Former Ireland fly-half Paul Burke will join Leicester from Munster at the end of the season. The 32-year-old will play out the rest of his contract with Munster before joining Tigers ahead of the 2007 campaign.
The former Bristol and Harlequins back, capped 13 times by Ireland - most recently in 2003 - is relishing the chance to make his mark once more in England.
"This is a fantastic opportunity for me. Leicester is a huge club with huge traditions and I’m really excited about being back in the Premiership. When a club like Leicester expresses an interest, you don’t have to think about it," he said.
Burke will team up with fellow Irish players Geordan Murphy, Shane Jennings and Leo Cullen at Welford Road, plus Leicester captain Martin Corry, who is a former Bristol team-mate, and his one-time Harlequins colleague Scott Bemand.
"Hopefully that will help me settle in easier and the transition won’t be that hard for me," he said. "They will know the way I play."
Connacht's Christian Short, meanwhile, has joined Northampton. The 26-year-old Short follows another lock, Damien Browne, in joining Saints from Michael Bradley's side and played in 27 of the team’s 28 games last season.
Northampton’s director of rugby Budge Pountney said: "Christian has developed and honed his skills while at Connacht and comes to Northampton with a good deal of experience under his belt.
"He is your traditional middle jumper in the line-out with good athletic ability and a good eye for the organisation of the line-out. He will complement our existing second rows and will add to the good competition we already have in that area."
