James Joseph McCoy (born 28 June 1958), also referred to as J.J. McCoy or Jimmy McCoy, is a former Ireland rugby union international. He was a member of the Ireland team that won the

1985 Five Nations Championship The 1985 Five Nations Championship was the fifty-sixth series of the rugby union Five Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the ninety-first series of the northern hemisphere rugby ...

and the Triple Crown. He also represented Ireland at the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

. While playing for Ireland, McCoy was also a serving

Royal Ulster Constabulary The Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) was the police force in Northern Ireland from 1922 to 2001. It was founded on 1 June 1922 as a successor to the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC)Richard Doherty, ''The Thin Green Line – The History of the Royal ...

officer.

Playing career

Clubs and province

McCoy played rugby union at senior club level for

Dungannon Dungannon () is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is the second-largest town in the county (after Omagh) and had a population of 14,340 at the 2011 Census. The Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council had its headquarters in the ...

and Bangor. He also played for

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

in the IRFU Interprovincial Championship, making his debut against

Munster Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...

at Ravenhill in 1978 aged 19. On 14 November

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

McCoy was a member of an Ulster team that defeated a touring

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

15–13 at Ravenhill.

Ireland

Between

and

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

McCoy made 16 full senior appearances for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. He had previously represented Ireland at Under-23 and B levels. He made his senior debut on 4 February 1984 against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

in an 18–9 defeat. He was a member of the Ireland team that won

and the Triple Crown. He also represented Ireland at the

. McCoy made his final appearance for Ireland on 18 November 1989 against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. ;Notes

RUC officer

McCoy joined the

on leaving school and was a serving officer during

the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

. He initially served in

as a community officer. However he was subsequently transferred to Bangor. In a 2012 ''

Irish Examiner The ''Irish Examiner'', formerly ''The Cork Examiner'' and then ''The Examiner'', is an Irish national daily newspaper which primarily circulates in the Munster region surrounding its base in Cork, though it is available throughout the country. ...

'' interview with his former

teammate,

Donal Lenihan Donal Gerard Lenihan (born 12 September 1959) is a retired Irish rugby union player. He appears regularly as a co-commentator on TV and radio for rugby matches and writes for the Irish Examiner. He also works as a financial consultant in Cork. ...

, McCoy says he was moved after the RUC received a warning of a threat to his life. McCoy denied receiving a bullet in the post from the

IRA Ira or IRA may refer to: *Ira (name), a Hebrew, Sanskrit, Russian or Finnish language personal name *Ira (surname), a rare Estonian and some other language family name *Iran, UNDP code IRA Law *Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, US, on status of ...

. When travelling to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

to play for Ireland, McCoy was escorted by Garda Síochána Special Branch officers.

Honours

;

* Five Nations Championship **''Winners'':

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

* Triple Crown **''Winners'':

;

* IRFU Interprovincial Championship **''Winners'': ???

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, J. J 1958 births Living people Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Ireland Wolfhounds international rugby union players Dungannon RFC players Ulster Rugby players Royal Ulster Constabulary officers Rugby union props Police officers from County Fermanagh Rugby union players from County Fermanagh Sportspeople from Enniskillen 1987 Rugby World Cup players Bangor RFC (Northern Ireland) players