Name Noel Purcell Role Player | Education Belvedere College | |
Died January 31, 1962, Dun Laoghaire, Republic of Ireland | ||
Noel Mary Purcell (16 November 1891 – 31 January 1962) was an Irish rugby union and water polo player. He represented both Great Britain and Ireland as a water polo player at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics respectively. He also played rugby union for Belvedere College, Clongowes Wood College and Ireland.
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He was a member of Dublin Swimming Club, Ireland's oldest continuous swimming club, founded in 1881. He is possibly the first athlete to have represented two different nations at the Olympics
Water polo player
At the 1920 Summer Olympics Purcell, together with Charles Sydney Smith, Paul Radmilovic, Charles Bugbee, Christopher Jones, William Peacock and William Henry Dean, was a member of the Great Britain water polo team that won the gold medal. Then in 1924 he captained Ireland on a team which also included fellow Dubliners M.A O'Connor, J.A O'Connor and N. Judd.
Rugby international
In the 1921 Five Nations Championship, Purcell played in all four games for Ireland. He made his debut against England on 12 February. He then played against Scotland on 26 February and Wales on 12 March. He made his final appearance for Ireland against France on 9 April.