Robin Roe (11 October 1928 – 15 July 2010) was an Irish clergyman known for his work as an army chaplain, and a
rugby union
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
player.
Early life and education
Roe was born in Skeirke,
Borris-in-Ossory
Borris-in-Ossory (, or the ' Burgage of Osraige') is a village in west County Laois, Ireland, close to the Tipperary border and the M7 motorway.
Features
The village has facilities such as a school, churches, community hall, convenience reta ...
,
County Laois
County Laois ( ; ) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medieval kingdom. Hist ...
. He started playing rugby at
The King's Hospital
The Hospital and Free School of King Charles II, Oxmantown, also called The King's Hospital (KH; ) is a Church of Ireland co-educational independent day school, day and boarding school situated in Palmerstown, County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, ...
school,
Dublin
Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
when he was ten years old. After studying at
Trinity College Trinity College may refer to:
Australia
* Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales
* Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...
, he was ordained a
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions.
Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...
in the
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
Diocese of Dublin and Glendalough
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
from 1953 to 1955.
Rugby career
Roe was first selected to play for the
Barbarians
A barbarian is a person or tribe of people that is perceived to be primitive, savage and warlike. Many cultures have referred to other cultures as barbarians, sometimes out of misunderstanding and sometimes out of prejudice.
A "barbarian" may ...
while studying at Trinity College in 1951. He played in a total of eleven matches for the Barbarians and scored two tries. From 1952 to 1957 Roe played in twenty-one matches for 's national rugby team as hooker.
In 1955 Roe toured with the
British and Irish Lions
The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England national rugby union team, England, Ireland national rugby union team, Ireland, Scotland national rugby union team, Scotland, and ...
in South Africa, where he played approximately a dozen games (two as
prop
A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...
) and scored a try against
Griqualand West
Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, w ...
. After injuring his ribs early in the tour, his appearances were limited but he still played when required. The tour lasted four months, and Roe's roommates were the 19-year-old
Tony O'Reilly
Sir Anthony John Francis O'Reilly (7 May 1936 – 18 May 2024) was an Irish businessman and international rugby union player. He was known for his try scoring in rugby, his involvement in the Independent News & Media Group, which he led from ...
, Bill Williams and
Bryn Meredith
Brinley "Bryn" Victor Meredith Scrum.com (born 21 October 1930 in
. Roe found the rugby in South Africa more demanding than he was accustomed to in Ireland, and he admired the consistent play of O'Reilly. He disliked South Africa's
apartheid
Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
system as opposed to his beliefs as a priest. Roe's twenty-inch neck brought some ribbing from his teammates. The
Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
on the team joked that he had a great neck for a
Roman collar
A clerical collar, Roman collar, clergy collar, or, informally, dog collar, is an item of Christian clerical clothing.
Overview
The clerical collar is almost always white and was originally made of cotton or linen but is now frequently made of pl ...
.
In 1955 as an army chaplain based near London, he played about fifteen games for
London Irish
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club that most recently competed in the Premiership Rugby, Premiership, the top division of rugby union in England. The club also participated in the European Rugby Champions Cup, European Champion ...
. Roe thought that Sunbury, the home base of the London Irish, was enjoyable; while the training at London Irish was rigorous, Roe believed that the team at Lansdowne was more settled. Roe regarded fellow hooker
Karl Mullen
Dr Karl Daniel Mullen (26 November 1926 – 27 April 2009) was an Irish rugby union player and consultant gynaecologist who captained the Irish rugby team and captained the British Lions on their 1950 tour to Australia and New Zealand.
Mull ...
, the man he replaced in the Ireland number 2 jersey and the captain of Ireland and the 1950 British and Irish Lions, as his toughest opponent.
In the summer of 1957 Roe was a member of the first Barbarians side to tour outside Britain or Ireland. The team's tour of Canada was a success, with a 6–0 won-lost record and a 227–23 points for-against ratio.
Army chaplaincy
Roe joined the British Army in 1955, when he was commissioned (on a
Short Service Commission
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...
) into the
Royal Army Chaplains' Department
The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer department that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army.
History
The Army Chaplains' Department (AChD) was formed by Royal Warrant of 23 September 1796; until the ...
as a Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class (equivalent to a
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
in all other units, chaplains are traditionally addressed as padre regardless of rank). He switched to a full commission in 1958, and was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 3rd Class (equivalent to a
major
Major most commonly refers to:
* Major (rank), a military rank
* Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits
* People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames
* Major and minor in musi ...
) in 1961.
Roe distinguished himself for bravery while serving as a
British Army
The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
chaplain attached to the 1st battalion,
Lancashire Regiment
The Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army that had a very short existence.
History
The regiment was formed, as a consequence of defence cuts instigated by the 1957 Defence White Paper, by ...
in
Aden
Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...
in 1967. During the Arab police mutiny (part of the
Aden Emergency
The Aden Emergency, also known as the 14 October Revolution () or as the Radfan Uprising, was an armed rebellion by the National Liberation Front (South Yemen), National Liberation Front (NLF) and the Front for the Liberation of Occupied South ...
), Roe heard gunfire and left
Radfan
Radfan or the Radfan Hills is a region of the Republic of Yemen. In the 1960s, the area was part of a British protectorate of Dhala (a member of the Federation of South Arabia) and was the site of intense fighting during the Aden Emergency. In 1 ...
Camp to investigate. He found a British Army lorry on fire with a number of British soldiers lying dead and wounded. Under heavy fire Roe helped the wounded soldiers to safety in Radfan Camp. Roe was unarmed, as is the custom for military chaplains. He only left the scene after being forcibly turned back by another officer, after he had been shot at and his personal
Land Rover
Land Rover is a brand of predominantly four-wheel drive, off-road capable vehicles, owned by British multinational car manufacturer Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), since 2008 a subsidiary of India's Tata Motors. JLR builds Land Rovers in Brazil ...
struck by machine gun fire. He was awarded the
Military Cross
The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...
for his courage under fire, the award was
gazetted
A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper.
In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...
on 19 January 1968.
He was promoted to Chaplain to the Forces 2nd Class ( lieutenant-colonel) in 1969, and to 1st Class (
colonel
Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...
) in 1973. In 1977 he was made an
Honorary Chaplain to the Queen
An Honorary Chaplain to the King is a member of the clergy within the United Kingdom who, through long and distinguished service, is appointed to minister to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch of the United Kingdom. When the reigning mona ...
. He retired from the Army in 1982, and was appointed
Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE) for his work as a chaplain in that year's
Queen's Birthday Honours
The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...
.
Later life
Roe became
Rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
of
Merrow, Surrey
Merrow is a suburb in the north-east of Guildford, in Surrey, England. It is from the town's centre, on the edge of the ridge of hills that forms the North Downs. Although now a relatively obscure suburb, the village can trace its origins bac ...
(
Diocese of Guildford
__NOTOC__
The Diocese of Guildford is a Church of England diocese covering eight and half of the eleven districts in Surrey, much of north-east Hampshire and a parish in Greater London. The cathedral is Guildford Cathedral and the bishop is the ...
) in 1982 and served there until his retirement in 1989. He then moved to
Shalford, Surrey
Shalford is a village and civil parish in the Guildford district, in Surrey, England on the A281 Horsham road immediately south of Guildford. It has a railway station which is between Guildford and Dorking on the Reading to Gatwick Airport lin ...
and continued to take services within the diocese. He died on 15 July 2010.
Irish Times
''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...