Noel Purcell

Noel Purcell attended Belvedere College and Trinity College Dublin and as a swimmer won four Irish titles between 1911 and 1920 at distances from 220 to 880 yards. In 1912 he made his Irish water polo début and played for his country for 18 years. He was a late selection for the Great Britain squad for the 1920 Olympics but returned with a gold medal. Four years later, following the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922, Purcell became the first person to officially represent the two countries at the Olympics when he captained the Irish team in Paris. He was also selected for a third Games in 1928 but declined to play, because of pressure of business with his firm of Dublin solicitors. He also wanted to give younger players a chance,

Purcell was an Irish international roller skater, and was also an Irish rugby international and made his debut against England at Twickenham in February 1921. He played in all four matches as a No. 9 in that year’s Five Nations Championship. He remains the only Irish international rugby player to win an Olympic gold medal. He later became a rugby referee, and was in charge of the Scotland v England Calcutta Cup game at Edinburgh in 1927. He was also a member of the Irish International selection committee from 1939-41.