Nigel Carr (born 27 July 1959) was an Ireland rugby union international whose promising career was cut short due to injuries sustained in an IRA bomb explosion.

Early life

Nigel John Carr was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

on 27 July 1959. He won Irish U-23 and 'B' caps in 1979 plus further 'B' appearances in 1980, 1982 and 1984, before winning his first senior cap in 1985.

Senior rugby career

Carr was renowned as one half of an extremely effective back-row duo along with

Phillip Matthews Phillip Michael Matthews (born 21 January 1960) is a former Ireland rugby union international. He was a member of the Ireland team that won the 1985 Five Nations Championship and the Triple Crown. He represented Ireland at the 1987 and 1991 ...

. They played together at

Regent House Grammar School Regent House School is a coeducational controlled grammar school in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland. It comprises two parts: the preparatory department, known as "the Prep", and the main school itself. It has over 1450 pupils from ...

, Queen's University,

Ards RFC Ards RFC (Ards Rugby Football Club) is a rugby club based in Newtownards, County Down, Northern Ireland, playing in the Ulster Rugby Championship Division 2. It is affiliated to the Ulster Branch of the Irish Rugby Football Union. The club cu ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

in the late 1970s and into the 1980s.Where are they now? Philip Matthews (Gloucester 21/1/60), Compiled by David Kelly published Wednesday November 23 2005
/ref> Carr made his senior international debut against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Murrayfield Murrayfield is an affluent area to the west of Edinburgh city centre in Scotland. It is to the east of Corstorphine and north of Balgreen and Roseburn. The A8 road runs east–west through the south of the area. Murrayfield is often con ...

on 2 February 1985 and was part of the

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

winning side of 1985. He was on the subsequent 1985 Japan tour. He won his 12th and final cap in 1987 against Wales at

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park ( cy, Parc yr Arfau Caerdydd), also known as The Arms Park, is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green. The Arms Park was host to the British E ...

. Carr missed out on the inaugural

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 ...

because he was forced to prematurely end his career through injuries due to an IRA car-bomb. On 25 April 1987, Carr, David Irwin and Philip Rainey had set off for a training session in Dublin before the World Cup. On that day the IRA had targeted Lord Justice Sir Maurice Gibson - Northern Ireland's second most senior judge - who was travelling back from holiday with his wife, Lady Cecily Gibson, and a 500 lb land mine was detonated at Killean, on the border, killing them both. The three Ireland internationals were on the same stretch of road when the bomb exploded and although miraculously, they all escaped serious injury, the explosion ended Carr's rugby career at just 27. Carr has been described as one of the best players to have pulled on the Irish jersey. Carr, although he never toured with the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

, did play for them against The Rest of the World in a one-off game in Cardiff in 1986. He also played for the

Barbarians A barbarian (or savage) is someone who is perceived to be either uncivilized or primitive. The designation is usually applied as a generalization based on a popular stereotype; barbarians can be members of any nation judged by some to be less c ...

Career and personal life

Dr Nigel Carr works for Invest NI in Belfast and previously also produced and presented a UTV sports programme, 'Sport on Sunday'.ITV 1 - Ulster Presenters

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Nigel 1959 births Living people Rugby union players from Belfast Irish rugby union players British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Rugby union flankers Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Ireland international rugby union players Car bomb victims People educated at Regent House Grammar School Ulster Rugby players