Vincent McNamara

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Vincent McNamara
Date of birth(1891-04-11)11 April 1891
Place of birth
Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, Ottoman Empire
Height5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1]
Weight11 st 6 lb (160 lb; 73 kg)
UniversityUniversity College Cork
Rugby union career
Position(s)
Scrum-half
Amateur team(s)
Years Team Apps (Points)
1911–1914
University College Cork RFC
 ()
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
Munster ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
1914 Ireland 3 (3)
Military career
Allegiance United Kingdom
Service/branch British Army
Years of service1915
Rank2/Lt
UnitRoyal Engineers

Vincent McNamara (11 April 1891 – 29 November 1915) was a

Suvla Bay, Gallipoli, Ottoman Turkey, during World War I.[2]

Early life

Vincent McNamara was born in

Blackrock, County Cork,[1] one of the seven children of Patrick and Margaret McNamara to have survived infancy.[3] He went to school at Christian Brother's College in Cork from 1904 to 1911, and then studied engineering at University College Cork.[1]

Rugby career

After playing in his school's first XV, McNamara went up to University College Cork (UCC) where he played in 67 matches for the university, winning 44, drawing 9, and losing 14.[1] McNamara was selected to play three games at scrum half for Ireland. His debut came in the 1914 Five Nations Championship, away to England for the second of Ireland's games in the tournament, at Twickenham on 14 February.[4] He was one of three players to debut for Ireland that day.[5] The next game was against Scotland, at home on 28 February. Making his debut that day at fly half was Henry Walter Jack, McNamara's half-back partner at UCC and Munster, the pair known as "Macky and Jacky".[6] Ireland won the game two tries to nil, with McNamara scoring one of the tries.[4]

The last of McNamara's international appearances was against

Balmoral Showgrounds in Belfast.[2] Reputedly the most violent rugby match in history between Ireland and Wales, it came to be known as the "Balmoral Brawl", with the Scottish referee, J Tulloch, allowing the fighting to continue through the game.[7] The game was played in heavy rain, making it difficult to handle the ball. Ireland scored a try in the first three minutes to take the lead. The Welsh equalised before half time and in the second half scored a further two tries, one converted.[8][9] Wales won 3–11 and its pack was rewarded by Irish critics with the nickname 'The Terrible Eight'.[7] Meanwhile, the Welsh press reported: "In the concluding stages there was a slight tendency of rough play on the part of the Irish forwards.[10]

International appearances

Opposition Score Result Date Venue Ref(s)
 England 17–12 Lost 14 February 1914 Twickenham [11]
 Scotland 6–0 Won 28 February 1914 Lansdowne Road [12]
 Wales 3–11 Lost 14 March 1914 Belfast [13]

Military service and death

McNamara was studying engineering at UCC at the outbreak of the First World War, and being a cadet in the

Officers Training Corps, he was commissioned second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers on 20 January 1915.[14]

On 29 November 1915, after McNamara had detonated a charge under the mines which Turkish forces were using to deploy tear gas against them, he went down to investigate. However, he went before the gas had dispersed and was killed by it.[15]

See also

  • List of international rugby union players killed in action during the First World War

References

  1. ^ a b c d McCrery 2014, p. 122.
  2. ^ a b Vincent McNamara at ESPNscrum
  3. ^ Census of Ireland, 1911
  4. ^ a b "History – Archived Team History : Irish Rugby – Official Website". irishrugby.ie.
  5. hdl:10107/4095600
    .
  6. ^ "News". ucc.ie.
  7. ^ a b Jackson, Peter (3 February 2014). "'Grudge Match' has nothing on the Great War". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
  8. hdl:10107/3678135. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help
    )
  9. hdl:10107/4095910
    .
  10. hdl:10107/4012661
    .
  11. ^ "Ireland – England". ESPN UK.
  12. ^ "Ireland – Scotland". ESPN UK.
  13. ^ "Ireland – Wales". ESPN UK.
  14. ^ "No. 29053". The London Gazette. 26 January 1915. p. 916.
  15. ^ McCrery 2014, pp. 122–123.

Bibliography

  • McCrery, Nigel (2014). Into Touch: Rugby Internationals Killed in the Great War. Pen and Sword.
    ISBN 978-1473833210
    .
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