Hugh Patrick MacNeill (born 16 September 1958), commonly known as Hugo MacNeill, is a former

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player who played 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 ...

, Leinster, the French Barbarians and the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...

during the 1980s. During the late 1970s he also played soccer for

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 ...

and

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 ...

. After retiring from sport, MacNeill went on to serve as a director for Goldman Sachs. He has also worked as a rugby pundit for

TV3 Channel 3 or TV 3 may refer to: Television *Canal 3 (Burkina Faso), a commercial television channel in Burkina Faso *Canal 3 (Guatemala), a commercial television channel in Guatemala *Channel 3 (Algeria), a public Algerian TV channel owned by EPTV ...

and BBC Radio 5 Live.

Education

Blackrock College

MacNeill completed his secondary level education at Blackrock College. On 20 March 1977 he was a member of the Blackrock College team that won the Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup, defeating St Mary's College 24–12 after extra time at Lansdowne Road. The St Mary's team featured MacNeill's future

teammate Paul Dean. MacNeill scored a conversion and two penalties in extra time to help seal victory for Blackrock.

Trinity College Dublin

MacNeill subsequently attended

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 ...

where he earned a degree in economics and social studies followed by and a diploma in Anglo-Irish literature. He was elected a Scholar of the College in 1979 in economics and social studies. His lecturers included

Brendan Kennelly Timothy Brendan Kennelly (17 April 1936 – 17 October 2021), usually known as Brendan Kennelly, was an Irish poet and novelist. He was Professor of Modern Literature at Trinity College Dublin until 2005. Following his retirement he was a P ...

and David Norris. While at Trinity he played for both the

and association football teams. On 26 November 1980 he captained Dublin University to a 9–3 win over

The Colours Match The Colours Match ( ga, Cluiche na nDathanna) is an annual rugby union fixture between the University of Dublin and University College Dublin. Rugby matches between UCD RFC and DUFC predate the inauguration of "The Colours Match". Their first ...

. He also went on a rugby union tour to Japan and represented the team in games against both

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He played association football for both

and Dublin University A.F.C. In 1979 he was a member of the Dublin University team, coached by Liam Tuohy, that won the Collingwood Cup. MacNeill scored twice in the final as Dublin University defeated

Maynooth University The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (NUIM; ga, Ollscoil na hÉireann Mhá Nuad), commonly known as Maynooth University (MU), is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland in Maynooth, County Kildare, Ireland. It w ...

2–0.

Oxford University

MacNeill also studied economics at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. Between 1982 and 1984 he played in three Varsity matches for

against

but lost all three. He captained the Oxford team in 1983.

International career

Ireland

Between

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major off ...

and 1988, MacNeill made 37 appearances for

. He made his debut for Ireland on 7 February 1981 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 ar ...

at Lansdowne Road, scoring the first of ten international tries. In the same championship he scored a second try against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and a drop goal against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. He scored further tries against England in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., Un ...

and

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 th ...

in 1988. He also scored a penalty against Wales in 1983. MacNeill was a member of the Ireland teams that won the Five Nations Championship and Triple Crown in

and 1985 and shared the championship with France in 1983. He was also a member of the Ireland squad at the

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 ...

, where he scored four tries in Ireland's four games, one against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

, two against

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and one in the quarter final defeat to Australia. MacNeill made his final appearance for Ireland against England on 23 April 1988. Together with Tony Ward, Moss Keane, Donal Spring and Ciaran Fitzgerald, MacNeill declined to take part in the

1981 Ireland rugby union tour of South Africa The 1981 Ireland rugby union tour of South Africa was a series of matches played by the Ireland national rugby union team in South Africa in May and June 1981. The Irish team played seven matches, of which they won three. They lost the Test Seri ...

during the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

era. In the aftermath of the 1996 Docklands bombing, together with

Trevor Ringland Trevor Maxwell Ringland, (born 13 November 1959) is a Northern Irish solicitor, former rugby union player and politician. From June 2013 to July 2014, he served as Co-Chairman of the NI Conservatives. After attending Larne Grammar School, he r ...

, MacNeill helped organise a friendly between Ireland and 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 ...

at Lansdowne Road to show that the people of Ireland wanted peace.

British and Irish Lions

MacNeill made three test appearances for the

during their 1983 tour of New Zealand. MacNeill scored a penalty against

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

in the first of his nine appearances on the tour. He started the first two matches against the All Blacks before coming off the bench to replace Ollie Campbell in the final test.

French Barbarians

On 22 October 1989 MacNeill played for the French Barbarians against Fiji. Fiji won the game 32–16.

Later years

Between 1982 and 2000 MacNeill worked in London, initially for the

Boston Consulting Group Boston Consulting Group, Inc. (BCG) is an American global management consulting firm founded in 1963 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the Big Three (management consultancies), Big Three (or MBB, the world’s three larges ...

and later for Goldman Sachs. In 2000 he returned to

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

where he continued to work for Goldman Sachs as a director of their investment branch in Ireland. He has also served as chairman of several charities including GOAL, The Ireland Funds and the British Irish Association. In 2010 MacNeill married Dr Jennifer Carroll. Carroll is a UCD graduate,

Fine Gael Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil � ...

politician, barrister and author. In 2014 MacNeill was appointed chairman of a working group established to help bring the 2023 Rugby World Cup to Ireland. He also worked as a pundit for

during their 2015 Rugby World Cup coverage. He has also worked as a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live during Six Nations Championships. In February 2020, MacNeill retired from Goldman Sachs to stand for

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann (, ; " Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house). It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its ...

in the

(

) constituency. He came fourth, in a contest for three seats. He unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Dublin University by-election.

Honours

Rugby union

;

* Five Nations Championship/ Triple Crown : 2 **

, 1985 * Five Nations Championship: 1 ** 1983 ' ;

: 1 ** 1980 ; Blackrock College * Leinster Schools Rugby Senior Cup: 1 ** 1977 ;Notes * Ireland and

shared the championship in 1983.

Association football

;

* Collingwood Cup: 1 ** 1979

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macneill, Hugo 1958 births Living people Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Association footballers from Dublin (city) Association footballers not categorized by position Barbarian F.C. players Blackrock College RFC players Boston Consulting Group people British & Irish Lions rugby union players from Ireland Dublin University A.F.C. players Dublin University Football Club players Goldman Sachs people Ireland international rugby union players Irish investment bankers Irish rugby union commentators Irish rugby union players League of Ireland players Leinster Rugby players London Irish players Oxford University RFC players People educated at Blackrock College Republic of Ireland association footballers Rugby union fullbacks Rugby union players from Dublin (city) Scholars of Trinity College Dublin University College Dublin A.F.C. players Spouses of Irish politicians