Eugene Davy

Eugene O'Donnell Davy (26 July 1904 – 11 November 1996) was an Ireland international rugby union fly-half.

Davy was born into an affluent family in County Dublin on 26 July 1904.^[1] He was one of nine surviving children of Thomas Davy, a merchant, and his wife Alice. According to 1911 Irish census, both Davy's parents were originally from County Tipperary and his family were living at 29 Terenure Road East, Rathgar.^[2] He attended Belvedere College where he was a contemporary of Kevin Barry. He attended University College Dublin and captained the university rugby team in the 1925–26 season.^[3]

Davy's club side was Lansdowne Football Club. The club won the Leinster Senior Cup five consecutive times from 1927 to 1931 and the Bateman Cup (the all-Ireland championship) on three occasions between 1928–29 and 1930–31.^[4]

He won 34 international caps for Ireland between 1925 and 1934. His debut was on 14 March 1925 against Wales.^[1] He played his final international against England on 10 February 1934.^[1] In his international career he scored eight tries and three drop goals and was part of the Irish team that shared the 1926 Five Nations Championship.^[1] In 1930 he made history by scoring three tries in eight minutes in a 14–11 win over Scotland at Murrayfield. As of January 2009, he is among the top twenty try-scorers in Irish rugby history.^[5]

He was manager of Ireland on their victorious 1967 tour of Australia.^[6] He also served as president of the IRFU in 1967–68.^[7]

In 1926 Davy and his brother James founded Davy Stockbrokers, now one of Ireland's leading providers of financial services.^[8]

He died on 11 November 1996, aged 92.^[9]

In 1999 UCD inaugurated the 'Davy Bursary' in his honour. He was one of thirty-two former Belvedere pupils profiled in Oliver Murphy's book Belvedere’s Rugby Heroes (2006).^{[citation needed]}

Footnotes

1. http://sv1.sotic.net/scrum/players.php?player=23770&includeref=dynamic%5B‍%5D
2. "National Archives". Census.nationalarchives.ie. 8 January 2009. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
3. Peter McKiernan (1999). "UCD News October 1999". UCD. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
4. "Style E 6360". Irish Rugby. 12 October 2006. Archived from the original on 20 November 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
5. "Player Statistics". Irish Rugby. 1 October 2008. Archived from the original on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
6. Alice Miles (13 November 2005). "Tamer of the Aussies". The Times. London. Retrieved 5 February 2009.^{[dead link‍]}
7. "Ex-Presidents of the IRFU 1950-Present". Irish Rugby. 11 January 2007. Archived from the original on 19 November 2007. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
8. "About Davy - History". Davy Stockbrokers. Retrieved 5 February 2009.
9. "Players and Officials - Eugene Davy". Scrum.com. Retrieved 5 February 2009.

External links

• A photograph of the Irish team that played England in 1926, Davy is first on the left in the front row.
• Davy's international career statistics