Humphreys joins O'Leary at London Irish

The 30-year-old outside half has followed in his elder brother David's footsteps in steering Ulster to a Heineken Cup final, but he had to be content with a seat on the replacements bench in the semi-final at the Aviva Stadium.

Head coach Brian McLaughlin opted to use Ireland Under 20 outside half and captain Paddy Jackson in the pivot role for the game against Edinburgh Rugby after Humphreys had started in 22 of the club's previous 26 Heineken Cup ties, including all seven that took them into the semi-finals.

It will be Humphreys' second spell in the English Premiership having previously played for Leicester Tigers between 2005-08. In that time he played for the Tigers in the Heineken Cup final against London Wasps in 2007, coming off the bench in the second half defeat.

He joined Leicester from Ulster and in his two spells at the Belfast-based club he has scored 617 points in 81 games. He has won honours with Ireland at U19, U21 and A level, and captained the Irish side at the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament in Hong Kong in 2005.

"I'm very excited to be joining London Irish. They play an attractive style of rugby that I am looking forward to being involved in, although my immediate focus is with Ulster as we prepare for the Heineken Cup final," said Humphreys.

Humphreys will battle with England international Shane Geraghty for the chance to link-up with Irish scrum half Tomas O'Leary, who has also signed a three-year deal with the Exiles after agreeing to leave Munster.

"It is fantastic to have Ian on board for the next three seasons. He will bring with him a wealth of experience and leadership qualities," said London Irish director of rugby Brian Smith.

"He is a constant threat with ball in hand and has a great ability to create space for his outside backs. He also has a fantastic kicking game.

"When I was previously at the club we tried to recruit Ian and Tomás O'Leary, now we have a pair of Irish half backs as good as any in Europe."