John Quirke (rugby union)

John Michael Thornton Quirke (born 26 June 1944) is an Irish barrister and former international rugby union player of the 1960s. He served as a High Court judge from 1997 to 2012.^[1]

John Quirke

Full name	John Michael Thornton Quirke
Date of birth	(1944-06-26) 26 June 1944 (age 81)
Place of birth	Dublin, Ireland
Rugby union career
Position(s) Scrum-half International career Years Team Apps (Points) 1962–68 Ireland 3 (0)

Born in Dublin, Quirke was capped three times for Ireland, with his first two appearances coming in 1962 while a Blackrock College schoolboy.^[2] He was still only 17 when he was called up to play scrum-half against England at Twickenham, a surprise selection which caused a great deal of media hype in the week leading up to the match.^[3] After performing well in a losing cause, Quirke retained his place for the next match against Scotland, before being discarded. He gained his third cap much later, as a stand in for Brendan Sherry in 1968.^[4]

See also

• List of Ireland national rugby union players