Jimmie Ireland

{{short description|Scotland international rugby union player & referee}}

{{use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}

{{Infobox rugby biography

| name = Jimmie Ireland

| image =

| caption =

| birth_name = James Cecil Hardin Ireland

| birth_date = {{Birth date |1903|12|10|df=y}}

| birth_place = Glasgow, Scotland

| death_date = {{Death date and age |1998|10|25|1903|12|10|df=y}}

| death_place = Polmont, Scotland

| height =

| weight =

| position = Hooker

| amatyears1 =

| amatteam1 = Glasgow HSFP

| ru_amclubcaps =

| ru_amclubpoints =

| ru_amupdate =

| provinceyears1 = 1924

| province1 = Glasgow District

| provinceapps1 =

| provincepoints1 =

| repteam1 = Scotland U16

| repteam2 = Scotland

| repteam3 = Barbarians

| repyears1 =

| repyears2 = 1925-27

| repyears3 = 1936

| repcaps1 =

| repcaps2 = 11

| reppoints1 =

| reppoints2 = 0

| ru_ntupdate =

| coachteams1 =

| coachyears1 =

| ru_coachupdate =

| refereeyears1 = 1938-39

| refereecomps1 = Home Nations

| refereeapps1 = 5

| ru_refereeupdate =

| module2 = {{Infobox officeholder | embed = yes

| office = President of the Scottish Rugby Union

| term_start = 1950

| term_end = 1951

| predecessor = Hamish Shaw

| successor = Dan Drysdale

| prior_term =

| order = 64th

}}

}}

Jimmie Ireland (10 December 1903 - 25 October 1998) was a Scotland international rugby union player. He became the 64th President of the Scottish Rugby Union.{{cite web|url=http://en.espn.co.uk/scotland/rugby/player/3225.html |title=Jimmie Ireland | Rugby Union | Players and Officials |website=ESPN Scrum }}

Rugby Union career

=Amateur career=

Ireland was born in Sauchiehall Street and went to Garnethill Primary. He then attended Glasgow High School.

He played for Glasgow HSFP.The Essential History of Rugby Union: Scotland. Nick Oswald and John Griffiths. Headline Publishing. 2003

The Jimmie Ireland stand at the Glasgow club was opened in 2000.{{cite web|url=http://www.ghscl.org.uk/index.php/facilities/the-memorial-pavilion/81-ghscl/facilities/77-the-jimmie-ireland-stand |title=The Jimmie Ireland Stand |website=ghscl.org.uk }}

=Provincial career=

He played for Glasgow District in the 1924 inter-city match.{{cite web| title=Google News Archive Search | website=The Glasgow Herald | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=EphAAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PKUMAAAAIBAJ&pg=1945%2C4815645 | access-date=2020-04-04}}

=International career=

He was capped at the age of 14 for Scotland Schools.{{cite news|first=Robert |last=Cole |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-jimmie-ireland-1187529.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220608/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-jimmie-ireland-1187529.html |archive-date=8 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Obituary: Jimmie Ireland |website=The Independent |date=1998-11-27 }}

He received ten caps for Scotland from 1925 to 1927.{{cite web|url=http://en.espn.co.uk/statsguru/rugby/player/3225.html?class=1;template=results;type=player;view=match |title=Rugby Union - Statsguru - Player analysis - Jimmie Ireland - Test matches |website=ESPN Scrum }}

He was the last surviving member of Scotland's first Grand Slam side of 1925. In 1996, he opened a block of hospitality suites at Murrayfield Stadium each one bearing a name of that famous XV.

He swapped jerseys with Sam Tucker, the England hooker, after Scotland had beaten England at Twickenham in 1926. He was given a bill by the SRU for the loss of the Scotland jersey of 12 shillings and 6 pence.

=Referee career=

He was an international referee. He refereed 5 Home Nations Championship matches between 1938 and 1939.

=Administrative career=

He became President of Glasgow HSFP.{{cite web|url=https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12250159.jimmie-ireland/ |title=Jimmie Ireland |website=The Herald|date= 1998-10-26}}

He was a Chairman of the International Rugby Board. As Chairman, in 1949, he saw that Australia, South Africa and New Zealand were admitted as full members for the first time.

He was President of the Scottish Rugby Union for the period 1950 to 1951.{{cite web|url=https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/sru-files/files/SR_RR1819_digital.pdf|date=2018-08-16|title=Scottish Rugby Record 2018/19|access-date=2020-04-01|archive-date=16 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116210013/https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/sru-files/files/SR_RR1819_digital.pdf|url-status=dead}}

Outside of rugby

Ireland was an accountant. An anecdote he often told at rugby dinners was the time he asked his boss for Saturday morning off as he was playing for Scotland at Murrayfield. His boss replied: 'What? The whole morning?'.

References