Gerard Culliton (15 June 1936 – 7 September 2012) was an Irish international rugby union player. A native of Clonaslee in

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...

, he won 19 caps for Ireland, playing in four different positions.

Career

Culliton was educated at

Cistercian College, Roscrea Cistercian College, Roscrea or Roscrea College is a private boarding school in Ireland. It is a Roman Catholic seven-day and five-day boarding and day school for boys, founded in 1905. Its pupil population is primarily made up of boarding stud ...

. While at school he played

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

and represented Laois GAA at junior level. He was going to be called up to the Laois senior team but was invited by a friend to play a rugby match for Tullamore RFC. He played the match under a pseudonym however later received a phone call from the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) stating he had been seen playing rugby and was thus banned from playing Gaelic games under

Rule 27 Rule 27 of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA), also known as "the Ban", was a rule in force from 1905 to 1971 that banned members of the GAA from playing or watching other sports such as rugby, soccer or hockey. The rule The text of Rule 27

which prohibited any GAA player from playing rugby, football, hockey or cricket at the time. After playing for Tullamore for two years, Culliton moved to Wanderers in Dublin, where he played for seventeen years. He went on to play provincial rugby for Leinster and then received a call-up to the

Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Champi ...

, making his debut against England in 1959 at Lansdowne Road. He played for Ireland for ten years. He also played for the Barbarians against South Africa national rugby union team and New Zealand. In the 1970s, he started coaching

Portlaoise RFC Portlaoise RFC is an Irish rugby team based in Portlaoise, Leinster, playing in Division 1B of the Leinster League The Leinster League is the second tier of rugby in Leinster, behind the Leinster Senior League. It has five divisions. The champ ...

. In 1971, the GAA repealed Rule 27, allowing Culliton to rejoin the GAA. He started coaching hurling for Clonaslee-St.Manmans GAA and coached them to their first Laois Senior Hurling Championship since 1910 when Laois was still Queen's County.

Personal life

Culliton was a Christian and carried out the Lough Derg pilgrimage fifty times. Away from rugby, he worked as a farmer. He had six children, with his son Garrett representing

Ireland at the Paralympics A team representing Ireland has competed at every Summer Paralympic Games but the country has never taken part in the Winter Paralympics. Irish athletes have won 178 Summer Paralympic medals, 47 gold, 57 silver and 74 bronze. Paralympics Ireland ...

four times. He died on 7 September 2012.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Culliton, Gerard 1936 births 2012 deaths Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union players from County Laois Irish farmers Barbarian F.C. players Wanderers F.C. (rugby union) players Laois hurlers People educated at Cistercian College, Roscrea