The Cork doctor who earned an Irish cap a year after first playing rugby

It was a cold but dry December day in 1930, and Jack’s college friend rushed up to the farmstead house in Ballynoe looking to tell his friend the great news.

On meeting Jack’s mother in the kitchen, he excitedly asked, “Where is Jack? There’s great news.”

Mrs Russell welcomed the friend, saying that Jack was working up in the fields and asked him to calm down and tell her the news.

“Jack has won his first cap.”

What a strange thing to say thought Mrs Russell.

“But Jack doesn’t wear a cap.”

Under the newspaper article reviewing Irish trials and selectors’ choices, a reporter wrote, “Russell’s Romantic Career; there is something romantic in the meteoric rise for fame of J. Russell, of University College, Cork.”

In a separate news article, a reporter wrote, “A Rugby Romance, the selection of J. Russell, of University College, Cork, to play for Ireland against is one of the romances of rugby football.

Twelve months ago, he had not even kicked a rugby ball, and only came into the game by accident.

A talented sportsman in Gaelic games and athletics, my father had been suddenly selected to represent his country in the rugby match between Ireland and on January 1, 1931, in Stade Colombes in Paris after playing rugby for just over one year.

How could a person, who had not even touched a rugby ball in his life, achieve such an accolade in such a short period of time?

It was the previous year in 1929, when Jack was training alone in University College Cork near the old Quarry where the UCC Rugby team was also training and one of Jack’s fellow medical students called him over and asked if he would fall into a team position as they were short one player.

Jack did so and found that he liked this new sport, and he was good at it.

The camaraderie of playing with his friends, from enthusiastic followers, and the status this sport had within the college, presented him with a level of fun, excitement, and great appeal.

Jack received basic training on the game of rugby from a fellow UCC student and rugby player, Donal Keating.

Within weeks, he was excelling in the sport and with the of coaching colleagues of Dr Jerome Connolly (captain of the First XV) and Dr David Barry, he was promoted from the Bulldogs to the senior team and – with much opposition from others – he was kept on the senior team.

Jack had great iration for Dr David Barry who he felt did more to promote UCC RFC than any other and according to Jack’s summary for the UCC RFC Centenary book in 1974, he wrote that Dr David Barry was one of the few people who was honoured with a Rugby Cap without actually playing rugby.

Jack was a convert to rugby, but he was also seen as a traitor to hurling.

The conversion did not go unreported and a ban he received from Gaelic games was not lifted until he was in his elder years.

When asked about his college life in 1974 for the UCC RFC Centenary book, Jack replied: “Today in UCC, games come very much second – study and progress are the order of the day and from a parental and educational point of view that is no doubt correct but, in our day, we obviously had our priorities wrong, and we really did enjoy university life”.

He was good friends with Dr Billy O’Sullivan of Killarney, a wonderful rugby player and golfer.

Jack described him as having a brain and a tongue to match and was an outstanding figure in his time.

It was under the reign of Dr Teddy McGrath, Rugby President, that every honour came UCC’s way– Munster Cup, League, Bateman Cup (All Ireland), Junior, and Minor Cups galore.

It was a glorious time for UCC RFC and a heady time for all those who lived and played through that era.

Early life

Jack’s parents, Margaret (nee Aherne) and John, were both from Great Island and married in November 1901.

They had a small land holding (20-25 acres) at Ballynoe in Cobh, Cork (formerly called Queenstown) and John’s occupation was as a shipwright, ships carpenter and a part-time farmer.

Jack, born in 1909, was one of their three children.

His sister Kate had an impressive sports career with Irish Ladies Hockey and was a very influential figure in the history of the Irish Ladies’ Hockey Union (ILHU).

Kate died in 1978 after 50 years of service to the game and upon her death, hundreds of condolences poured into the offices of the ILHU, from all corners of the hockey-playing world.

She has been honoured with the Kate Russell Trophy (All Ireland Schoolgirls Championship) which was first played for in 1980.

Her memory and legacy lives on through all those girls and women who continue to play the game and in particular through those who play in this competition.

Her sister Maureen (christened Mary) was also unmarried and held a teaching position at Loreto Secondary School in Fermoy, Cork.

She specialised in languages and with her ion for touring and exploration all over Europe on holiday time, she extended her teaching credential to most of the European languages.

The rise to an International

Jack attended secondary school at St. Colman’s College in Fermoy (1922-1927) where he excelled in his studies while developing great sporting potential in field athletics (hammer/shotput/running) and in the GAA (hurling and football).

He represented St. Colman’s College in the Dr. Harty Cup senior hurling championships of 1926 and 1927.

As an athlete, he was reasonably tall at 6 foot and was heavily built, large, very fit and was surprisingly very fast at pace while still being very strong.

Jack entered UCC to study medicine and continued to develop his sporting interests in athletics and Gaelic games.

He was a member of the UCC team that won the Fitzgibbon Cup in 1928 and 1929, but his subsequent move to UCC RFC meant he missed out on the continued UCC wins of the Fitzgibbon Cup in 1930, 1931, and 1933.

Jack first ed the rugby team in 1929 and became captain of the UCC first team in the 1932-1933 session.

Those glorious years when Jack was with UCC RFC, they banked all the wins and honours available with Munster Junior Cup win in 1933; Munster Senior Cup wins in 1935, 1936, 1937; All Ireland Bateman Cup win in 1936, Senior League win in 1936; Cork Charity Cup win in 1936; and Musgrave Cup Seven-a-Side team win in 1936.

Soon after ing the team, he was selected to play with the Munster inter-provincial team and accomplished memorable competitive games and wins against the other provinces.

It was indeed a great surprise that, within a very short time of taking up the rugby game, in December 1930 he was selected to play for Ireland against at second row forward position.

Jack was also invited to play with the Barbarian Football Club, starting with the Easter 1931 tour with games against Penarth, Cardiff, Swansea, and Newport in April 1931.

His determination and talent won over the public, critics, journalists and selectors, and Jack went on to play 19 times for Ireland between 1931 and 1937.

In many newspaper articles reviewing his play at college, inter-provincial, and international games, Russell was frequently described as the “best forward on the field.”

One notable article by a sports critic in the London Evening News, commenting on the recent matches played by the Barbarians selection in Wales, includes J. Russell, the Irish international, among the big successes of the tour.

Russell, the reporter adds, “played the game of his life, and I suppose there is hardly anyone who will disagree with the opinion that he is the best forward in the four countries. His style is reminiscent of Wakefield at its best.”

Following the 1934 season, a newspaper article reviewing the Irish trials and selection wrote, “Russell is still one of the best forwards playing.”

Even when Ireland lost their international games such as the Ireland v. Scotland in February 1934 in Murrayfield, the following newspaper article described, “Goal-Kicking Decides International, the Irish Forwards’ Big Effort to Save the Game.” The article concluded, “No blame could in any way be attached to the Irish forwards for the defeat. The best Irish forward, as well as the best forward on the ground, was J. Russell.”

In the Ireland v England defeat in February 1935, newspaper articles and reviews of the game described, “Russell was outstanding. I do not know whether Russell or J.A. Beattie is the best forward playing at present and strangely enough, they are both second-row forwards.”

Separate reviews of the same match wrote, “Nobody could find fault with the Irish forwards in the loose – all trying to play to the standard set by Jack Russell, who played a thundering game throughout and was the best forward on the field, they had the English pack well in hand here.”

Overall, it was evident from all match reviews and newspaper articles that Jack Russell was viewed as one of the best forwards to play the game of rugby during this era.

It was a time of great disappointment, speculation, and bewilderment to the Irish selectors that Jack decided to abstain from selection for the England, Scotland, and Wales games in the 1932 Triple Crown season as he needed to focus on his important medical college examinations.

Under the newspaper article heading, “A Loss to Ireland – J. Russell Forbidden to Play in Internationals; the loss of Russell (for rest of 1932 session) which is a serious one for Ireland is occasioned through the fact that it has been decided that he cannot play again until after an examination in March 1932. This has led to changes on the trial teams. It has not been decided who will be moved from the Whites forward division to fill Russell’s place on the Blues team. It appears that owing to his preparations for an examination, Russell will not play any more football until March. This means that one of our best forwards will not be available to play against either England or Scotland and his place in the second row of the scrimmage will be difficult to fill satisfactorily.”

At a time when international tours were not organised, and was removed from the championship competition between 1932 and 1947, Ireland only had 24 international game fixtures between 1931-1937 so the selection rate for Jack was considered very high.

Later life

When Jack qualified as a medical doctor, he went to England to continue his training as a GP and used his spare time to continue to play rugby with local English clubs.

He returned to live in Ballynoe in Cobh and during the Second World War he ed the Irish Army as a doctor/medic with the rank of Captain and was stationed at Collins Barracks Cork.

During the war period, he also took an active role in the Irish Red Cross.

He also took on a coaching role of the UCC Senior Rugby team in the early 1940s.

He married Marie Quillinan in 1944 who lived at Park View (subsequently named Station View).

Her family ran a guest and public house at 87 (Lower Glanmire) Road but also, they had a holiday home at Carrigaloe in Cobh.

Jack and Marie started their married life when Jack was still stationed in Collins Barracks Cork and lived in Ballintemple Cork.

He got his first GP appointment in Goleen in West Cork, where five of Jack and Marie’s seven children were born.

He loved West Cork with such a rural and simple lifestyle which reminded him of his younger days on the small farm in Ballynoe.

As a respected member of the community, he became the local advisory council on all things medical, dental, veterinarian, mental, legal, spiritual, social and many others.

He specialised in intricate open-wound stitching and took great pleasure in elaborate but robust wound dressings.

Unfortunately, Jack was not a great businessman, and he frequently relinquished payment for his medical services for a cup of tea, a slice of fresh bastable cake and a chat by the open fire.

He was always available and went out to all calls made on him, be it in the middle of the night, in all weather, or on vacation times.

He felt lucky sometimes if he got paid in barter with some potatoes or vegetables or unlucky if offered some locally produced poteen.

Unfortunately, there was limited opportunities for growth and development of his family in Goleen, and with reluctance, Jack and Marie decided to move to Blarney in 1954.

His love of West Cork continued throughout his family life with regular visits and holiday time spent in the area.

Jack developed a strong GP practice in Blarney and its surrounding areas with a new clinic set up in the Rathduff/Grenagh area and became very active in local community groups.

He was an old-style GP and remained committed to achievement through hard work and was very committed to his patients.

He was a workaholic and between scheduled medical clinics (including nightly at his home) he was always on call.

Even though Jack’s family had a comfortable lifestyle growing up, he always considered himself a working-class man and enjoyed doing physical work and enjoying the pleasures of traditional local food, storytelling, card games, the singing of Irish folk songs and the odd drop of whiskey or brandy on special occasions.

He continued to maintain strong links with St. Colman’s College throughout his life and in 1960-1961 was president of the Past Pupils Union.

He joked at the annual college banquet celebrations in December 1960 that he was delighted to announce the birth of his fourth son and now had the right quota to shoulder his coffin.

He was called back up as an army medic reserve in 1969 with the start of conflicts in Northern Ireland.

Jack loved the time he spent in the army, and he continued to provide medical services for the Irish army in his rank of Captain (medic) spending time each week at Collins Barracks in Cork.

He continued his sporting interests with for local rugby clubs, took on a coaching role with Highfield RFC in Cork, and promoted the underage GAA game in Blarney.

Jack is also ed through the Jack Russell Cup which was presented to the local Cobh Pirates RFC by the Russell family after Jack’s death.

Maureen died in December 1976 and Jack and Kate died soon after in 1977 and 1978 respectively.

He was honoured with a military funeral with a tricolour draped over his coffin.

His four sons and two sons-in law were proud to shoulder his coffin to his final resting place.

All his siblings are buried with their parents at St. Colman’s cemetery in Cobh.