Kevin McLaughlin (born 20 September 1984) is a retired professional

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 ...

player from Ireland. He attended the primary school Kildare Place National School and was educated at secondary level at

Gonzaga College Gonzaga College SJ is a voluntary Catholic boys' secondary school in Ranelagh, Dublin, Ireland. Founded in 1950, Gonzaga College is under the trusteeship of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), one of five Jesuit secondary schools in Irela ...

. He played provincial rugby for

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 ...

and used to play club rugby for

University College Dublin RFC University College Dublin Rugby Football Club is based in Dublin, Ireland, and plays in Division 1A of the All-Ireland League. They play their home games at UCD Bowl. The club was founded in 1910 and they won their first trophy, the Leinster Ju ...

until they were relegated to AIL Division 2. His current club is

St. Mary's College RFC St Mary's College Rugby Football Club is a rugby union club based in South Dublin, Ireland, playing in Division 1B of the All-Ireland League. The club was founded in 1900 by former pupils of St. Mary's College, Dublin and was originally known as ...

. McLaughlin made his debut for Leinster in a

Celtic League The Celtic League is a pan-Celtic organisation, founded in 1961, that aims to promote modern Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man – referred to as the Celtic nations; it places part ...

clash against Glasgow at Hughenden in March 2007, and his

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

debut against Toulouse at

Stade Ernest Wallon The Stade Ernest-Wallon (; oc, Estadi Ernest-Wallon, italic=no; ) is a multi-purpose stadium located in the Sept Deniers district of Toulouse, in southwestern France. Described as a "temple to the oval ball", it is the home ground for the rugb ...

in November 2007. On 17 October 2009, McLaughlin scored 2 tries in a

win against

CA Brive Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze department. They compete in the first-tier Top 14 competition. Briv ...

. In November 2009, he made his Ireland A debut in Ravenhill against Tonga XV and was called up to the extended

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 ...

squad for a test against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. On 20 January 2010, he was named in the provisional

squad for the

2010 Six Nations Championship The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Championship and the 116th international championship, an annual rugby union competition be ...

, and on 2 February 2010 he was named in the side to make his debut in the Six Nations' opener against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Croke Park Croke Park ( ga, Páirc an Chrócaigh, ) is a Gaelic games stadium in Dublin, Ireland. Named after Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is referred to as Croker by GAA fans and locals. It serves as both the principal national stadium of Ireland and he ...

. On 22 September 2015,

Leinster Rugby Leinster Rugby ( ga, Rugbaí Laighean) is one of the four professional provincial rugby union teams from the island of Ireland and the most successful Irish team domestically. They compete in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby ...

announced McLaughlin's retirement from rugby due to a history of concussions.

References

External links

Leinster profileIRFU profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:McLaughlin, Kevin Living people 1984 births Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players University College Dublin R.F.C. players Leinster Rugby players People educated at Gonzaga College Rugby union players from County Dublin