Peter O'Mahony, the former Ireland and British & Irish Lions flanker, has launched a home and garden brand called sow-sé with his wife Jessica, following his retirement from rugby last year. The venture, which went live in June, came after five years of secret planning.
Rugby career and retirement
O'Mahony announced in February last year that the 2024/25 season would be his last, having won over 100 international caps for Ireland and lifted five Six Nations titles, one as captain. He also toured with the Lions in 2017 and spent his entire club career with Munster, winning the United Rugby Championship in 2011 and 2023.
Since retiring, he has remained in rugby as a pundit for Virgin Media and helps out his former club, Cork Constitution, one night a week. Now, he is pursuing a career away from the game.
From pitch to garden
O'Mahony has been a keen gardener for years, sharing seasonal tips, lawn care routines and garden updates with his hundreds of thousands of social media followers. He grows vegetables including potatoes, beetroot, raspberries, apples and pears, and keeps the lawn at his home in Cork pristine.
The sow-sé brand combines the couple's passions for homeware and gardening, offering products such as pots, planters, storage baskets, room sprays, bags, clothing and books. They collaborated with Irish designers, illustrators and makers to build "a considered collection of products for people who care about their home, their garden, and the life that happens in between."
Name and future plans
The name 'sow-sé' nods to O'Mahony's past and new life: 'sow' for planting, and 'sé', the Irish word for his former shirt number, six.
O'Mahony told The Guardian this week that he has agreed to write a gardening book and has received suggestions about TV garden work. Asked about coaching at a higher level, he said: "No. It's a huge commitment and that's not on the cards for me. I've set up a gardening lifestyle business and I'm doing a bit of rugby work on TV as well."
On the Chelsea Flower Show, he said: "Our new business has garden planters and we're coming out with a range of tools. But I don't have the experience now of setting up a garden like that. That would be a big project. Maybe down the line."
