[2] Along with Les O'Connell, Conrad Robertson and Keith Trask he won gold in the coxless four at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

[5] He moved to England in the early 1990s where he worked as a teacher and coached rowing at Latymer Upper School, Hammersmith.

He worked closely with the Latymer Upper School boatman at the time, Coyne T. Mullen.

[9] Before he left Shiplake College, a new coxless four boat purchased by the school was named for O'Brien.

[8] He became headmaster of Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai, UAE) in mid-2011, and director in September 2019.