, Northern Ireland,[1] McAllister grew up in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where his father was a Christian missionary and aid worker for Tearfund.
[2][3] He returned to Northern Ireland at the age of 14, and attended The Royal School, Armagh, where he started playing rugby.
[8] In August 2012 he sustained a serious knee injury while training in France,[9] and two months later his close friend and teammate Nevin Spence died, leading to a period of depression.
She made a full recovery and the child was born healthy, but McAllister decided that "family had to come first",[13] and announced his retirement at the end of the 2020–21 season.