James Ronald "Ronnie" Kavanagh (1931 – 13 July 2021) was an Irish

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. He played in the back row for Wanderers,

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

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 ...

Career

Kavanagh first came to prominence as a student at

Blackrock College Blackrock College ( ga, Coláiste na Carraige Duibhe) is a voluntary secondary school, voluntary day school, day and boarding school, boarding Catholicism, Catholic secondary school for boys aged 13–18, in Williamstown, Blackrock, Dublin, Bl ...

when he

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

ed the college rugby team in the Leinster Senior Cup. He and his brothers, Paddy and Gene, all played in the back row for Wanderers, before all three brothers later played for

. After a tour of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

with

in 1952, Kavanagh won 35 caps for the national team between 1953 and 1962. He was inducted into the Rugby Writers’ of Ireland Hall of Fame in 2009 and in 2011 he was named in

University College Dublin University College Dublin (commonly referred to as UCD) ( ga, Coláiste na hOllscoile, Baile Átha Cliath) is a public research university in Dublin, Ireland, and a collegiate university, member institution of the National University of Ireland ...

's Team of the Century.

Personal life and death

A graduate of

, Kavanagh was a chartered accountant and a successful businessman. He also was active in a property company with his two brothers and his son, Rees. Ronnie married Kathleen Knight in 1957. He died at his home surrounded my family in

Sandycove Sandycove () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is southeast of Dún Laoghaire and Glasthule, and northwest of Dalkey. It is a popular seaside resort and is well known for its bathing place, the Forty Foot, which in the past was reserved for me ...

on 13 July 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kavanagh, Ronnie 1931 births 2021 deaths Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Leinster Rugby players Wanderers F.C. (rugby union) players Blackrock College RFC players Rugby union players from Dublin (city) Rugby union flankers