Mick Doyle (13 October 1941 – 11 May 2004) was an Irish rugby union international player and coach.

Youth and playing career

Doyle was born in

Castleisland Castleisland () is a town and commercial centre in County Kerry in south west Ireland. The town is known for the width of its main street. As of the 2016 Census, Castleisland had a population of 2,486. Castleisland was described by one of its ...

, County Kerry, and began playing rugby union at

Newbridge College , latin_name = , logo = Newbridge College crest.gif , logo_size = 140px , seal_image = , image = Newbridge College.jpg , image_size = 270px , alt = Newbridge College and the R ...

, County Kildare. He went on to study veterinary science at

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 member institution of the National University of Ireland. With 33,284 student ...

, who he also represented at

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

. He made his Ireland debut against

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

on 23 January 1965, scoring a try in the game. While representing Ireland he also studied at Cambridge University where he gained a

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

in the 1965

Varsity match A varsity match is a fixture (especially of a sporting event or team) between two university teams, particularly Oxford and Cambridge. The Scottish Varsity rugby match between the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh at Murrayf ...

against the Oxford University RFC. Doyle also studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and played club rugby for

Edinburgh Wanderers Edinburgh Wanderers is a former rugby union club, founded in 1868. It was latterly a tenant of the Scottish Rugby Union, playing home fixtures at Murrayfield Stadium for nearly 75 years. In 1997 it merged with Murrayfield RFC to form Murrayfie ...

before returning to Ireland. He went on to earn the distinction of never being dropped during his 20-

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

international career as a flanker. Doyler, as he was affectionately known, scored the winning try against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, toured Australia with Ireland in

and

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

with the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

the next year. His last game for Ireland was against Australia in October 1968, when he lined out alongside his brother Tommy.

Coaching

He coached

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 ...

to Interprovincial Championship success five times between 1979 and 1983 before he succeeded

Willie John McBride William James McBride, CBE, better known as Willie John McBride (born 6 June 1940) is a former rugby union footballer who played as a lock for Ireland and the British and Irish Lions. He played 63 Tests for Ireland including eleven as captain, ...

as Ireland coach during the 1984–85 season. Under Doyle's stewardship in 1985 Ireland won 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 * Tri ...

and

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

. He led Ireland to the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup, but that joy was tinged with sadness as he suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

at the opening dinner. He battled illness and adversity and his recovery from a

brain A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ in a ve ...

problem was chronicled in his book '0.16'.

Media

After retiring from coaching, Doyle became a TV expert on RTÉ television, starting with the 1991 World Cup, and continuing both on live coverage and their "Rugby After Dark" Sunday night highlights programme until having to step down through ill-health in the late-90s. Apart from working in his

veterinary Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

practice, he was a regular rugby contributor on RTÉ Radio One in the later years of his life. Mick Doyle was killed in a car crash in Dungannon on 11 May 2004.

References

External links

RTÉ News - Death of Mick Doyle

The Independent obituary {{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Mick 1941 births 2004 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of University College Dublin Blackrock College RFC players Irish rugby union players Ireland international rugby union players Irish rugby union coaches Munster Rugby players University College Dublin R.F.C. players Leinster Rugby non-playing staff People from Castleisland Road incident deaths in the Republic of Ireland British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Cambridge University R.U.F.C. players Irish veterinarians Ireland national rugby union team coaches Edinburgh Wanderers RFC players People educated at Newbridge College Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from County Kerry

Youth and playing career

Coaching

Media

See also

References

External links