// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Desmond McCourt say to the court? I'm in a suit-able position.
| Born | 13 December 1923 Portadown, Northern Ireland | ||||||||||||||||
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| Died | 21 April 2015 (aged 91) Aghadowey, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland | ||||||||||||||||
| School | Royal Belfast Academical Institution | ||||||||||||||||
| University | Queen's University Belfast | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Academic | ||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||
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Desmond McCourt (13 December 1923 — 21 April 2015) was an Irish academic and international rugby union player.
Biography
[edit]A native of Portadown, McCourt was the son of local councillor Harry McCourt and attended Edenderry Public Elementary School, before being sent to the Royal Belfast Academical Institution (RBAI). He learned his rugby at RBAI and captained the first XV to the Ulster Schools' Cup title his final year. After completing his studies, McCourt attended Queen's University Belfast on a Lord Kitchener Scholarship.[1]
McCourt opted to play rugby for Instonians during his first few years at Queen's University. He first represented Ireland in the 1945–46 Victory Internationals, but didn't receive an official cap until 1947, by which time he had begun playing for Queen's University RFC. His cap came as a number eight against the touring Wallabies at Lansdowne Road and would be his only capped appearance. As an Ulster player, McCourt also featured against the Springboks. He made over 40 appearances for Ulster.[2]
Graduating from Queen's University with a PhD, McCourt was appointed head of the newly formed Geography department of Magee University College in the early 1950s and in 1957 received a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship to Yale University, where he undertook research on the influence of Ulster-Scottish settlers to the United States.[3] He served six years as Chairman of the Northern Ireland Historic Monuments Council and was made an OBE in the 1990 New Year Honours.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Desmond McCourt". Portadown News. 21 June 1957.
- ↑ "Sporting Memories". Portadown Times. 8 January 1971.
- ↑ "Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship for Dr. Desmond McCourt". Londonderry Sentinel. 19 March 1957.
- ↑ "Historic occasion". Belfast News-Letter. 30 December 1989.
External links
[edit]- Desmond McCourt at ESPNscrum (archived)
- 1923 births
- 2015 deaths
- Irish rugby union players
- Ireland international rugby union players
- Rugby union players from Portadown
- Rugby union number eights
- Instonians rugby union players
- Queen's University RFC players
- Ulster Rugby players
- People educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution
- Alumni of Queen's University Belfast
- Academics of Ulster University
- Yale University fellows
- Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- Rockefeller Fellows
- Scholars and academics from County Londonderry