James Daniel Clinch (28 September 1901 – 1 May 1981) was an Irish medical practitioner and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

international who was capped in 30 Test matches 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 ...

from 1923 to 1931.

Early life

Born in

Clondalkin Clondalkin ( ; ) is a suburban town situated 10 km south-west of Dublin city centre, Ireland, under the administrative jurisdiction of South Dublin. It features an 8th-century round tower that acts as a focal point for the area. Clondalk ...

, Clinch was the son of the Ireland and British Lions forward

Andrew Clinch Andrew Daniel Clinch MD JP (28 November 1867 – 1 February 1937),Andrew Clinch player profile

. He attended both
Catholic University School Catholic University School ''(C.U.S.)'' is a private (voluntary) secondary school for boys in Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded in 1867 by Bartholomew Woodlock as a preparatory school for the Catholic University of Ireland, the predecess ...
and St Andrew's College.

Rugby career
Clich represented
Leinster Leinster ( ; ga, Laighin or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, situated in the southeast and east of Ireland. The province comprises the ancient Kingdoms of Meath, Leinster and Osraige. Following the 12th-century Norman invasion of Ir ...
in provincial rugby and won Leinster Senior Cup titles with
Dublin University The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...
in 1920 and 1921. A flanker, Clinch took part in the
1924 British Lions tour to South Africa The 1924 British Isles tour to South Africa was the tenth tour by a British Isles team and the fifth to South Africa. The tour is retrospectively classed as one of the British Lions tours, as the Lions naming convention was not adopted until 195 ...
, but didn't feature in any of the Test matches. This did still give him and Andrew the distinction of being the first father and son duo to have been on a Lions tour. His 30 caps for Ireland equalled George Hamlet's record for the most by an Ireland forward and remained a record until passed by
Ronnie Kavanagh James Ronald "Ronnie" Kavanagh (1931 – 13 July 2021) was an Irish rugby union player. He played in the back row for Wanderers, Leinster and Ireland. Career Kavanagh first came to prominence as a student at Blackrock College when he captain ...
in 1961.

Medicine
Clinch initially studied medicine at
Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...
during his playing career. He never graduated despite seven years of study and worked for a while as an insurance salesman, as well as serving a stint in the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
. In 1934, Clinch resumed his medical studies at the
Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...
and after graduating moved to Wales, where he worked as a general practitioner.

Personal life
Clinch was married with six children. His grandson is noted academic and economist
Peter Clinch Peter Clinch is an Irish academic and economist, who has served as Chairperson of Science Foundation Ireland. Career Clinch's academic specialisms are sustainable economic growth and environmental economics. In 2002, he co-authored After the C ...
.

See also
*
List of Ireland national rugby union players List of Ireland national rugby union players is a list of men who have played for the Ireland national rugby union team. Note the list only includes men who have played in a Test match (which includes those who played against the 1888–89 New Z ...

References

External links
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Clinch, Jammie 1901 births 1981 deaths Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Rugby union flankers Dublin University Football Club players Leinster Rugby players Sportspeople from South Dublin (county) People from Clondalkin People educated at Catholic University School People educated at St Andrew's College, Dublin Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Alumni of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Irish general practitioners