Pa O'Dwyer

Patrick "Pa" O'Dwyer (25 July 1985 – 3 January 2026) was an Irish strongman competitor and social media personality.

A regular entrant at the national strongman circuit, he won 2018 UK's Strongest Man competition as well as Ireland's Strongest Man competition in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021.[1]

Early life and career

Patrick O'Dwyer was born on 25 July 1985 in Rooskagh in County Limerick[2] and was nicknamed 'Limerick Lion'. A construction worker early in his career,[2] he was also a firefighter[3] at 'Newcastle West Fire Brigade' from 2010.[4]

In 2014, he was selected by Colin Bryce of Giants Live to represent their competitions. After his performance at Giants Live Poland and Strongman Champions League Finland, where he placed eleventh and twelfth respectively, he didn't get an opportunity again until 2017 when he was invited to Ireland's Strongest Man.[5] His career best performance came in 2018 when he won UK's Strongest Man competition, beating Laurence Shahlaei and Phil Roberts by one point.[6]

At international circuit, O'Dwyer was picked by Ultimate Strongman for their 2018 Summermania competition. Placing seventh, the following year he placed thirteenth at 2019 Arnold Africa. He was invited to the World's Strongest Man competition in 2020, but failed to qualify beyond group stages. In 2022, he placed second in the national circuit at Britain's Strongest Man competition. In 2023 and 2024 he was again invited to the World's Strongest Man but failed to qualify beyond group stages on both occasions.[7] In his final competition 2025 Europe's Strongest Man, he placed eighth.[8]

International strongman record

Winning percentage: 0%
Podium percentage: 0%

1st 2nd 3rd Podium 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 16th 23rd 26th 30th 57th Total
0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2 5 3 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 33

Personal records

  • Equipped Deadlift (with multi-ply suit and figure 8 straps) – 400 kg (882 lb) (2022 Giants Live World Open)
  • Raw Deadlift (no suit or straps) – 315 kg (694 lb) (2013 UK's Strongest Man)
  • Log press – 180 kg (397 lb) (2020 Europe's Strongest Man)
  • Axle press – 170 kg (375 lb) (2021 Giants Live Strongman Classic)

Personal life and death

O'Dwyer was a social media influencer focusing on areas such as satire and gym positivism. He had three children: a daughter and two sons.[2] He died on 3 January 2026, at the age of 40.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Pa O'Dwyer". Giants Live. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  2. ^ a b c "Tributes paid as 'Ireland's strongest man', Patrick O'Dwyer, dies aged 40". BreakingNews.ie. 4 January 2026. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  3. ^ O'Regan, Donal. "Heartbreaking recent post sums up late 'Limerick Lion' Pa O'Dwyer as €120,000 donated in a day". Limerick Leader. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  4. ^ Griffin, Jasmin (6 January 2026). "Funeral announced for Limerick strongman as famous friend fundraises for grieving young family". Independent.ie. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  5. ^ Mulraney, Frances (1 August 2018). "Irishman named the United Kingdom's strongest man 2018". IrishCentral.com. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  6. ^ Global Sports Desk (5 January 2026). "Who was Pa O'Dwyer? Ireland's strongman and five-time national champion died suddenly at 40". Times of India. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  7. ^ "Pa O'Dwyer". strongmanarchives.com. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  8. ^ "Pa O'Dwyer". www.strengthresults.com. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
  9. ^ Coussins, Jordan (4 January 2026). "Strongman turned hilarious Instagram star dies aged 40". birminghammail.co.uk. Retrieved 6 January 2026.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.